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 25, 2026 Pentecost 21

THE BEGINNING OF THE END –

It’s time to GIVE TO GOD WHAT IS GOD’S

WELCOME – we will be using the RED HYMNAL today

HYMN 618 “Before the Lord We Bow” - Please stand for the last verse

SERVICE OF THE WORD - pages 38-44

PRAYER OF THE DAY:

O Lord our God, so govern the nations on earth and direct the affairs of this world that your church may worship you in peace and joy; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

(Sung) Amen.

FIRST LESSON: Daniel 1:3-21

We learn from Daniel how to live in two kingdoms.

3The king told Ashpenaz, the chief of his court officials, to bring some young Israelite men from the royal family or from the nobility. 4He was to choose young men who had no blemish, who were good looking, who had insight into all kinds of wisdom, who possessed knowledge, understanding, and learning, and who were capable of serving in the king’s palace, in order to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. 5The king assigned them daily rations from the special royal food and from the king’s own wine. He ordered that they should be trained for three years. At the end of training they were to serve the king. 6In this group of young men were the Judeans Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 7The chief of the officials gave them new names. He gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar, Hananiah the name Shadrak, Mishael the name Meshak, and Azariah the name Abednego. 8 Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the special food of the king or with the wine that he drank. So he sought permission from the chief official, so that he would not have to defile himself. 9 God made the chief of the officials favorable and sympathetic toward Daniel. 10Then the chief of the officials said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink. Why should he see your faces looking less healthy than those of the other young men who are

your age? You put my life at risk before the king.” 11Daniel said to the superintendent whom the chief of the officials had placed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days. Tell them to give us only vegetables, and we will eat them and drink water. 13 Observe our appearance and the appearance of the young men who eat the special royal food. Then deal with your servants based on what you see.” 14 So he listened to what they said about this and tested them for ten days. 15At the end of ten days, their appearance was noticeably better than that of the others. They were healthier than any of the young men who had been eating the special royal food. 16 So the superintendent permanently took away the special royal food and the wine they were to drink and gave them only vegetables. 17As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and insight into all kinds of literature, as well as wisdom. In addition, Daniel also understood every kind of vision and dream. 18 At the end of the time which the king had set for them to be brought to him, the chief of the officials brought them before Nebuchadnezzar. 19The king spoke with them, and none of the others were found to be comparable to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they served the king. 20 In every matter concerning wisdom and understanding that the king sought from them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and spell casters in his entire kingdom. 21 So Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.

P: The Word of the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God.

PSALM 146– page 120

I will praise your name forever, my King and my God.

SECOND LESSON: Romans 13:1-7

God has established governmental authority.

1Everyone must submit to the governing authorities. For no authority exists except by God, and the authorities that do exist have been established by God. 2Therefore the one who rebels against the authority is opposing God’s institution, and those who oppose will bring judgment on themselves. 3For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to evil. Would you like to have no fear of the one in authority? Do what is good, and you will receive praise from him, 4because he is God’s servant for your benefit. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because he does not carry the sword without reason. He is God’s servant, a punisher to bring wrath on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore it is necessary to submit, not only because of wrath, but also because of conscience. 6For this reason you also pay taxes, because the authorities are God’s ministers, who are employed to do this very thing. 7 Pay what you owe to all of them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, and honor to whom honor is owed.

P: The Word of the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God.

VERSE OF THE DAY:

Alleluia. In Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. Alleluia.

(Sung) Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

These words are written that we may believe

that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

GOSPEL: Matthew 22:15-22

Give to the government what is the government’s and give to God what is God’s.

15Then the Pharisees went out and plotted together how to trap him in his words. 16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are truthful and teach the way of God in accord with the truth. You are not concerned about gaining anyone’s approval because you are not swayed by appearances. 17 So tell us, what do you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 18But Jesus knew their evil purpose and said, “Why are you testing me, hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin used for the tax.” They brought him a denarius. 20He asked them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” 21 “Caesar’s,” they replied to him. Then he said to them, “Therefore give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22When they heard this, they were amazed. Then they left him and went away.

P: The Gospel of the Lord.

C: (sung) Praise be to you, O Christ!

HYMN 617 “Christ, by Heavenly Hosts Adored”

SERMON: “Government – Designed for a Reason” Romans 13:1-7 APOSTLES’ CREED - page 41

PRAYER & LORD’S PRAYER (Traditional)

HYMN 620 “To You, Our God, We Fly”

PRAYER - page 43 C: (sung) Amen.

BLESSING - page 44 C: (sung) Amen. Amen. Amen.

HYMN 330 "Now, the Hour of Worship O’er”

ANNOUNCEMENTS & REFRESHMENTS

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.

THIS SATURDAY, October 31, we will again open our church to our neighbors for “Trick or Treat.” We will pass out candy and various other church related items. Come and help us out from 6-8 pm. If you would like to donate candy, please let us know.

TIME CHANGE THIS SATURDAY – set your clocks BACK go to bed. REFORMATION remembrance and celebration will be our focus next Sunday.

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