The Wartburg Project

Daily Lectionary

December 14, 2021

December 13, 2021 December 15, 2021

These daily readings from the EHV follow the one-year daily lectionary provided in Christian Worship: Hymnal, the Lutheran Service Book, and the Treasury of Daily Prayer. In this lectionary, two readings of 15-25 verses each are provided for each day. Under this plan, nearly all of the New Testament and approximately one-third of the Old Testament are read each year. These readings fit well within the daily offices of Matins, Vespers, or Compline as daily family devotions.

Isaiah 30:15-26

15This is what the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, says:
If you repent and wait quietly, you will be saved.
Your strength will depend on quietness and trust.
But you refused.
16You said, “No, we will flee on horseback!”
Yes indeed, you will flee.
You said, “We will ride away swiftly!”
Yes indeed, you will be pursued swiftly.
17A thousand will flee when just one threatens.
When five threaten, you will flee,
until you are like a single flag, fluttering on a mountaintop,
like a lonely banner on a hill.
18But the Lord is eager to be gracious to you.
He waits on high to have mercy on you,
for the Lord is a God of justice.
Blessed are all those who long for him.
19So people will live in Zion. In Jerusalem you will weep no more. The Lord will be very gracious to you when he hears your cry. When he hears you, he will answer you. 20Though the Lord has given you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, he is your teacher.[] He will not be hidden any longer. You will see your teacher with your own eyes. 21Whenever you are tempted to turn to the right or to the left, you will hear his voice behind you, saying, “This is the way. Walk in it.” 22You will defile your idols that are plated with silver and your images overlaid with gold. You will throw them away like a filthy cloth,[] saying, “Get away from me!”
23Then he will give you rain so that you can sow seed in the ground. The bread from your land's harvest will be excellent and plentiful. On that day your livestock will graze in wide pastures. 24The oxen and the donkeys that work the ground will eat the best feed[]—winnowed with a shovel and a winnowing fork. 25On every lofty mountain and on every high hill there will be streams flowing with water.
It will be a day of terrible slaughter, when towers fall. 26The light of the moon will be as bright as the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter—like the light of seven days—on the day when the Lord will bind up the wounds of his people and heal the injuries he inflicted.

Revelation 2:1-29

Letter to the Church in Ephesus
A church that was losing its first love
21To the messenger of the church in Ephesus write:
The one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven gold lampstands, says this:
2I know your works, your[] labor, and your patient endurance, and that you are not able to tolerate evil people. You have tested those who say they are apostles, but are not, and have found them to be liars. 3Indeed, you do have patient endurance. You have endured hardships on account of my name and have not become weary.
4But I have this against you: You have forsaken your first love.[] 5Remember, therefore, the state from which you have fallen! Repent and do the works you did at first. Otherwise I will come to you[] and remove your lampstand from its place, if you do not repent.
6But you do have this: You hate the actions of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious I will give the privilege to eat from the tree of life, which is in[] the paradise of God.
Letter to the Church in Smyrna
A church strong in tribulation
8To the messenger of the church in Smyrna write:
The First and the Last, who was dead and came to life again, says this:
9I know[] your suffering and your poverty—but you are rich. And I know the blasphemy that comes from those who say they are Jews but are not; rather, they are a synagogue of Satan. 10Do not fear anything that[] you are about to suffer. Look, the Devil is about to throw some of you into prison so that you will be tested, and you will suffer for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
11Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.
Letter to the Church in Pergamum
A church lax in discipline
12To the messenger of the church in Pergamum write:
The one who has the sharp, two-edged sword says this:
13I know[] where you live—where the throne of Satan is. And I know that you hold fast to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me even in the days when Antipas, my faithful witness,[] was put to death near you, the place where Satan lives.
14But I have a few things against you: You have some people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who instructed Balak to put a stumbling block in front of the children of Israel so that they would eat things offered to idols and commit sexual immorality. 15Likewise, you also have some people who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16Therefore,[] repent! If not, I will come to you soon, and I will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
17Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious I will give some of the hidden manna.[] I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, which no one will know except the one who receives it.
Letter to the Church in Thyatira
A church with an emotional tendency
18To the messenger of the church in Thyatira write:
The Son of God, whose eyes are like fiery flames and whose feet are like polished bronze, says this:
19I know your works and love and faith and service, as well as your patient endurance, and that you are doing more now than you did at first.
20But I have this against you: You allow that woman Jezebel, the one who calls herself a prophetess, to deceive my servants and to teach them to commit sexual immorality and eat things offered to idols. 21I gave her time to repent, but she is not willing to repent of her sexual immorality. 22Look, I am going to throw her onto a bed and throw those who commit adultery with her into great suffering, if they do not repent of her[] works. 23And I will put her children to death. And all the churches will know that I am the one who searches hearts and minds, and that I will give to each of you according to your works.
24To the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold to this teaching, who do not know Satan's “deep things,” as they call them, I say that I will not lay any other burden on you. 25Only hold fast to what you have until I come.
26To the one who is victorious and continues to do my works until the end, I will give him authority over the nations, 27and he will rule them with an iron staff and shatter them like clay pots, 28just as I myself have received authority from my Father. I will also give him the morning star.
29Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.