The Wartburg Project

Daily Lectionary

April 8, 2025

April 7, 2025 April 9, 2025

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.

Exodus 2:23-3:22

God Hears Israel's Groaning
23After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned because of their slavery. They cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. 24So God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25God saw the people of Israel, and God watched over them.
Moses and the Burning Bush
31Now Moses was shepherding the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, a priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2The Angel of the Lord appeared to him in blazing fire from within a bush. Moses saw that the bush was on fire, but the bush was not burning up. 3So he said, “I will go over and look at this amazing sight—to find out why the bush is not burning up.”
4When the Lord saw that Moses had gone over to take a look, God called to him from the middle of the bush and said, “Moses! Moses!”
Moses said, “I am here.”
5The Lord said, “Do not come any closer. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6He then said, “I am the God of your fathers,[] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”
Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
7The Lord said, “I have certainly seen the misery of my people in Egypt, and I have heard their cry for help because of their slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. 8So I have come down to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9Now indeed, the Israelites' cry for help has come to me. Yes, I have seen how the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10Come now, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”
11But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
12So God said, “I will certainly be with you. This will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will serve God on this mountain.”
13But Moses said to God, “If I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what should I say to them?”
14So God replied to Moses, “I am who I am.”[] He also said, “You will say this to the Israelites: I am has sent me to you.”
15God also told Moses, “Say this to the Israelites: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you. This is my name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered from generation to generation.’
16“Go, gather the elders of Israel together and tell them: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying: I have certainly been paying attention to you and to what they have done to you in Egypt. 17So I have said that I will bring you up from the misery in Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.’
18“They will listen to your voice. Then you and the elders of Israel will go to the king of Egypt, and you will say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now let us go on a three-day journey into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the Lord, our God.’
19“But I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go unless he is forced to do so by a powerful hand. 20So I will reach out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in their midst. Afterward he will let you go.
21“I will give this people favor with the Egyptians so that when you go, you will not go out empty-handed. 22Each woman is to ask her neighbor, as well as any woman staying in her house, for articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing. You are to put them on your sons and daughters. In this way you will plunder the Egyptians.”

Mark 14:53-72

Jesus' First Trial in the Sanhedrin
(Matthew 26:57-68)
53They led Jesus away to the high priest. All the chief priests, the elders, and the experts in the law gathered together. 54Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. He was sitting with the guards and warming himself at the fire.
55The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for testimony against Jesus in order to put him to death, but they did not find any. 56Many testified falsely against him, but their testimonies did not agree. 57Some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: 58“We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.’” 59Yet even on this point, their testimony did not agree.
60The high priest stepped forward[] and questioned Jesus, “Have you no answer? What is this they are testifying against you?”
61But Jesus was silent and did not answer anything.
Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?”
62“I am,” Jesus said. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven.”[]
63The high priest tore his robes and said, “Why do we need any more witnesses? 64You have heard the blasphemy! What do you think?”
They all condemned him as being worthy of death. 65Then some began to spit on him. They covered his face and struck him with their fists, saying, “Prophesy!” The guards also took him and beat him.
Peter Denies Jesus
(Matthew 26:69-75; Luke 22:54-62; John 18:15-18,25-27)
66While Peter was in the courtyard below, one of the servant girls of the high priest came there. 67When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked directly at him and said, “You were also with the Nazarene, Jesus!”
68But he denied it, saying, “I don't know or understand what you are saying,” and he went out to the entryway. Then a rooster crowed.
69When the servant girl saw him, once more she began to tell those standing there, “This is one of them.”
70But again he denied it. After a little while those who were standing there said to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, because you are a Galilean.”
71But he began to curse and to swear, “I do not know this man you are talking about!” 72Just then, the rooster crowed for the second time. Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said to him: “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.