First Sunday of Advent - A

For October 18, 2026:

• Whose Fingerprints Are On the Money? by Mary Austin based on Matthew 22:15-22.

Theme For The Day
The faith, love, and hope Paul celebrates among the Thessalonians are virtues we do well to cultivate today.

Old Testament Lesson
Exodus 33:12-23
Moses Intercedes For The People, And Sees The Glory Of The Lord

(See The Transfiguration Of Our Lord/Last Sunday After The Epiphany, Cycles A and C.)
This psalm celebrates the kingship of God, and proclaims that divine kingship is related to holiness. Structurally, the psalm may be divided into three parts. Verses 1-3 proclaim the kingship of God over all the earth. Verses 4-5 announce God's justice and righteousness specifically for Israel. Verses 6-9 praise God as the one who answers those who call on God's name. Together, these three sections define a God who is holy: holy in majesty, holy in justice, holy in responsiveness.

Over the course of one's life, one knows those persons/groups who think the worst of you and who aren't the least bit interested in changing their opinion. In my life, as I cross paths with such persons, I automatically put up my guard -- high! -- and I match their low regard for me with an equally low regard for them. However, that high-guardedness, attitudinally and dispositionally, bars one from meaningful conversation and ensures only perfunctory exchanges. We leave each other's company all the more grounded in our limited perception of one another.

"I beseech Thee, O God, show me thy glory. Show me the essence of your being. I want the mystery to be unveiled. I desire an unblurred view of divinity. Lord, show me thy glory."

Intimacy with God, no doubt, has made possible the request. Moses and God have been on speaking terms for quite a while. From the backside of Horeb all the way to this mount named Sinai, the Lord talked with Moses and He did it as a man speaketh unto his friend.

Life never stands still. It can crawl along too slowly, zip past us before we know it, torture us with opportunities we can never get again, or bewilder us with which path to take. But it never stands still.

It was a trap. The Pharisees set it. Jealous that Jesus was gaining a following, they were eager to destroy him, and they'd do it by using his own words against him.

Now there is a greeting that will knock you back a moment. "We always give thanks to God for all of you." Other translations put it: "We give thanks to God always for all of you." And maybe Paul was pouring it on a little thick, but it is a greeting that will put one on the defensive, because if we are honest, we cannot reply that we have always been praying for Paul. If we are honest, we cannot say that we are always faithful in our prayers at all. Paul tells the church at Thessalonica that he is always praying for them and giving thanks to God for them.

Call To Worship
One: We gather in God's holy presence,
coming to the One who knows us by name.
All: God's glory surprises us each morning;
God's goodness cradles us at night when we sleep.
One: We praise the One whose justice is for all;
whose word transforms every life.
All: God's presence never leaves us;
God's mercy mends the cracks in our broken lives.
One: We give thanks to God for the hope of each day;
we remember God's splendor lighting our way.

Litany Of Confession
P: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
I: We confess to you, O God, that we wish to be you.
II: We try to make you in our image and to define your power in ways
that set us above our neighbors.
I: We wish to control our own destinies.
II: We confess to you our worship of the world's power and wealth:
oil, land, and money;
strength, speed, and physical beauty.

Silence for self-examination and prayer

The lessons for this Sunday share common themes regarding knowing God (how he is correctly known) and also that he receives all the credit due him for what he does for us. 

Exodus 33:12-23

"Politics are almost as exciting as war and quite as dangerous!" said Winston Churchill. "In war you can only be killed once but in politics many times."

"Are you coming?" shouted Tim breathlessly.

Ben bit his lip and frowned. "I'm not sure," he muttered.

Tim stared at him in amazement. Ben was considered to be the best football player in the class, and the game without him was unthinkable. "What do you mean?" asked Tim.

Contents
What's Up This Week
"We Are, None of Us, Our Own" by Scott Dalgarno
"The Word from God" by Timothy J. Smith


What's Up This Week

Contents
"Glorious" by Craig Kelly
"All This Over a Coin?" by David O. Bales


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Glorious
by Craig Kelly
Exodus 33:12-23

Man, I loved Uncle Edward.

Good morning, boys and girls. Has anyone ever played a trick on you? (Let them answer. Ask what the trick was and then ask how the child felt when the trick was revealed.) Sometimes tricks are pretty harmless. Someone might point behind you. As you look to see what is behind you, the other person says "Made you look!" Has that ever happened to any of you? (Let them answer.) That trick doesn't really hurt anyone, but some tricks can make you feel pretty bad. It's really not very much fun to be tricked.