What do you do with all the callings God gives you when they get too heavy to carry? That was the question underneath the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost, October 11, when Immanuel took worship outdoors to Landreth Park. The people of our 8:00 and 10:30 services came together for one service at 10:00, in lawn chairs under the trees, with a church picnic to follow. The readings set two feasts in front of us. Pastor Christopher Ramstad answered the question from Psalm 23.
Most Sundays look different. From September through May we worship in the church at 8:00 and 10:30, with Sunday school and Bible classes for all ages at 9:15 between them. The service is sung from the red Lutheran Service Book in the pew rack. In the park we used the Service of Prayer and Preaching, a shorter order of psalms, readings, a sermon and prayers. Every hymn was printed in the bulletin. We receive the Lord’s Supper on the first and third Sundays, so there was no Communion this week. The full schedule is here.
The readings: two feasts and a shepherd’s table
We opened with Father Welcomes (LSB 605), a hymn about God gathering his children into his family through Baptism, with Principal Mollie Ramstad on keyboard in place of the organ. Then we sang a canticle from Isaiah 12: “The Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” The readings followed. In Isaiah 25 the Lord spreads a feast on his mountain for all peoples, with rich food and well-aged wine. On that mountain, Isaiah says, he will swallow up death forever and wipe away the tears from every face.
Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd
Isaiah 25
A feast for all peoples on the mountain
Philippians 4
Rejoice, and the peace of God will guard you
Matthew 22
The king’s wedding feast
Paul wrote Philippians 4 from prison, and still he told the church to rejoice. Do not be anxious about anything, he says; bring everything to God in prayer, and the peace of God will guard your hearts. In Matthew 22, Jesus tells of a king whose invited guests refuse to come to his son’s wedding feast. So the king sends his servants into the streets to gather everyone they can find, both bad and good, until the hall is full. We confessed the Apostles’ Creed and then spoke Psalm 23 together.
Psalm 23 on the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost
We sang The King of Love My Shepherd Is (LSB 709), a hymn version of Psalm 23. Then Pastor Ramstad said a different place called for something a little different, and he preached on the psalm instead of the Gospel. He began with the man who wrote it. David was a son and a brother, a husband and a father, a shepherd and a musician, the commander of Israel’s army and finally its king. On paper he was the measure of every king who came after him. Pastor was honest about the rest.
As commander, David stayed home from the war and sent Joab in his place. As king, he took Bathsheba and arranged for her husband, Uriah, to die in battle. As a father, he could not lead his sons, and one of them, Absalom, rose up against him. The prophet Nathan finally told him to his face, “You are the man” (2 Samuel 12). David had a heart after God, Pastor said, and his callings were still tangled up in sin and noise.
We know that weight. God gives each of us callings, as parents and spouses, workers and neighbors and members of a church, and none of us carries them perfectly. Pastor admitted he feels it too. That same week he and DCE Jason Glaskey had dressed as a bowl of spaghetti and a chef with a giant spoon for Spaghetti Day, the Martin Luther School fundraiser. You never know what a calling will ask of you. What we long for, as David did, is peace with God.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Psalm 23:1–4 (ESV)
David may have written the psalm in a palace, Pastor said, but he could still picture the hills outside Bethlehem where he had kept his father’s sheep. “I shall not want” is a sentence of thanks, because God gives us everything we have, body and soul. Then Pastor did something he could only do outdoors. He gave us a full minute of silence to take our own callings to God in prayer, and for that minute the only sounds were the wind and the birds.
David knew dark valleys, from Goliath to the years he spent hiding from King Saul to the consequences of his own sin. Through every one of them the promise held: you are with me. Jesus makes the same promise to his church, “I am with you always.” Even the shepherd’s rod is a comfort, Pastor said. God’s law corrects us and keeps us near him, and then the Gospel tells us our sins are forgiven.
“You prepare a table before me” is the feast of Isaiah 25. “You anoint my head with oil” would have taken David back to the day the prophet Samuel poured oil on his head and set him apart for a purpose. Holy Baptism does the same for us. It joins us to Christ and sends us out to live our callings behind the Shepherd. Even the potluck waiting behind us, Pastor said, was a small foretaste of the banquet of heaven.
The children’s message: a place with your name on it
Before the readings, Jason Glaskey gathered the children around a table at the front. The bulletin cover showed a dish of food, he pointed out, because the readings were full of feasts. He told them Jesus’ parable in a few sentences. The king’s guests would not come, so he sent his servants into the streets to invite anyone who looked hungry. That is how God is with us, he said. Whether you had a hard week or a wonderful one, God wants you at his table.
God has a table set in heaven, too, with a place that has your name on it, written there in your Baptism. Each child took a blank card, wrote their name on it in big letters and set it at a spot on the picnic tables for lunch after church. Children are always invited up front for this part of the service, and our children and families page has more.
Worship in the park
Outside, the shape of the service stayed familiar. After the sermon we sang Beautiful Savior (LSB 537), and two of our elders gathered the offering. The Prayer of the Church was a litany, with everyone answering “Lord, have mercy” to each petition. We prayed for the whole church, for Joplin’s leaders and first responders, and for members who are sick. Then we said Luther’s Morning Prayer together and closed with Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee (LSB 803), a hymn of all creation praising God, sung with creation all around us.
After the service
Then came the picnic, with food from every family and an afternoon together in the park. Two invitations from the announcements are open to anyone. On Thursday, October 15, parents and grandparents can learn how to answer the big questions kids ask about God. The kids play in the gym while they do. On October 31, Trunk or Treat fills our parking lot. We are hoping for a thousand children from around Joplin.
Coming up at Immanuel
Everything else is on the church calendar.
Help for the Hard Questions · Thursday, October 15
An evening for parents and grandparents, 6:30 to 8:00 in the Fellowship Hall, with dessert for everyone and play time in the gym for the kids.
Trunk or Treat · Saturday, October 31
From 5:00 to 7:00 in our parking lot, for children from all over Joplin. Candy donations are welcome all month.
Pastor called the picnic a small foretaste of heaven’s banquet, and the children’s name cards on the tables said the same thing. The Shepherd has already set a place for each of his sheep.
Read it again this week
- Psalm 23 — the Lord is my shepherd, and the text of the sermon.
- Isaiah 25:6–9 — the feast on the mountain, where death is swallowed up.
- Philippians 4:4–13 — rejoice, pray, and let the peace of God guard you.
- Matthew 22:1–14 — the king’s wedding feast for his son.
Three questions from the sermon:
- Make a list of the callings God has given you right now. Which one feels heaviest this week?
- David heard “You are the man” from Nathan. How can the shepherd’s rod be a comfort and not only a threat?
- Pastor called “I shall not want” a sentence of thanks. What has God given you this week that you have not thanked him for?
Luther’s Small Catechism is free to read online. For this Sunday, read his explanation of the First Article of the Creed, his long list of everything God gives us, from clothing and shoes to house and home.
In the service — Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost, October 11, 2026
| Liturgy | Service of Prayer and Preaching, outdoors at Landreth Park (no Communion) |
| Psalm | Psalm 23 (spoken together; the sermon text) |
| First Reading | Isaiah 25:6–9 |
| Epistle | Philippians 4:4–13 |
| Holy Gospel | Matthew 22:1–14 |
| Hymns | LSB 605 Father Welcomes · LSB 709 The King of Love My Shepherd Is · LSB 537 Beautiful Savior · LSB 803 Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee |
| Creed | Apostles’ Creed |
| Preacher | Pastor Christopher Ramstad |
| Children’s message | DCE Jason Glaskey |
| Also in the service | One combined service in place of the 8:00 and 10:30, followed by a church picnic and potluck |
Questions people ask
What is the Service of Prayer and Preaching?
It is one of the orders of worship in our hymnal, the red Lutheran Service Book. It is shorter than the Divine Service. It has psalms, Bible readings, a sermon and prayers, but no Lord’s Supper, so we use it on some Sundays when we do not receive Communion. What Is Lutheran Worship? explains how our services fit together.
Do you always worship outdoors?
No. Worship in the Park is a special Sunday. On a normal Sunday we worship in the church at 2616 S Connecticut Ave, at 8:00 and 10:30 from September through May and at 9:00 in the summer. Sunday Services has the times.
Can visitors receive Communion?
We receive the Lord’s Supper on the first and third Sundays. We believe Christ gives his true body and blood in the bread and wine, for the forgiveness of sins. So we ask visitors to speak with Pastor Ramstad before the service. He is glad to talk. What We Believe says more.
Where do I park?
There are three lots. One is off 26th Street, north of the sanctuary. The main lot is off Connecticut Avenue. A smaller one sits near the Youth Center off 27th Street. Signs inside each door point the way, and greeters are there to help. See Where We Meet for a map.
What should I wear?
There is no right way to dress here. On a normal Sunday you will see high heels and wingtips sitting next to sneakers and sandals. Dress the way you would for something that matters. Casual is fine. Dressier is fine.
Should I bring my children into the service?
We hope you will. Children are not just allowed in worship here, they are encouraged in it. Wiggling and noise do not bother anyone. A nursery is available for families who need it, though it is only occasionally staffed. Changing tables are in the nursery and in the family restroom in the narthex (the lobby).
Thinking about visiting?
From September through May we worship at 8:00 and 10:30 on Sunday mornings, with the Christian Education Hour between them at 9:15. From June through August there is one service, at 9:00, with classes after it at 10:15. Holy Communion is on the first and third Sundays.
Park in any of the three lots and come in any door. Signs point the way, and someone will be there to help. Dress however you are comfortable. Bring your children with you.
More at Immanuel Lutheran
- What to Expect — a walk through a Sunday morning here
- Where We Meet — campus map, parking, the buildings
- Who Is Jesus? — the shortest answer we know how to give
- Ministries — Bible study, youth, women, men and more
- Youth Ministry — Wednesday nights for grades 5–12
- Contact us — questions, or a prayer request
About Immanuel Lutheran Church
Immanuel Lutheran Church is a congregation of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod at 2616 S Connecticut Ave, Joplin, MO 64804. We are the home of Martin Luther School, which serves children from age 3 through 8th grade. Jesus brings life. Meet Him here.
More about us: About Us · Staff and Leaders · past services and sermons, including the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost, the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost, when the shepherd left the ninety-nine, and Good Shepherd Sunday last spring.