19th Sunday after Pentecost

October 15, 2017
Holy Communion at 8:30 and 11am


Prayer of the Day
Lord of the feast, you have prepared a table before all peoples and poured out your life with abundance. Call us again to your banquet. Strengthen us by what is honorable, just, and pure, and transform us into a people of righteousness and peace, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

Scripture readings
Isaiah 25:1-9
Psalm 23
Philippians 4:1-9
Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon 

In what has been viewed by some scholars as two related parables smashed together by Matthew, the wedding banquet and associated guest list drama can be problematic for us. Parables about divine judgement usually are. But this is also about divine salvation. The wedding banquet, the Kingdom, has been opened to all. The invitation is extended. But are the fields and businesses of our lives more important? Is clothing ourselves in the trappings of the world more valuable to us? Most importantly, are we willing to let God’s answers to these questions be enough?

In our prayers we remember Lutheran Social Services of Illinois. 

Between services, at 9:45am

Children and youth

Sunday School students (grade 1–4) meet in the third-floor school commons for opening worship. Preschool and kindergarten students meet in the JK classroom on the lower level. Pre-Confirmation  and Confirmation students meet in their classrooms. 

Teen Talk meets in the Youth Room. Enjoy the new coffee bar and breakfast treats.

Adult Education

Luther and the Reformation, Karl Reko
Luther’s theology matured as he collaborated with Philip Melanchthon to build the University of Wittenberg and defend himself against the attacks of Rome and the Holy Roman Empire.

Living Faithfully as a Professor of Music and Conductor, Rich Fischer, Concordia University
Rich writes: I have been called to a vocation that I truly love, having just begun my 44th year at Concordia University Chicago. I work with wonderful students in my conducting classes and with many more of them making music in the Wind Symphony. I try to take seriously my call to teach, motivate and inspire my students, not only to develop their performance skills, but more importantly to become unobstructed “vessels” through which the music flows. I also try to incorporate the most important element of my calling: the sharing of the Gospel with others, either verbally or through the music that I program. My life has not been without tremendous struggles mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I am learning more and more how important it is to pray to God for strength, grace and guidance. This journey continues.

The Grace Church Library is open and staffed on Sundays from 8:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Look for books related to Adult Ed topics as well as many other subjects. The library is also open for self-service during the week.