Sunday, September 13, 2026
Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost | Year A
Matthew 18:21-34 | "To Settle Account"

Call to Worship (inspired by Psalm 103)
One: Bless the Holy One! Bless God's holy name!
Many: Bless God our Healer, Redeemer, and Friend.
One: Bless the Holy One! Remember the works of God.
Many: Bless the God who saves us, loves us, and forgives us.
One: Bless the Holy One! Bless the God of life and justice!
Many: Bless the One whose loves and mercy endures but whose anger does not. Bless God, O our souls!

Invocation
God of Heaven and Earth, we bask in your presence. We thank you for being our Companion and Counselor. Receive our praise, thanksgiving, worship, and petitions. You are the object and center of our worship so we fix our attention on you. We remember your awesome acts. We worship you for who you are. Amen.

Prayer for Transformation and New Life (Inspired by Romans 14)
Holy One, you have given us companions in life, family, friends, and neighbors. As Romans 14:7-8 reminds us, "For we do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's." Help us live in ways that reflect your goodness, righteousness, and truth. Help us to love our neighbors with the fullness of shared life, accountability, and community. Help us repair what has been damaged, redeem what has been lost, and restore what has been broken for your name's sake. Amen.

Words of Grace
Beloved, God blesses us with the gift of accountability so that we need not settle for forgiveness that trivializes harm, ignores the need for repair, and leaves relationships fractured. God has given us accountability so that we may be transformed both individually and collectively, offender and offended, perpetrator and survivor for restoration, reconciliation, and righteousness. Receive the conjoined gifts of accountability and forgiveness. 

Invitation to Generosity
As we benefit from the treasures of a bountiful creation, the Holy One charges us to remember our roles as caretakers and our responsibilities as recipients of God's good and perfect gifts. Let us hold ourselves accountable by giving freely, generously, and cheerfully to the redemptive, restorative work of God's church. 

Prayer of Dedication and Thanksgiving
Generous God, magnify the offerings we bring and may they be fruitful for the nurture and care of creation, the faithfulness of your church, and the needs of the communities and world we inhabit. Be glorified through our generosity. Amen. 

Benediction 
May the blessings of God empower you.
May the accountability of God transform you.
May the mercy and forgiveness of God release you.
May the love of God embolden you.
May the peace of God assure you. 
And, may the grace you receive be the grace you extend.

To Settle Accounts: Service Prayers for the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost Year A was written by the Rev. Dr. Cheryl A. Lindsay, Minister for Worship and Theology for the United Church of Christ.