The Wartburg Project

Daily Lectionary

July 22, 2025

July 21, 2025 July 23, 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.

1 Samuel 5:1-6:3, 5:10-16

The Travels of the Ark
51After the Philistines had captured God's ark, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2The Philistines took God's ark and brought it into the house of Dagon[] and set it beside Dagon. 3When the people of Ashdod got up early the next day, there was Dagon—fallen facedown to the ground in front of the Ark of the Lord! So they took Dagon and set him in his place again. 4When they got up early the following morning, it had happened again! There was Dagon, fallen facedown in front of the Ark of the Lord. The head of Dagon and both of his hands were broken off and were lying on the threshold. Only Dagon's torso[] was intact. 5That is why the priests of Dagon and any people who enter Dagon's temple in Ashdod do not step on the threshold of Dagon to this day.
6Then the Lord's hand was heavy against the people of Ashdod. He devastated them and struck them with tumors.[] He struck Ashdod and its surrounding territory. 7When the men of Ashdod saw what was taking place, they said, “The Ark of the God of Israel must not stay with us, because his hand is heavy on us and on our god Dagon.” 8They called together a meeting of all the serens[] of the Philistines and asked, “What shall we do with the Ark of the God of Israel?”
They answered, “Let the Ark of the God of Israel be carried over to Gath.” So they carried the Ark of the God of Israel there. 9But after they had carried it there, the Lord's hand was against that city, and there was great panic. He struck the men of the city, both young and old,[] so that tumors broke out on them. 10So they sent God's ark to Ekron.
When God's ark came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought the Ark of the God of Israel here to kill us and our people.” 11They called a meeting of all the serens of the Philistines, and they said, “Send the Ark of the God of Israel away. Let it go back to its own place, so that it does not kill us and our people.” Indeed, the threat of death caused panic throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there. 12The men who did not die were struck with tumors, and the outcry from the city went up to heaven.
61The Lord's ark remained in the country of the Philistines for seven months. 2The Philistines called for the priests and the diviners[] and asked, “What should we do with the Lord's ark? Advise us how we should send it back to its place.”
3They said, “If you send away the Ark of the God of Israel, do not send it away empty, but, by all means, send it to him with a restitution offering. Then you will be healed, and you will know why his hand has not been removed from you.”[]
10So they sent God's ark to Ekron.
When God's ark came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought the Ark of the God of Israel here to kill us and our people.”

Acts 18:1-11, 23-28

In Corinth
181After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them. 3Because he had the same occupation, he stayed and worked with them, for they were tentmakers by trade. 4Every Sabbath he led a discussion in the synagogue, trying to persuade both Jews and Greeks.
5When Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was entirely devoted to preaching the word,[] testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. 6But when they opposed Paul and slandered him, he shook out his clothes and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on, I will go to the Gentiles!”
7He left that place and went to the house of a man named Titius[] Justus, a worshipper of God, whose house was next door to the synagogue. 8Crispus, the synagogue leader, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians, when they heard, believed and were baptized.
9One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid, but keep on speaking, and do not be silent. 10For I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to harm you, because I have many people in this city.” 11He stayed there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
The Third Mission Journey of Paul
23After spending some time there, he set out, traveling through one place after another in the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.
Apollos
24A Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man and well versed in the Scriptures. 25He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. He spoke with burning zeal and taught the facts about Jesus[] accurately, although he knew only the baptism of John. 26He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him home and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
27When he wanted to cross over to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he provided much help to those who had become believers by grace, 28because he vigorously refuted the Jews in public, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.