The Wartburg Project

Daily Lectionary

July 23, 2025

July 22, 2025 July 24, 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 6:19-7:17

19The Lord struck some of the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the Ark of the Lord. He struck seventy men.[] Then the people mourned, because the Lord had struck the people with such a heavy blow. 20The men of Beth Shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before this holy God, the Lord? To whom can we send it[] to get it away from here?”
21So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath Jearim who said, “The Philistines have sent back the Ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up for yourselves.”
71So the men of Kiriath Jearim came, took the Ark of the Lord, and brought it into Abinadab's house on the hill. Then they consecrated his son Eleazar to watch over the Ark of the Lord. 2So from that day the ark stayed in Kiriath Jearim for a long time—twenty years. And the entire house of Israel deeply longed for the return of the Lord.
Samuel Leads Israel to Victory
3Samuel said to the whole house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, put away the foreign gods and the Ashtartes[] from among you. Direct your hearts to the Lord and serve him only. Then he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”
4So the people of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtartes and served the Lord only. 5Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.”
6So Israel gathered together at Mizpah. They drew water and poured it out before the Lord. They fasted that day, and they said there, “We have sinned against the Lord.”
Samuel acted as judge for the people of Israel at Mizpah.
7When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered together at Mizpah, the serens of the Philistines went up against Israel. When the people of Israel heard this, they were afraid of the Philistines, 8and the people of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying out for us to the Lord our God, so that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.” 9So Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord on behalf of Israel, and the Lord answered him.
10As Samuel was offering the burnt offering, the Philistines approached to engage in battle with Israel, but on that day the Lord thundered against the Philistines with a loud roar and threw them into a panic, so they were struck down before Israel. 11The men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them down until they arrived at a point below Beth Kar.
12Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named that place Ebenezer,[] saying, “The Lord has helped us this far.”[] 13So the Philistines were subdued, and they no longer came into the territory of Israel. The Lord's hand was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
14The cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel. From Ekron all the way to Gath, Israel recovered the territory of those cities from the control of the Philistines. There was also peace between Israel and the Amorites.
15Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. 16Each year he would travel in a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all those places. 17He then would return to Ramah, where his home was, and he would also judge Israel there. He also built an altar to the Lord there.

Acts 19:1-22

Paul Goes to Ephesus
191While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior districts and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?”
“No,” they answered, “we have not even heard that the Holy Spirit was given.”
3Paul asked, “What were you baptized into then?”
They replied, “Into John's baptism.”
4Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.[] 5When they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.”[]
6When Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began to speak in other languages and to prophesy. 7There were about twelve men in all.
8Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, leading discussions and trying to persuade them about[] the kingdom of God. 9But when some became hardened and refused to believe, even slandering the Way in front of the crowd, he left them. He took the disciples with him and led discussions every day in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10This went on for two years, with the result that all who lived in the province of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.
11God was doing extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick; their illnesses left them and the evil spirits went out of them.
The Seven Sons of Sceva
13Then some Jewish exorcists who went from place to place tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits. They said, “I command you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches to come out!” 14It was the seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who were doing this. 15But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and I am acquainted with Paul, but who are you?” 16Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them, overpowered them, and exercised such complete domination over all of them that they fled from that house naked and wounded.
17This became known to everyone who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. They were all overcome with fear, and they held the name of the Lord Jesus in high honor. 18Also many of those who had become believers came forward, confessing and admitting their actions. 19And a large number of those who had practiced magic arts[] collected their books and burned them in front of everyone. They added up the cost of the books and found it to be fifty thousand pieces of silver.[] 20In this way the word of the Lord was growing and gaining strength.
21After all this had happened, Paul resolved in his spirit[] to go to Jerusalem by traveling through Macedonia and Achaia. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must also see Rome.” 22After sending two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, he stayed in the province of Asia for a while.