4 October - Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost – Year A

A downloadable version of this page is available for anyone who would like to save or print it out.

The Faith Action Programme would like to thank Naomi Dornan, Church of Scotland Priority Areas Development Assistant, for her thoughts on the 19th Sunday after Pentecost.

Priority Areas Month

October 4-10 is Challenge Poverty Week and October 17 is the United Nations' International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. Church of Scotland Priority Areas identify parishes with high concentrations of deprivation and provide support, networking and learning opportunities for congregations and communities. We would encourage you to explore ways in which your congregation can engage in anti-poverty issues at a local level.

Shoots of New Life

This month we are invited to look more closely for the shoots of new life emerging around us. Through the Season of Creation, Priority Areas and Challenge Poverty Week, we listen to people living and working in, and walking alongside, some of Scotland's most deprived communities – discovering their stories, challenges, resilience and hopes.

As the month progresses, we will ask where God is already at work: in creation, in our communities, around tables, in relationships and in the call to love our neighbours. Together, we will look for signs of hope, love, justice and possibility – the small but powerful shoots of new life already beginning to grow.

In these places, as in every place, God is present and active – through the love of Jesus, the grace of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

So, where are you noticing shoots of new life – and how might you help them flourish?

Introduction

Our readings gather around one searching question: What do we do with what has been given to us? The vineyard imagery in Isaiah, Psalm 80 and Matthew, alongside Paul's re-evaluation of status and achievement in Philippians, invites us to reflect on stewardship, justice, restoration and being set free.

This week also closes the Season of Creation, from 1 September to 4 October. In 2026, the theme is Living Waters, drawn from Ezekiel 47's vision of water bringing life, healing and environmental restoration. Having read this while thinking of our work with Priority Areas, the passages invite us to consider what fruit our churches, communities, buildings, gifts and resources are producing. Leaving us with the key question: if all that we have is given to us, what kind of fruit is our life producing?

A suggested service thread

We receive; everything begins as a gift.

We recognise; we notice what has been entrusted to us.

We repent; we confess where we have treated gifts as possessions.

We reimagine; we ask what flourishing might look like now.

We respond; we offer ourselves again as stewards of God's vineyard.

Key Question: What kind of fruit will we bear with what has been entrusted to us?

Isaiah 5:1-7

Isaiah's vineyard song begins with care and beauty, then turns into judgement. God has prepared the vineyard fully, yet it does not produce the fruit of justice and righteousness. The passage asks whether our communities, churches and engagement with creation reflect God's purposes.

Question: What fruit does God expect from what has been entrusted to us?

Psalm 80:7-15

Psalm 80 gives the vineyard image a voice of lament. The vine planted by God is now vulnerable, and the prayer is not a nostalgic one but of restoration: "Turn again, O God of hosts; look down from heaven, and see." This may help congregations name loss honestly while remaining open to new growth, leaving space for grief to live amongst hope and joy.

Question: Where do we need God to look upon us again and bring restoration?

Philippians 3:4b-14

Paul reassesses the things that once gave him identity, status and security. Paul does not dismiss the past, rather, he refuses to be defined by it. His language of "pressing on" invites the Church to honour what has been, while discerning what God is calling us towards now.

Question: What might we need to release to allow ourselves to ‘press on' faithfully?

Matthew 21:33-46

Jesus' parable centres around the difference between ownership and stewardship. The tenants are entrusted with a vineyard but begin to act as though it belongs to them. The passage should be handled carefully, avoiding anti-Jewish readings and simplistic blame. Its challenge is for all who forget that God's gifts are given for fruitfulness, not possession.

Question: What fruit have we grown to offer to God?

Sermon and reflection ideas

A sermon could begin with the everyday things we call "ours": home, money, time, church, traditions, achievements. The readings ask whether "ours" means possession or trust.

  • Creation: The world is a gift entrusted to us, not a commodity to own. What kind of fruit does our way of living produce?
  • Church: Buildings, money, worship, stories and relationships are entrusted for God's mission. Are they producing justice, welcome, hope and love?
  • Our lives: Like Paul, we may need to reassess what gives us identity and security so that we can press on faithfully.

Questions to explore:

  • What has been entrusted to us?
  • What fruit is it producing?
  • What might God be asking us to do differently?

Vineyard reflection in prayer: Invite people to embrace three brief silences, considering: something I have received; something I need to tend; something I may need to release.

Prayers

The prayers below follow the movement of receiving, confessing, giving thanks, interceding and being sent.

Gathering Prayer
God of the vineyard,
You plant, nurture and sustain.
You entrust Your world to our care and invite us to share in its flourishing.

Gather us now,
turn our attention from what we possess; to what we have received,
and make us ready to bear good fruit.
Amen.

Confession
Generous God,
forgive us when we behave as though Your gifts belong only to us.
Forgive the damage we cause to creation,
the comfort we protect at the expense of justice,
and the fear that makes us cling to what is familiar.

Teach us to receive with gratitude,
hold with open hands and give with generosity.
Amen.

Thanksgiving
Generous God,
we give thanks for water that gives life,
for soil and seed,
for fruit and harvest,
and for the creatures with whom we share this earth.

We give thanks for the gifts entrusted to the Church:
people who pray,
welcome,
teach,
serve,
lead,
offer a smile,
a prayer,
and quietly keep going.

Help us ask not only what we have been given,
but what we can give.
Amen.

Prayer for Others
God of the vineyard,
we pray for the earth:
for polluted rivers,
damaged land,
pressured oceans
and communities vulnerable to environmental change.

We pray for communities experiencing poverty and deprivation,
for people who are overlooked
and whose voices are unheard.

We pray for the Church,
especially congregations facing difficult decisions,
grieving loss or discerning new possibilities.

Give us wisdom to know what to hold,
what to release,
what to repair and
what to grow.
Amen.

Closing Blessing/Benediction
Go now as people who have received much.
Care for what has been entrusted to you.
Seek justice, practise mercy and make room for new growth.

May the God who plants,
the Christ who calls us to bear fruit,
and the Spirit who brings new life go with you,
now and always.
Amen.

Musical suggestions

God Welcomes All (GWA) is the new supplement to Church Hymnary Fourth Edition. This exciting new collection features over 200 hymns and songs in a wide range of styles by writers from Scotland and around the world.

The full music and words-only versions are now available; and digital resources, including the expansion of the existing Church of Scotland music website, will be published in due course, with streaming functions and further information on each song; backing tracks; and lyric videos. God Welcomes All is available to order from https://chbookshop.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9781786225573/god-welcomes-all

Our online music resource is on the Church of Scotland website; you can listen to samples of every song in the Church Hymnary 4th edition (CH4) and download a selection of recordings for use in worship. You will also find playlists for this week and liturgical seasons and themes on the Weekly Worship and Inspire Me tabs.

You can find further musical suggestions for this week in a range of styles on the Songs for Sunday blog from Trinity College Glasgow.

  • GWA 34 – "Sun, soil and seed"
  • GWA 43 – "Let all the earth come join the song"
  • GWA 164 – "We are the tenants of the King"
  • GWA 223 – "The kingdom of God is justice and peace"

CH4 using scripture references:

  • CH4 200 – "Christ is made the sure foundation"
  • CH4 264 – "Judge Eternal, throned in splendour"
  • CH4 364 – "All glory, laud and honour"
  • CH4 392 – "When I survey the wondrous cross"
  • CH4 396 – "And can it be, that I should gain"
  • CH4 404 – "I danced in the morning" (Lord of the Dance)
  • CH4 465 – "Be thou my Vision"
  • CH4 482 – "Come, let us to the Lord our God"
  • CH4 502 – "Take my life, Lord, let it be"
  • CH4 549 – "How deep the Father's love for us"
  • CH4 739 – "The Church's one foundation"

CH4 example of what I might use to follow a theme/journey for a service:

  • CH4 172 – "Sing for God's glory that colours the dawn of creation" – joyful creation praise.
  • CH4 181 – "For the beauty of the earth" – strong opening or response to Isaiah.
  • CH4 251 – "I, the Lord of sea and sky" – personal response after sermon.
  • CH4 533 – "Will you come and follow me" – response to call and discipleship.
  • CH4 724 – "Christ's is the world in which we move" – reflective movement towards hope.

Instrumental option during offering or prayer:

  • Running water sounds with local landscape images during prayer or reflection.

Reflecting on our worship practice

Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, the way we worship has changed and we need to reflect on the changing or newly established patterns that emerged and continue to emerge as a result of the disruption.

We can facilitate worship for all by exploring imaginative approaches to inclusion, participation and our use of technologies in ways that suit our contexts. This is not an exhaustive list, but some things we could consider are:

  • Framing various parts of the worship service in accessible language to help worshippers understand the character and purpose of each part. This is essential for creating worship for all (intergenerational worship) that reflects your community of faith.
  • Holding spaces for reflection and encouraging prayer to be articulated in verbal and non-verbal ways, individually and in online breakout rooms.
  • In online formats the effective use of the chat function and microphone settings encourages active participation in prayer, e.g. saying the Lord's Prayer together unmuted, in a moment of ‘holy chaos'.
  • While singing in our congregations is still restricted, we can worship corporately by using antiphonal psalm readings, creeds and participative prayers.
  • Using music and the arts as part of the worship encourages the use of imagination in place of sung or spoken words.
  • Use of silence, sensory and kinaesthetic practices allow for experience and expression beyond regular audio and visual mediums.

The following questions might help you develop a habit of reflecting on how we create and deliver content and its effectiveness and impact, and then applying what we learn to develop our practice.

  • How inclusive was the worship?
    Could the worship delivery and content be described as worship for all/ intergenerational?
    Was it sensitive to different "Spiritual Styles"?
  • How was the balance between passive and active participation?
  • How were people empowered to connect with or encounter God?
    What helped this?
    What hindered this?
  • How cohesive was the worship?
    Did it function well as a whole?
    How effective was each of the individual elements in fulfilling its purpose?
  • How balanced was the worship?
    What themes/topics/doctrines/areas of Christian life were included?
  • How did the worship connect with your context/contemporary issues?
    Was it relevant in the everyday lives of those attending and in the wider parish/ community?
    How well did the worship connect with local and national issues?
    How well did the worship connect with world events/issues?
  • What have I learned that can help me next time I plan and deliver worship?

You can listen to samples of every song in the Church Hymnary 4th edition (CH4) and download a selection of recordings for use in worship in our online hymnary.

You are free to download, project, print and circulate multiple copies of any of this material for use in worship services, bible studies, parish magazines, etc., but reproduction for commercial purposes is not permitted.

Please note that the views expressed in these materials are those of the individual writer and not necessarily the official view of the Church of Scotland, which can be laid down only by the General Assembly.