Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost	October 18, 2026
Prayer of the Day
O God, our refuge and strength, since you yourself are the author of our devotion, graciously consider the devout prayers of your Church. May those things which we ask in faith effectively follow by your grace; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
First Reading: Isaiah 45:1-7
1Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed: 2“I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, 3I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. 4For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me. 5I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, 6that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. 7I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things.”
Psalm 96:1-9
11Sing to the Lord | a new song;*
	sing to the Lord, all | the whole earth.
2Sing to the Lord and | bless his Name;*
	proclaim the good news of his salvation from | day to day.
3Declare his glory a- | mong the nations*
	and his wonders a- | mong all peoples.
4For great is the Lord and greatly | to be praised;*
	he is more to be feared | than all gods.
5As for all the gods of the nations, they | are but idols;*
	but it is the Lord who | made the heavens.
6Oh, the majesty and magnificence | of his presence!*
	Oh, the power and the splendor of his | sanctuary!
7Ascribe to the Lord, you families | of the peoples;*
	ascribe to the Lord hon- | or and power.
8Ascribe to the Lord the honor | due his name;*
	bring offerings and come in- | to his courts.
9Worship the Lord in the beau- | ty of holiness;*
	let the whole earth trem- | ble before him.

Psalm 96:1-9(ESV)
1Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth!
2Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.
3Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!
4For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.
5For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens.
6Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
8Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts!
9Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!
Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
1Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. 2We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. 9For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
Gospel: Matthew 22:15-22
15Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. 16And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. 17Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 18But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? 19Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.
Next Week’s Readings:
Revelation 14:6-7; Psalm 46; Romans 3:19-28; John 8:31-36