St Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church

313 4th Street, Manistee, MI 49660

www.StPaulsManistee.com

facebook.com/SPLCManistee

Pastor Dennis Himm (810) 252-5821

October 11, 2026 Pentecost 19

THE BEGINNING OF THE END –

It’s Time to Press On!

WELCOME – We will be using the Blue Hymnal today.

HYMN 871 “Rise! To Arms! With Prayer Employ You”

(Please stand for the last stanza)

THE SERVICE: Setting 2 – page 172 ff

PRAYER OF THE DAY:

Almighty God, in your bountiful goodness, keep us safe from every evil of body and soul. Make us ready, with cheerful hearts, to do whatever pleases you; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.. C: Amen.

FIRST LESSON: Isaiah 5:1-7

The LORD pictures his patient love in a story about the owner of a vineyard.

1Let me sing for my loved one a song about my loved one’s vineyard. My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile ridge. 2 He dug it up and gathered the stones out of it. He planted it with the best vines. He built a tower in the middle of it. He also cut a winepress into it. He expected it to produce clusters of sweet grapes, but it produced only sour grapes. 3So now, you residents of Jerusalem and you men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. 4 What more could have been done for my vineyard that I have not already done for it? When I expected it to produce clusters of sweet grapes, why did it produce sour grapes? 5 Now, let me tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will take away its hedge, and it will become a pasture. I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled down. 6I will make it a wasteland. It will not be pruned or hoed. So briers and thorns will shoot up. I will also command the clouds not to pour rain on it. 7 Yes, the vineyard of the LORD of Armies is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the planting that was pleasing to him. He expected justice, but instead there was oppression. He expected righteousness, but there was an outcry.

P: The Word of the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God.

PSALM OF THE DAY – Psalm 84

How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD.

SECOND LESSON: Philippians 3:12-21

God prompts us to respond to his grace by living differently from the enemies of the cross of Christ.

12 Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus also took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it yet, but there is one thing I do: Forgetting the things that are behind and straining toward the things that are ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal, for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Therefore, let all of us who are mature continue to think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this to you too. 16 Only let us think the same thing and walk in line with what we already have attained. 17 Brothers, join together in imitating me and in paying attention to those who are walking according to the pattern we gave you. 18 To be sure, many walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. I told you about them often, and now I am saying it while weeping. 19 Their end is destruction, their god is their appetite, and their glory is in their shame. They are thinking only about earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. We are eagerly waiting for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21 By the power that enables him to subject all things to himself, he will transform our humble bodies to be like his glorious body.

P: The Word of the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God.

VERSE OF THE DAY:

P: Alleluia. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works. Alleluia.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION: God’s Word (sung)

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Your words – are – my – joy

And my – heart’s – de – light.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

GOSPEL: Matthew 21:33-43

Jesus tells the parable of the tenants to call leaders to repentance.

33 “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower. He leased it out to some tenant farmers and went away on a journey. 34 When the time approached to harvest the fruit, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. 35 The tenant farmers seized his servants. They beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Then the landowner sent even more servants than the first time. The tenant farmers treated them the same way. 37 Finally, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. 38 But when the tenant farmers saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance!’ 39 They took him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 So when the landowner comes, what will he do to those tenant farmers?” 41 They told him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end. Then he will lease out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his fruit when it is due.” 42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? 43 That is why I tell you the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces its fruit.”

P: The Gospel of the Lord.

C: Praise be to you, O Christ!

HYMN 876 “Fight the Good Fight”

SERMON: “Christ Jesus Took Hold of Me” Philippians 3:12-21 APOSTLES’ CREED - page 181

PRAYER FOR THE CHURCH - page 198

HYMN 853 “I’m But a Stranger Here”

PRAYER & LORD’S PRAYER (Traditional)

BLESSING C: Amen.

HYMN 889 "Jerusalem the Golden"

ANNOUNCEMENTS

THANKOFFERING BASKET BY DOOR

The members of St Paul's & the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) have joined together to do the Lord’s work here and around the world. Our guests may but are not expected to participate in this offering which supports our church’s ministry. The basket is located next to the water dispenser.

PLEASE SIGN OUR GUEST BOOK IF YOU ARE VISITING.

It’s located in the entryway by the stairs going to the basement.

Bible Study Opportunities This Week – all on Tuesday

❖ 10:00 am - Ladies Book Study “The Lutheran Narrow Middle” at parsonage ❖ 5:15 pm – 7th & 8th Grade Catechism Class at Pastor’s house

❖ 7:00 pm – 1 Corinthians (Chapter 2) at Pastor’s house

Join us next Sunday for Sunday School & Bible Study at 9 am & Worship at 10 am.

Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version ® (EHV ®)