Welcome!
“Thanks to You, O Christ victorious! Thanks to You, O Lord of life!
Death has now no power o’er us, You have conquered in the strife!”
(from O Sing Of Christ 152:1)
15TH SUNDAY after TRINITY Sunday SEPTEMBER 13, 2026
ZION LUTHERAN CHURCH HIDEWOOD TWP, SD
TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH WATERTOWN, SD
To prepare yourselves for worship you are welcome to meditate on:
Today’s Psalm 103: 1-12
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits:
3 Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases,
4 Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The Lord executes righteousness
And justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known His ways to Moses,
His acts to the children of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
9 He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever.
10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor punished us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
ORDER for WORSHIP
The bell calls us for worship
Opening Prayer
P: O Lord, our Maker, Redeemer, and Comforter, we are assembled in Your presence to hear Your holy Word. We pray You so to open our hearts by Your Holy Spirit, that through the preaching of Your Word we may be taught to repent of our sins, to believe on Jesus in life and in death, and to grow day by day in grace and holiness. Hear us for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
Hymn 16
P: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
P: Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins to God, our Father, beseeching Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness. Our help is in the name of the Lord.
P: I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.
P: Almighty God, our Maker and Redeemer, we poor sinners confess to You that we are by nature sinful and unclean and that we have sinned against You in our thoughts, words, and actions. Therefore we flee for refuge to Your infinite mercy, seeking and imploring Your grace for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ.
ALL: O most merciful God, You have given Your only begotten Son to die for us! Have mercy upon us and for His sake grant us remission of all our sins; and by Your Holy Spirit increase in us true knowledge of You and of Your will and true obedience to Your Word, to the end that by Your grace we may come to everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
P: Almighty God, who is our heavenly Father, has had mercy upon us and has given His only Son to die for us and for His sake has forgiven us all our sins. To those who believe on His name He gives power to become the sons of God and has promised them His Holy Spirit. He who believes and is baptized shall be saved. Grant this, Lord, to us all!
Responsive Reading – Psalm 100
P: Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness;
C: Come before His presence with singing.
P: Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
C: We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
P: Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise.
C: Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
P: For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting,
C: And His truth endures to all generations.
First Reading – Old Testament – Genesis 50: 15-21
Joseph graciously reassures his brothers
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him.” 16 So they sent messengers to Joseph, saying, “Before your father died he commanded, saying, 17 ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph: “I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; for they did evil to you.” ’ Now, please, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.
18 Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face, and they said, “Behold, we are your servants.”
19 Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? 20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. 21 Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
P: Blessed are those who hear and believe God’s Word! Hallelujah!
Second Reading – New Testament Epistle – Romans 14: 1-12
The law of liberty
1 Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. 2 For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. 3 Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. 4 Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.
5 One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11 For it is written:
“As I live, says the Lord,
Every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall confess to God.”
12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.
P: Here ends today’s New Testament reading.
CONFESSION OF FAITH – THE APOSTLES’ CREED
ALL: I believe in God the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Born of the Virgin Mary; Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, died, and was buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven And is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; From there He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit; The Holy Christian Church, the communion of saints; The forgiveness of sins; The resurrection of the body; And the life everlasting. Amen.
Hymn 323
Sermon Text – Luke 10: 25-37
And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”
And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’
Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
Theme: Like a Good Neighbor, Jesus Is There
Today’s sermon was originally given by Pastor Sam Rodebaugh
Hymn 349: 1-3, 6
The Offering is collected / brought forward
Prayer led by the pastor
P: We give thanks and praise to You for all Your goodness and mercy, but most especially we glorify You for the precious gift of Your holy Child Jesus, whom You sent to deliver us from the just punishment for our sins, and by whose resurrection You have granted us the unfading crown of life eternal.
Dear Lord, let Your Word dwell in us richly in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that in love we may be of help to each other in our trials and troubles.
Grant that in our works of mercy we may have special regard for those of the household of faith. Strengthen us and Your servants everywhere, so that we may never grow weary of doing good, for Your name’s sake.
Renew us each day, O Lord, through sincere repentance and childlike trust in Christ. And since we can do no good thing without You, lead us in body and soul by Your Spirit, that we may live as Your dear children, and finally come to our promised inheritance in Christ.
In His name we pray. Amen.
P: any special prayers there may be will be offered here...
P: And so we join to pray the words Jesus taught us:
ALL: Our Father, who art in heaven; Hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation; But deliver us from evil; For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
The Benediction
P: The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you His peace.
Closing Hymn 439
Zion Lutheran Church Hidewood Township, SD – 8:30 a.m.
Trinity Lutheran Church Watertown, SD – 10:30 a.m.
trinitywatertownsd.com
Members: Church of the Lutheran Confession www.clclutheran.org
Pastor Paul Krause. . . parsonpaulkrause@gmail.com cell:920-238-5775
Teacher Mikkela Schmitt . . . . . . . .cell: 715-933-1502
Church and School: 605-886-2976
Organists: John Klatt, Rebecca Larson, Naomi Rehder
STATISTICS - week of September 6
Zion: 20; Trinity: 45; Wed Bible Class: 12
School Board meeting: 5(+PK/MS)
CALENDAR and ANNOUNCEMENTS
TODAY >> Zion – 8:30 a.m. service; Trinity – 10:30 a.m.
>> Sunday School sessions start at Zion and Trinity!
>> At Zion – after church >> At Trinity – 9:20 a.m.
>> PK to Grace/Sleepy Eye, MN, for their Mission Fest
TUE-THU >> West Central Pastoral Conference – Sioux Falls, SD
FRI-SUN >> CLC Women’s Retreat West – Oacoma, SD
SAT >> PK will be leading the service in Des Moines, Iowa
NEXT SUNDAY >> Zion – 8:30 a.m. service – Trinity – 10:30 a.m.
>> Sunday School sessions at Zion and Trinity
>> At Zion – after church >> At Trinity – 9:20 a.m.
>> Zion confirmation class at church – 1:00-2:00 p.m.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
>> ?? Sun Date for September Brookings north Bible Class
>> 9/22 Tue Brookings Bible Class – 7 p.m. at DeBough’s place
>> 9/24-27 Thu-Sun Man Up! Weekend men’s retreat - details below
>> 9/27 Sun Zion and Trinity Young People’s group – details below
>> 10/11 Sun Education Sunday / Mission Fest Sunday
guest speaker – ILC Professor Paul Naumann
>> 10/14-16 CLC Teachers’ Conference – Saginaw, MI
MANY THANKS!
>> Many thanks to Dave Klatt for leading our services this morning!
>> Do you have something you are thankful for at Zion/Trinity? Let Pastor Krause know, and he will be happy to include it in the bulletin!
REPORTING ON THE CLC CONVENTION The Proceedings have been printed. PK will be taking 5 minutes after church to report on the various actions taken.
TRINITY / ZION YOUNG PEOPLE’S GROUP! This fall we are looking to start up our Young People’s Group once again! This will include both Trinity and Zion’s youth together from 5th grade through high school. Plans are to meet once a month, starting on Sunday, September 27. We will meet at Trinity at 11:45 a.m. These meetings will include a Bible Study, a lunch, and an activity/game/etc. Length of each meeting will depend on the activity selected for that day. Transportation can be arranged as needed. Please talk to Pastor or Collette with any thoughts or questions you may have.
FALL 2027 CLC WOMEN’S RETREAT Our Trinity Ladies’ Aid is currently looking into places at which we could host next fall’s CLC Women’s Retreat.
MANUP! WEEKEND 2026 is the 10th Anniversary of the ManUp! Weekend, to be held September 24-27 at Wyalusing State Park near Prairie du Chien, WI. The facility is set up for 108 men, and currently 105 have registered. Typically, there are a couple of cancellations, and there are some attendees that said they will be staying off site. That means there is still room for around 5-8 more men - like YOU and/or that friend you have been meaning to ask. The plan is to slightly over-book the weekend, like an airline. Then you can be "on call" on a waiting list if you choose. If you register after we reach 108, you will be contacted by someone on the Planning Committee to see if you would like to be on a waiting list. Register here: www.manup.clclutheran.org. Join us for encouragement, fellowship, worship, team building, and more! The $150 registration fee covers all meals, lodging, and activities. Sign up today!
KINSHIP OPPORTUNITIES There are currently twelve seminary students without a Kinship sponsor. These twelve students attend seminaries in India, Nepal, Congo, and Tanzania. The cost of support ranges from $35/month to $60/month. As the mission field overseas continues to grow, so does our opportunity to support it, so please give sponsorship prayerful consideration. To become a sponsor or for more information, please contact Dan Roehl at danroehl@hotmail.com or 507-381-2042.
CLC NEWS Current pastoral vacancies:
Mapleton, ND; Ponsford, MN; Detroit, MI; Red Wing, MN; Appleton, WI; Eau Claire, WI; Spokane, WA; Phoenix, AZ; Lemmon, SD; Austin, MN
Undecided calls:
Pastor Glenn Oster, serving Fairfax, VA, to Spokane, WA
Pastor Matt Hanel, Dallas, TX, to Mapleton, ND
Pastor Aaron Ude, Rapid City, SD, to Austin, MN
Returned calls:
Mr. Nick Naumann to Lemmon, SD
Pastor Chad Seybt, Quad Parish, southwestern WI, to Phoenix, AZ
Pastor Tom Schuetze, Lakewood, CO, to Appleton, WI
Church/School Anniversaries:
>> Grace Lutheran School, Fridley, MN, is celebrating its 50th anniversary today. Pastor Neal Radichel will be the guest speaker.
>> Gethsemane Lutheran Church, Spokane Valley, WA, will be celebrating its 75th anniversary on September 20, 2026. President Michael Wilke will be the guest speaker.
>> Ascension Lutheran Church, Batavia, IL, will be celebrating its 60th anniversary on October 11, 2026. Pastor Emeritus David Schierenbeck will be the guest speaker.
CLC UPDATES that can be found online –
>> to keep up on our CLC missionaries, and to learn more of our overseas brethren, go to lutheranmissions.org. Scroll down and click on the photos of the missionaries to access their blog, photos, video, etc.
NEPAL UPDATE Missionary Todd Ohlmann sent the following on Monday, September 7... There isn't much to report at this point. Raju and his brother Rajan are on their way to visit the affected area again. Travel is difficult due to road conditions and on-going rescue and recovery efforts. They haven't heard any further updates about the two men trapped in the tunnel. They have been able to talk and text with a few HCLCN members from the destroyed village where so many lives were lost and many more are still missing. Because the town is on the other side of the river and the bridges are destroyed, they have not been able to visit the surviving church members face-to-face. I will have more information in a few days after they return to Kathmandu. At that time we also hope to have a better idea of how we can help with Kinship Humanitarian Disaster Relief.
I'll add updates to my blog when I have new information to report. https://missionaryohlmann.blogspot.com/
Excerpted from Paula Naumann’s
TANZANIA JOURNAL – dated August 31, 2026
Note: for the full report (with photographs!) go to:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XZ0KPXTaR2lRxl0YA9I0P9E9ROw2gU8M/view
The Ambureni church property has had some recent improvements, and one of the upgrades included removing a large tree from the middle of the parking lot. Since it’s a large open space now, there is a natural desire among some to have football (soccer) games. Goals were installed, and Bruce had the students choose teams for a seminary tournament. There were only three teams, but they enjoyed their brief competition prior to their fall break.
Bruce and I went to watch the championship soccer game, and brought along all the secondhand backpacks and duffle bags I had collected to give students when I was in the United States. We planned it so that they would get them just prior to traveling home for break, and everyone seemed happy to have a bag. ...
I did a big proofreading project for Madame Martha, the director of the Montessori teacher-training program at Faraja (before I had to stop volunteering there). It took me several hours, but it’s something I enjoy. There was a tight deadline, and when I sent her the document with my edits, her computer crashed! We had quite a bit of communication trying to get her what she needed in order to submit her paper on time for a conference she is attending in Athens, Greece this fall. I asked if she need any on-site assistance in Athens, but I guess she’s going without me.