The Season after Pentecost
Scripture Selections from the Evangelical Heritage Version® 
following the Lutheran Service Book 3-Year Lectionary, Year A
Revised April 27, 2020

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage VersionTM (EHVTM) copyright © 2019 The Wartburg Project. All rights reserved.
www.wartburgproject.org

Lectionary listings from Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Holy Trinity Sunday
Lutheran Service Book 3-Year Lectionary, Year A
Evangelical Heritage VersionTM

Old Testament / First Reading
Genesis 1:1-2:4a
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2The earth was undeveloped and empty. Darkness covered the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. 
3God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4God saw that the light was good. He separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” There was evening and there was morning—the first day. 
6God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters, and let it separate the water from the water.” 7God made the expanse, and he separated the water that was below the expanse from the water that was above the expanse, and it was so. 8God called the expanse “sky.” There was evening and there was morning—the second day. 
9God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear,” and it was so. ˻The waters under the sky gathered to their own places, and the dry land appeared.˼ 10God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathering places of the waters he called “seas.” God saw that it was good. 11God said, “Let the earth produce plants—vegetation that produces seed, and trees that bear fruit with its seed in it—each according to its own kind on the earth,” and it was so. 12The earth brought forth plants, vegetation that produces seed according to its own kind, and trees that bear fruit with its seed in it, each according to its own kind, and God saw that it was good. 13There was evening and there was morning—the third day. 
14God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to divide the day from the night, and let them serve as markers to indicate seasons, days, and years. 15Let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to give light to the earth,” and it was so. 16God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars. 17God set these lights in place in the expanse of the sky to provide light for the earth, 18to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good. 19There was evening and there was morning—the fourth day. 
20God said, “Let the waters swarm with living creatures, and let birds and other winged creatures fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.” 21God created the large sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their own kind, and every winged bird according to its own kind. God saw that it was good. 22God blessed them when he said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the waters of the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23There was evening and there was morning—the fifth day. 
24God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures according to their own kind, livestock, creeping things, and wild animals according to their own kind,” and it was so. 25God made the wild animals according to their own kind, and the livestock according to their own kind, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its own kind. God saw that it was good. 
26God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that crawls on the earth.” 
27God created the man in his own image. 
In the image of God he created him. 
Male and female he created them. 
28God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29God said, “Look, I have given you every plant that produces seed on the face of the whole earth, and every tree that bears fruit that produces seed. It will be your food. 30To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 
31God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning—the sixth day. 
2:1The heavens and the earth were finished, along with everything in them. 2On the seventh day God had finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had been doing. 3God blessed the seventh day and set it apart as holy, because on it he rested from all his work of creation that he had done. 
4This is the account about the development of the heavens and the earth when they were created…

Epistle / Second Reading
Acts 2:14a, 22-36
14Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and spoke loudly and clearly to them:
22“Men of Israel, hear these words! Jesus the Nazarene was a man recommended to you by God with miracles, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know. 23This man, who was handed over by God’s set plan and foreknowledge, you killed by having lawless men nail him to a cross. 24He is the one God raised up by freeing him from the agony of death, because death was not able to hold him in its grip.
25“Indeed, David says concerning him:
I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
26Therefore my heart was glad,
and my tongue rejoiced.
My flesh also will rest in hope,
27because you will not abandon my life to the grave,
nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
28You have made known to me the paths of life.
You will fill me with joy in your presence.
29“Gentlemen, brothers, I can speak confidently to you about the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30Since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath that he would seat one of his descendants on his throne, 31he saw what was coming and spoke about the resurrection of Christ, saying that he was neither abandoned to the grave nor did his flesh see decay.
32“This Jesus is the one God has raised up. We are all witnesses of that. 33So, after he was exalted to the right hand of God and after he received the promised Holy Spirit from the Father, he poured out what you are now seeing and hearing.
34“For David did not ascend into heaven, and yet he says:
The Lord said to my Lord,
‘Sit at my right hand,
35until I make your enemies
a footstool under your feet.’
36“Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

Holy Gospel 
Matthew 28:16-20
16The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had directed them. 17When they saw him, they worshipped him, but some hesitated because they were uncertain. 18Jesus approached and spoke to them saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and gather disciples from all nations by baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and by teaching them to keep all the instructions I have given you. And surely I am with you always until the end of the age.”

Proper 3
Lutheran Service Book 3-Year Lectionary, Year A
Evangelical Heritage VersionTM

Old Testament / First Reading
Isaiah 49:8-16a
8This is what the Lord says. 
In the time of favor, I will answer you. 
In the day of salvation, I will help you. 
I will guard you, 
and I will appoint you to be a covenant for the people, 
to re-establish the land, 
to redistribute inheritances that are now deserted, 
9to say to the prisoners, “Go forth!” 
to those who are in the darkness, “Show yourselves!” 
They will graze beside roads, 
and they will find pasture on all the barren heights. 
10They will not hunger, and they will not thirst, 
and neither scorching wind nor sun will strike them, 
because the one who shows them mercy will lead them. 
He will guide them beside springs of water. 
11I will make all my mountains into a smooth road, 
and my highways will be raised up. 
12Look, people will come from far away. 
Look, some will come from the north and the west, 
and some from the land of Sinim. 
13Shout for joy, O heavens, 
and rejoice, O earth. 
Let mountains burst forth with shouts of joy, 
because the Lord is comforting his people, 
and he is showing mercy to his afflicted ones. 
14But Zion said, “The Lord has abandoned me. 
The Lord has forgotten me.” 
15Can a woman forget her nursing child 
and not show mercy to the son from her womb? 
Even if these women could forget, 
I will never forget you. 
16Look, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands. 

Epistle / Second Reading
Romans 1:8–17
8First of all, I thank my God through Jesus Christ concerning all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9To be sure, God, whom I serve with my spirit by proclaiming the gospel of his Son, is my witness to how constantly I make mention of you. In all my prayers, 10I always ask if perhaps at last a way might be opened, if God wills, for me to come to you. 11I certainly long to see you, in order that I may deliver some spiritual gift to you, so that you are strengthened— 12that is, when I am with you, that we will be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, yours and also mine. 
13I do not want you to be unaware of the fact, brothers, that I have often planned to come to you but have been prevented from doing so until now. I wanted to have some fruit among you in the same way as I did among the rest of the Gentiles. 14I have an obligation both to Greeks and non-Greeks, to the wise and to the foolish. 15That is why I am eager to proclaim the gospel also to you who are in Rome. 
16For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes—to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed by faith, for faith, just as it is written, “The righteous will live by faith.” 
. 
Holy Gospel 
Matthew 6:24–34
24“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon.
25“For this reason I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26Look at the birds of the air. They do not sow or reap or gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 
27“Which of you can add a single moment to his lifespan by worrying? 28Why do you worry about clothing? Consider how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin, 29but I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will he not clothe you even more, you of little faith? 
31“So do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32For the unbelievers chase after all these things. Certainly your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” 

Proper 4
Lutheran Service Book 3-Year Lectionary, Year A
Evangelical Heritage VersionTM

Old Testament / First Reading
Deuteronomy 11:18–21, 26-28 
18Put these words of mine in your hearts and in your soul, and tie them on your wrists as signs and as symbols on your forehead. 19Teach them to your children by talking about them when you sit in your house and when you travel on the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, 21so that your days and the days of your children may be many on the land that the Lord promises to your fathers with an oath, as many as the days that the heavens remain over the earth. 
26You see, I am placing before you today a blessing and a curse: 27the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, 28or the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the Lord your God and you turn away from the path that I am commanding you today by walking after other gods whom you did not know. 

Epistle / Second Reading
Romans 3:21–28
21But now, completely apart from the law, a righteousness from God has been made known. The Law and the Prophets testify to it. 22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all and over all who believe. 
In fact, there is no difference, 23because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25whom God publicly displayed as the atonement seat through faith in his blood. God did this to demonstrate his justice, since, in his divine restraint, he had left the sins that were committed earlier unpunished. 26He did this to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so that he would be both just and the one who justifies the person who has faith in Jesus. 
27What happens to boasting then? It has been eliminated. By what principle—by the principle of works? No, but by the principle of faith. 28For we conclude that a person is justified by faith without the works of the law. 

Holy Gospel 
Matthew 7:15–29
15“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. You do not gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles, do you? 17So then, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. 19Every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20So then, by their fruit you will recognize them. 21Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and drive out demons in your name and perform many miracles in your name?’ 23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’ 
24“Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on bedrock. 25The rain came down, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house. But it did not fall, because it was founded on bedrock. 26Everyone who hears these words of mine but does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—it was completely destroyed.” 
28When Jesus finished speaking these words, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29because he taught them as one who had authority, and not like their experts in the law. 

Proper 5
Lutheran Service Book 3-Year Lectionary, Year A
Evangelical Heritage VersionTM

Old Testament / First Reading
Hosea 5:15-6:6
15I will go. I will return to my place 
until they admit their guilt and seek my face. 
In their distress they will earnestly seek me. 
6:1Come, let us return to the Lord. 
For he has torn us to pieces, 
but he will heal us. 
He has struck us, 
but he will bandage our wounds. 
2After two days he will revive us. 
On the third day he will raise us up, 
so that we may live in his presence. 
3Let us acknowledge the Lord. 
Let us pursue knowledge of the Lord. 
As surely as the sun rises, 
the Lord will appear. 
He will come to us like a heavy rain, 
like the spring rain that waters the earth. 
4What am I going to do with you, Ephraim? 
What am I going to do with you, Judah? 
For your faithfulness is like a morning mist, 
like early dew that disappears. 
5That is why I cut them to pieces by means of the prophets. 
I killed them with the words of my mouth. 
The judgments against you go forth like the light. 
6For I desire mercy, and not sacrifice, 
and the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings. 
 
Epistle / Second Reading
Romans 4:13–25
13Indeed, the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not given to Abraham or his descendants through the law, but through the righteousness that is by faith. 14To be sure, if people are heirs by the law, faith is empty and the promise is nullified. 15For law brings wrath. (Where there is no law, there is no transgression.) 16For this reason, the promise is by faith, so that it may be according to grace and may be guaranteed to all of Abraham’s descendants—not only to the one who is a descendant by law, but also to the one who has the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. 17As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” 
In the presence of God, Abraham believed him who makes the dead alive and calls non-existing things so that they exist. 18Hoping beyond what he could expect, he believed that he would become the father of many nations, just as he was told: “This is how many your descendants will be.” 19He did not weaken in faith, even though he considered his own body as good as dead (because he was about one hundred years old), and even though he considered Sarah’s womb to be dead. 20He did not waver in unbelief with respect to God’s promise, but he grew strong in faith, giving glory to God 21and being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” 
23Now the statement “it was credited to him” was not written for him alone, 24but also for us to whom it would be credited, namely, to us who believe in the one who raised our Lord Jesus from the dead. 25He was handed over to death because of our trespasses and was raised to life because of our justification. 

Holy Gospel 
Matthew 9:9–13 
9As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting in the tax collector’s booth. He said to him, “Follow me.” Matthew got up and followed him. 
10As Jesus was reclining at the table in Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were actually there too, eating with Jesus and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 
12When Jesus heard this, he said to them, “The healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. 13Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ In fact, I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” 

Proper 6
Lutheran Service Book 3-Year Lectionary, Year A
Evangelical Heritage VersionTM

Old Testament / First Reading
Exodus 19:2–8
2After they set out from Rephidim and came to the Wilderness of Sinai, they camped in the wilderness. Israel camped there in front of the mountain. 
3Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, “This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and to tell the people of Israel: 4‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5Now if you will carefully listen to my voice and keep my covenant, then you will be my special treasure out of all the nations, although the entire earth is mine. 6You will be my kingdom of priests and my holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to speak to the Israelites.” 
7Moses went and summoned the elders of the people, and he set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. 8All the people answered together, “Everything that the Lord has said, we will do.” 
Moses brought back the people’s words to the Lord.

Epistle / Second Reading
Romans 5:6-15
6For at the appointed time, while we were still helpless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7It is rare indeed that someone will die for a righteous person. Perhaps someone might actually go so far as to die for a person who has been good to him. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9Therefore, since we have now been justified by his blood, it is even more certain that we will be saved from God’s wrath through him. 10For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, it is even more certain that, since we have been reconciled, we will be saved by his life. 11And not only is this so, but we also go on rejoicing confidently in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received this reconciliation.
12So then, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, so also death spread to all people because all sinned. 13For even before the law was given, sin was in the world. Now, sin is not charged to one’s account if there is no law, 14and yet death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those whose sin was not like the transgression of Adam, who is a pattern of the one who was to come.
15But the gracious gift is not like Adam’s trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of this one man, it is even more certain that God’s grace, and the gift given by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ, overflowed to the many!

Holy Gospel 
Matthew 9:35-10:8 (9-20)
35Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness.
36When he saw the crowds, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were troubled and downcast, like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 38Therefore pray that the Lord of the harvest will send out workers into his harvest.”
10:1Jesus called his twelve disciples to himself and gave them authority to drive out unclean spirits and to heal every disease and every sickness. 2These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James the son of Zebedee and his brother John; 3Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
5Jesus sent these twelve out and commanded them, “Do not go among the Gentiles, and do not enter any town of the Samaritans. 6Go instead to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near!’ 8Heal the sick. Raise the dead. Cleanse lepers. Drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give. 

9“Do not take gold, silver, or bronze in your money belts. 10Do not take a bag for the journey, or two coats, sandals, or a staff, because the worker deserves his support. 11Whenever you enter a town or village, find out who is worthy and stay there until you leave. 12As you enter the household, give it your greeting. 13If the household is worthy, let your peace rest on it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14If anyone does not receive you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet as you leave that house or that town. 15Amen I tell you: It will be more bearable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
16“Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. 17Be on guard against people. They will hand you over to councils, and they will whip you in their synagogues. 18You will be brought into the presence of governors and kings for my sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 19Whenever they hand you over, do not be worried about how you will respond or what you will say, because what you say will be given to you in that hour. 20In fact you will not be the ones speaking, but the Spirit of your Father will be speaking through you.”

Proper 7
Lutheran Service Book 3-Year Lectionary, Year A
Evangelical Heritage VersionTM

Old Testament / First Reading
Jeremiah 20:7-13
7You persuaded me, Lord, and I agreed to it. 
You are stronger than I am, and you won out. 
I have become a laughingstock all day long, 
and everyone is mocking me. 
8Whenever I speak, I cry out. 
I cry out, “Violence and destruction!” 
But the word of the Lord has brought scorn on me. 
I am mocked all day long. 
9If I say, “I will not mention him 
or speak in his name anymore,” 
then there is a burning fire in my heart, 
shut up in my bones, 
and I am weary of holding it in. 
I cannot! 
10I hear many whispering, 
“Terror on every side!” 
All my close friends, 
those who are watching for my fall, say, 
“Denounce him! Let’s denounce him. 
Perhaps he can be pressured into making a mistake. 
Then we will have the upper hand against him, 
and we will take our revenge on him.” 
11But the Lord is with me like a terrifying warrior. 
So my persecutors will stumble, 
and they will not gain the upper hand. 
They will be put to shame completely, 
because they have not been successful. 
Their eternal disgrace will never be forgotten. 
12Lord of Armies, you test the righteous. 
You see the heart and the mind. 
Let me see your vengeance on them, 
for I have laid out my case before you. 
13Sing to the Lord! 
Praise the Lord, 
for he has delivered the life of the needy 
from the hand of the wicked. 

Epistle / Second Reading
Romans 6:12–23
12Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires. 13Do not offer the members of your body to sin as tools of unrighteousness. Instead, offer yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead, and offer the members of your body to God as tools of righteousness. 14Indeed, sin will not continue to control you, because you are not under law but under grace. 
15What then? Should we continue to sin, because we are not under law but under grace? Absolutely not! 16Do you not know that when you offer yourselves to obey someone as slaves, you are slaves of the one you are obeying—whether slaves of sin, resulting in death, or slaves of obedience, resulting in righteousness? 
17Thanks be to God that, although you used to be slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to the pattern of the teaching into which you were placed. 18After you were set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19(I am speaking in a human way because of the weakness of your flesh.) Indeed, just as you offered your members as slaves to impurity and lawlessness, resulting in more lawlessness, so now offer your members in the same way as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. 
20For when you were slaves of sin, you were free from righteousness. 21So what kind of fruit did you have then? They were things of which you are now ashamed. Yes, the final result of those things is death. 22But now, since you were set free from sin and have become slaves to God, you have your fruit resulting in sanctification—and the final result is eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the undeserved gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Holy Gospel 
Matthew 10:5a, 21–33
5Jesus sent these twelve out and commanded them, 
21“Brother will hand over his brother to death, and a father will do the same with his child. Children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. 22You will be hated by all people because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved. 23And when they persecute you in one town, flee to the next. Amen I tell you: You will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. 
24“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor is a servant above his master. 25It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher and the servant like his master. If the master of the house was called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household! 
26“So do not be afraid of them, because there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, and nothing hidden that will not be made known. 27What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim from the housetops. 28Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 
29“Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground without the knowledge and consent of your Father. 30And even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31So do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows. 
32“Everyone who confesses me before others, I will also confess before my Father who is in heaven. 33But whoever denies me before others, I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven.”

Proper 8
Lutheran Service Book 3-Year Lectionary, Year A
Evangelical Heritage VersionTM

Old Testament / First Reading
Jeremiah 28:5-9
5Then the prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the House of the Lord. 6He said, “Amen! May the Lord do that! May the Lord fulfill the words you have prophesied and bring back the vessels of the Lord’s house, and may he bring all the exiles back from Babylon to this place. 7Nevertheless, listen now to what I have to say in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. 8The prophets from ancient times, who came before you and me, prophesied war, famine, and plague against many countries and great kingdoms. 9As for the prophet who prophesies peace, only when the word of the prophet actually comes true will that prophet become known as someone whom the Lord has truly sent.” 

Epistle / Second Reading
Romans 7:1–13 
Or don’t you know, brothers (since I am speaking to those who know the law), that a law has jurisdiction over a person only as long as he lives? 2For example, a married woman is bound to her husband by law as long as he is alive, but if he dies, she is released from this law regarding her husband. 3So then, she will be labeled an adulteress if she is joined to another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from this law, and she is not an adulteress if she marries another man. 
4In the same way, my brothers, you also were put to death in regard to the law by the body of Christ, so that you may be joined to another, to the one who was raised from the dead, in order that we might produce fruit for God. 5For when we were in the flesh, strong sinful desires stirred up by the law were at work in our members, with the result that we produced fruit that results in death. 6But now we have been released from the law by dying to what held us in its grip, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the letter of the law. 
7What will we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! On the contrary, I would not have recognized sin except through the law. For example, I would not have known about coveting if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8But sin, seizing the opportunity provided by this commandment, produced every kind of sinful desire in me. 
For apart from the law, sin is dead. 9Once I was alive without the law. But when this commandment came, sin came to life, 10and I died. This commandment that was intended to result in life actually resulted in death for me. 11You see, sin, seizing the opportunity provided by this commandment, deceived me and put me to death through it. 
12So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good. 13Then did what is good become death to me? Absolutely not! But sin, so that it might be recognized as sin, brings about my death by this good thing, so that through this commandment sin might prove itself to be totally sinful. 
 
Holy Gospel 
Matthew 10:34–42
34“Do not think that I came to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35For I came to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household. 
37“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38Whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 
40“Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. Whoever receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. 42Whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink because he is my disciple—Amen I tell you—he will never lose his reward.”

Proper 9
Lutheran Service Book 3-Year Lectionary, Year A
Evangelical Heritage VersionTM

Old Testament / First Reading
Zechariah 9:9-12   
9Rejoice greatly, Daughter of Zion! 
Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! 
Look! Your King is coming to you. 
He is righteous and brings salvation. 
He is humble and is riding on a donkey, 
on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 
10I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim 
and the horse from Jerusalem. 
The battle bow will be taken away, 
and he will proclaim peace to the nations. 
His kingdom will extend from sea to sea, 
from the River to the ends of the earth. 
11As for you, 
because of the blood of my covenant with you, 
I will release your prisoners from the waterless pit. 
12Return to the stronghold, you prisoners who have hope. 
This very day I declare that I will restore double to you. 

Epistle / Second Reading
Romans 7:14–25a
14Certainly we know that the law is spiritual, but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not keep doing what I want. Instead, I do what I hate. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17But now it is no longer I who am doing it, but it is sin living in me. 18Indeed, I know that good does not live in me, that is, in my sinful flesh. The desire to do good is present with me, but I am not able to carry it out. 19So I fail to do the good I want to do. Instead, the evil I do not want to do, that is what I keep doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who am doing it, but it is sin living in me. 
21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is present with me. 22I certainly delight in God’s law according to my inner self, 23but I see a different law at work in my members, waging war against the law of my mind and taking me captive to the law of sin, which is present in my members. 24What a miserable wretch I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord! 

Holy Gospel 
Matthew 11:25–30
25At that time, Jesus continued, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from clever and learned people and have revealed them to little children. 26Yes, Father, because this was pleasing to you. 27Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wants to reveal him. 
28“Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 

Proper 10
Lutheran Service Book 3-Year Lectionary, Year A
Evangelical Heritage VersionTM

Old Testament / First Reading
Isaiah 55:10-13
10Just as the rain and the snow come down from the sky 
and do not return there 
unless they first water the earth, make it give birth, and cause it to sprout, 
so that it gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 
11in the same way my word that goes out from my mouth 
will not return to me empty. 
Rather, it will accomplish whatever I please, 
and it will succeed in the purpose for which I sent it. 
12Yes, you will go out with joy, 
and in peace you will be carried along. 
The mountains and the hills will break out in shouts of joy before you, 
and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. 
13Instead of thorns, a fir tree will grow up. 
Instead of briers, a myrtle tree will grow up. 
This will make a name for the Lord. 
It will serve as an everlasting sign that will not be cut off. 

Epistle / Second Reading
Romans 8:12–17 
12So then, brothers, we do not owe it to the sinful flesh to live in harmony with it. 13For if you live in harmony with the sinful flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the actions of the body, you will live. 
14Indeed, those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit of slavery so that you are afraid again, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we call out, “Abba, Father!” 16The Spirit himself joins our spirit in testifying that we are God’s children. 
17Now if we are children, we are also heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, since we suffer with him, so that we may also be glorified with him. 

Holy Gospel 
Matthew 13:1–9, 18-23 
That same day Jesus left the house and was sitting by the sea. 2A large crowd gathered around him. So he stepped into a boat and sat down, while all the people stood on the shore. 3He told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen, a sower went out to sow. 4As he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it. 5Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. Immediately the seed sprang up, because the soil was not deep. 6But when the sun rose, the seed was scorched. Because it had no root, it withered away. 7Other seed fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and choked it. 8But some seed fell on good ground and produced grain: some one hundred times, some sixty, and some thirty times more than was sown. 9Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.
18“So listen carefully to the parable of the sower. 19When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the Evil One comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the seed that was sown along the path. 20The seed that was sown on rocky ground is the person who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21yet he is not deeply rooted and does not endure. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away. 22The seed that was sown among the thorns is the one who hears the word, but the worry of this world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it produces no fruit. 23But the seed that was sown on the good ground is the one who continues to hear and understand the word. Indeed he continues to produce fruit: some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times more than was sown.” 

Proper 11
Lutheran Service Book 3-Year Lectionary, Year A
Evangelical Heritage VersionTM

Old Testament / First Reading
Isaiah 44:6-8
6This is what the Lord, the King of Israel, 
Israel’s Redeemer, the Lord of Armies, says. 
I am the first, and I am the last. 
Except for me, there is no god. 
7For who is like me? Let him declare it. 
Let him recite in order for me the things that took place 
since the time I established an ancient people. 
Or let them declare what is yet to come, 
and what is going to take place. 
8Do not tremble, and do not be frightened. 
Did I not announce this to you, 
and declare it already long ago? 
You are my witnesses. 
Is there any god except me? 
There is no other Rock. I am not aware of any other. 

Epistle / Second Reading
Romans 8:18–27 
18For I conclude that our sufferings at the present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. 19In fact, creation is waiting with eager longing for the sons of God to be revealed. 20For creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in the hope 21that even creation itself will be set free from slavery to corruption, in order to share in the glorious freedom of the children of God. 
22For we know that all of creation is groaning with birth pains right up to the present time. 23And not only creation, but also we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we eagerly await our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. 24Indeed, it was for this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he already sees? 25But if we hope for something we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patient endurance. 
26In the same way the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we should pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that are not expressed in words. 27And he who searches our hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints, according to God’s will. 

Holy Gospel 
Matthew 13:24–30, 36-43 
24He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25But while people were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26When the plants sprouted and produced heads of grain, the weeds also appeared. 27The servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where did the weeds come from?’ 28He said to them, ‘An enemy did this.’ The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather up the weeds?’ 29‘No,’ he answered, ‘because when you gather up the weeds, you might pull up the wheat along with them. 30Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First, gather up the weeds, bind them in bundles, and burn them. Then, gather the wheat into my barn.”’” 
36Then Jesus sent the people away and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” 
37He answered them, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38The field is the world. The good seeds are the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the Evil One. 39The enemy who sowed them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the world. The reapers are angels. 40Therefore, just as the weeds are gathered up and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the world. 41The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will pull out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and those who continue to break the law. 42The angels will throw them into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Proper 12
Lutheran Service Book 3-Year Lectionary, Year A
Evangelical Heritage VersionTM

Old Testament / First Reading
Deuteronomy 7:6–9 
6For you are a people that is holy to the Lord your God, because the Lord your God has chosen you to belong to him as a people that is his treasured possession, chosen from all the peoples that are on the face of the earth. 7The Lord became attached to you by love and has chosen you, not because you were more numerous than all the peoples. Actually you were the fewest of all the peoples. 8But because of the Lord’s love for you and because he was keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that is why the Lord brought you out by a strong hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 
9He did this so that you would know that the Lord your God, yes, he is God, the faithful God who maintains both his covenant and his mercy for those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations. 

Epistle / Second Reading
Romans 8:28–39 
28We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose, 29because those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those he predestined, he also called. Those he called, he also justified. And those he justified, he also glorified. 
31What then will we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also graciously give us all things along with him? 
33Who will bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies! 34Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus, who died and, more than that, was raised to life, is the one who is at God’s right hand and who is also interceding for us! 35What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36Just as it is written: 
For your sake we are being put to death all day long. 
We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. 
37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 
38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor rulers, neither things present nor things to come, nor powerful forces, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Holy Gospel 
Matthew 13:44–52
44“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid again. In his joy, he goes away and sells all that he has and buys that field. 
45“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls. 46When he found one very valuable pearl, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. 
47“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. 48When the net was filled, they pulled it onto the shore. They sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but threw the bad ones away. 49That is how it will be at the end of the world. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous who are among them. 50And they will throw the wicked into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 51Jesus said to them, “Did you understand all these things?” 
They answered him, “Yes.” 
52He said to them, “Therefore every expert in the law who has been trained as a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his treasure both new things and old things.” 

Proper 13
Lutheran Service Book 3-Year Lectionary, Year A
Evangelical Heritage VersionTM

Old Testament / First Reading
Isaiah 55:1-5
Hey, all of you who are thirsty, come to the water, 
even if you have no money! 
Come, buy and eat! 
Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. 
2Why do you spend money on something that is not bread? 
Why do you waste your labor on something that does not satisfy? 
Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good. 
Satisfy your appetite with rich food. 
3Turn your ear toward me, and come to me. 
Listen, so that you may continue to live. 
Yes, I will make an everlasting covenant with you, 
the faithful mercies promised to David. 
4Look, I appointed him as a witness for peoples, 
a leader and commander of peoples. 
5Look, you will call out to a nation you do not know, 
and a nation that does not know you will run to you, 
on account of the Lord your God, 
because of the Holy One of Israel, 
for he has glorified you. 

Epistle / Second Reading
Romans 9:1–5 (6-13)
I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying—my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit 2that I have great sorrow and continuous pain in my heart. 3For I almost wish that I myself could be cursed and separated from Christ in place of my brothers, my relatives according to the flesh, 4those who are Israelites. Theirs are the adoption as sons, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, came the Christ, who is God over all, eternally blessed. Amen. 

6This does not mean that God’s word has failed, because not all who are descended from Israel are really Israel, 7and not all who are descended from Abraham are really his children. On the contrary, “Your line of descent will be traced through Isaac.” 8This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are counted as his descendants. 9For this is what the promise said: “I will arrive at this set time, and Sarah will have a son.” 
10Not only that, but Rebekah also had children by one man, our forefather, Isaac. 11Even before the twins were born or did anything good or bad, in order that God’s purpose in election might continue— 12not by works but because of him who calls us—it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger.” 13Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” 

Holy Gospel 
Matthew 14:13–21
13When Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place to be alone. When the crowds heard this, they followed him on foot from the towns. 
14When Jesus got out of the boat, he saw a large crowd. He had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15When evening came, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place and the hour is already late. Send the crowds away, so that they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 
16But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” 
17They told him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” 
18“Bring them here to me,” he replied. 19Then he instructed the people to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fish. After looking up to heaven, he blessed them. He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples. The disciples gave the food to the people. 20They all ate and were filled. They picked up twelve basketfuls of what was left over from the broken pieces. 21Those who ate were about five thousand men, not even counting women and children. 

Proper 14
Lutheran Service Book 3-Year Lectionary, Year A
Evangelical Heritage VersionTM

Old Testament / First Reading
Job 38:4-18
4Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? 
Tell me, if you understand anything about it. 
5Who determined its dimensions? 
I am sure you know. 
Who stretched out the surveying line over it? 
6What supports its foundation? 
Who set its cornerstone in place, 
7when the morning stars sang loud songs together, 
and all the sons of God shouted for joy? 
8Who locked up the sea behind doors 
when it burst out of the womb? 
9When I clothed the sea with clouds, 
when I wrapped it with thick darkness as its swaddling cloths, 
10when I broke its power with my decree, 
when I locked it up behind barred, double doors, 
11I said, “You may come this far, but no farther. 
Here is the barrier for your proud waves.” 
12Have you ever in all your days given a command to the morning? 
Have you ever set a time for the sun to rise, 
13so it may grab the earth by its edges 
and shake the wicked out of it? 
14The earth’s shapes become visible like designs impressed on clay, 
and its decorations can be seen like those on a garment. 
15Their light is withheld from the wicked, 
and an uplifted arm is broken. 
16Have you ever traveled to the sources of the sea 
or walked around in the dark depths of the ocean? 
17Have the gates of death been revealed to you? 
Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death? 
18Do you comprehend the vast expanses of the earth? 
Tell me, if you know all this. 

Epistle / Second Reading
Romans 10:5–17
5Indeed, Moses writes this about the righteousness that comes by the law: “The one who does these things will live by them.” 6But the righteousness that comes by faith speaks like this: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7“or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith that we are proclaiming. 9Certainly, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and it is with the mouth that a person confesses, resulting in salvation. 11For Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 
12So there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord is Lord of all, who gives generously to all who call on him. 13Yes, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 
14So then, how can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one about whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without a preacher? 15And how can they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news of peace, who preach the gospel of good things!” 
16But not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who believed our message?” 17So then, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through the word of Christ. 

Holy Gospel 
Matthew 14:22–33 
22Immediately Jesus urged the disciples to get into the boat and to go ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23After he had dismissed the crowd, he went up onto the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone. 24By then the boat was quite a distance from shore, being pounded by the waves because the wind was against it. 25In the fourth watch of the night, Jesus came toward them, walking on the sea. 26When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified and cried out in fear, “It’s a ghost!” 27But Jesus spoke to them at once, saying, “Take heart! It is I! Do not be afraid.” 
28Peter answered him and said, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 
29Jesus said, “Come!” 
Peter stepped down from the boat, walked on the water, and went toward Jesus. 30But when he saw the strong wind, he was afraid. As he began to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 
31Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand, took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. 33Those who were in the boat worshipped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God!” 

Proper 15
Lutheran Service Book 3-Year Lectionary, Year A
Evangelical Heritage VersionTM

Old Testament / First Reading
Isaiah 56:1, 6-8
This is what the Lord says. 
Protect justice, and carry out righteousness, 
because my salvation is coming very soon. 
My righteousness is ready to be revealed. 
6Then the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, 
to minister to him and to love the name of the Lord 
and to become his servants, 
every one of them who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, 
those who take hold of my covenant— 
7I will bring them to my holy mountain, 
and I will make them glad in my house of prayer. 
Their whole burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be 
acceptable on my altar. 
For my house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples of the world. 
8This is the declaration of God the Lord, 
who gathers Israel’s dispersed people: 
“I will gather still more people to my house besides 
the ones already gathered.” 

Epistle / Second Reading
Romans 11:1–2, 13-15, 28-32 
So I say, did God reject his people? Absolutely not! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham from the tribe of Benjamin. 2God did not reject his people whom he foreknew—or don’t you know what Scripture says about Elijah, how he was pleading with God against Israel.
13I am speaking to you Gentiles. For as long as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I am going to speak highly of my ministry. 14Perhaps I may make my own people jealous, and so save some of them. 15For if their rejection meant the reconciliation of the world, what does their acceptance mean other than the dead coming to life? 
28In regard to the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But, in regard to election, they are especially dear for the sake of the patriarchs, 29because God’s gracious gifts and call are not regretted. 30For just as you were once disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy due to their disobedience, 31so also now they have become disobedient, so that by the mercy shown to you they may be shown mercy too. 32For God imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may show mercy to all. 

Holy Gospel 
Matthew 15:21–28
21Jesus left that place and withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22There a Canaanite woman from that territory came and kept crying out, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! A demon is severely tormenting my daughter!” 
23But he did not answer her a word. 
His disciples came and pleaded, “Send her away, because she keeps crying out after us.” 
24He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 
25But she came and knelt in front of him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 
26He answered her, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to their little dogs.” 
27“Yes, Lord,” she said, “yet their little dogs also eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 
28Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, your faith is great! It will be done for you, just as you desire.” And her daughter was healed at that very hour. 

Proper 16
Lutheran Service Book 3-Year Lectionary, Year A
Evangelical Heritage VersionTM

Old Testament / First Reading
Isaiah 51:1-6
Listen to me, you people who pursue righteousness, 
you people who seek the Lord! 
Look confidently to the rock from which you were hewn 
and to the quarry from which you were cut. 
2Look confidently to Abraham your father, 
and to Sarah, who gave birth to you. 
Yes, when I called him, Abraham was only one person, 
but I blessed him and multiplied him. 
3The Lord is certain to comfort Zion. 
He will comfort all her ruins. 
Certainly he will make her wilderness like Eden 
and her wasteland like the garden of the Lord. 
Joy and gladness will be found in her, 
thanksgiving and the sound of music. 
4Pay attention to me, O my people. 
My nation, listen to me! 
For the law will go out from me, 
and I will establish my justice as a light to the peoples. 
5My righteousness is near. 
My salvation goes forth, 
and my arms will bring justice to the peoples. 
The seacoasts will wait for me. 
They will have confidence in my arm. 
6Lift up your eyes to the heavens. 
Look closely at the earth beneath, 
because the heavens will vanish like smoke, 
and the earth will wear out like a garment, 
and its inhabitants will die like gnats. 
But my salvation will remain forever, 
and my righteousness will never be abolished. 

Epistle / Second Reading
Romans 11:33–12:8
33Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! 
How unsearchable are his judgments 
and how untraceable his ways! 
34“For who has known the mind of the Lord, 
or who has been his adviser?” 
35“Or who has first given to God 
that he will be repaid?” 
36For from him and through him and to him are all things. 
To him be the glory forever! Amen. 
12:1Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice—holy and pleasing to God—which is your appropriate worship. 2Also, do not continue to conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you test and approve what is the will of God—what is good, pleasing, and perfect. 
3So by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think in a way that results in sound judgment, as God distributed a measure of faith to each of you. 4For we have many members in one body, and not all the members have the same function. 5In the same way, though we are many, we are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 
6We have different gifts, according to the grace God has given us. If the gift is prophecy, do it in complete agreement with the faith. 7If it is serving, then serve. If it is teaching, then teach. 8If it is encouraging, then encourage. If it is contributing, be generous. If it is leadership, be diligent. If it is showing mercy, do it cheerfully. 

Holy Gospel 
Matthew 16:13–20 
13When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 
14They said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 
15He said to them, “But you, who do you say that I am?” 
16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 
17Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not overpower it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20Then he commanded the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ. 

Proper 17
Lutheran Service Book 3-Year Lectionary, Year A
Evangelical Heritage VersionTM

Old Testament / First Reading
Jeremiah 15:15-21
15O Lord, you understand. 
Remember me and care for me. 
Take vengeance for me on those who persecute me. 
You are slow to anger. 
Do not take me away. 
Keep in mind that for your sake I bear disgrace. 
16Your words came to me, and I devoured them. 
Your words became my joy, 
the delight of my heart, 
because I bear your name, 
O Lord God of Armies. 
17I did not sit with the band of partygoers, 
nor did I celebrate with them. 
I sat alone, because your hand was upon me. 
You filled me with indignation. 
18Why is my pain unending? 
Why is my wound incurable, refusing to heal? 
Will you be as deceptive as an intermittent stream to me, 
like a source of water that a person can’t depend on? 
19Therefore this is what the Lord says. 
If you repent, I will take you back, 
so that you may stand before me. 
If what you say is worthwhile and not worthless, 
you will be my spokesman. 
They must turn to you, 
but you must not turn to them. 
20I will make you like a bronze wall to this people. 
They will fight against you, 
but they will not overcome you, 
because I am with you to save you 
and to rescue you, declares the Lord. 
21I will rescue you from the hand of the wicked, 
and I will deliver you from the grasp of the ruthless. 

Epistle / Second Reading
Romans 12:9–21
9Do not just pretend to love others. Hate what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10Be devoted to one another with brotherly love. Think of others as deserving more honor than yourselves. 11Do not be lagging behind in zeal, but be fervent in spirit, as you continue to serve the Lord. 12Be joyful in hope. Endure trials patiently. Persist in prayer. 13Share with the saints who are in need. Be quick to welcome strangers as guests. 
14Bless those who persecute you; bless, and do not curse. 15Rejoice with those who are rejoicing; weep with those who are weeping. 16Have the same respect for one another. Do not be arrogant, but associate with the humble. Do not think too highly of yourselves. 
17Do not pay anyone back evil for evil. Focus on those things that everyone considers noble. 18If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, maintain peace with everyone. 19Do not take revenge, dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20But: 
If your enemy is hungry, feed him; 
if he is thirsty, give him a drink. 
For by doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. 
21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 

Holy Gospel 
Matthew 16:21–28
21From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he had to go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, and be killed, and on the third day be raised again. 
22Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “May you receive mercy, Lord! This will never happen to you.” 
23But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a snare to me because you are not thinking the things of God, but the things of men.” 
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. 25In fact whoever wants to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26After all, what will it benefit a person if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul? Or what can a person give in exchange for his soul? 27For the Son of Man will come in the glory of his Father together with his angels, and then he will repay everyone according to his actions. 28Amen I tell you: Some who are standing here will certainly not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” 

Proper 18
Lutheran Service Book 3-Year Lectionary, Year A
Evangelical Heritage VersionTM

Old Testament / First Reading
Ezekiel 33:7-9
7But I have appointed you, son of man, to be a watchman for the house of Israel. So whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you are to warn them from me. 8When I say to a wicked man, “Wicked man, you shall surely die,” if you do not speak to warn the wicked man against his way, that wicked man will die because of his guilt, but I will also hold you responsible for his blood. 9But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he will die because of his guilt, but you will have saved your life. 

Epistle / Second Reading
Romans 13:1–10 
Everyone must submit to the governing authorities. For no authority exists except by God, and the authorities that do exist have been established by God. 2Therefore the one who rebels against the authority is opposing God’s institution, and those who oppose will bring judgment on themselves. 
3For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to evil. Would you like to have no fear of the one in authority? Do what is good, and you will receive praise from him, 4because he is God’s servant for your benefit. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because he does not carry the sword without reason. He is God’s servant, a punisher to bring wrath on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore it is necessary to submit, not only because of wrath, but also because of conscience. 
6For this reason you also pay taxes, because the authorities are God’s ministers, who are employed to do this very thing. 7Pay what you owe to all of them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, and honor to whom honor is owed. 
8Do not owe anyone anything except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9For the commandments—do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not covet (and if there is any other commandment)—are summed up in this statement: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10Love does no harm to a neighbor, so love is the fulfillment of the law.

Holy Gospel 
Matthew 18:1–20
At that time the disciples approached Jesus and asked, “Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2Jesus called a little child, had him stand in the middle of them, 3and said, “Amen I tell you: Unless you are turned and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5And whoever receives a little child like this one in my name receives me. 
6“But, if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a huge millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7Woe to the world because of temptations to sin. Temptations must come, but woe to that person through whom the temptation comes! 
8“If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than to be thrown into the eternal fire with two hands or two feet. 9If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to be thrown into hell fire with two eyes. 10See to it that you do not look down on one of these little ones, because I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. 11For the Son of Man came to save what was lost. 
12“What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go looking for the one that wandered away? 13If he finds it—Amen I tell you—he rejoices more over that one sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not wander away. 14In the same way, your Father in heaven does not want even one of these little ones to perish. 
15“If your brother sins against you, go and show him his sin just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have regained your brother. 16But if he will not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And, if he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as an unbeliever or a tax collector. 18Amen I tell you: Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19Amen I tell you again: If two of you on earth agree to ask for anything, it will be done for them by my Father who is in heaven. 20In fact where two or three have gathered together in my name, there I am among them.” 

Proper 19
Lutheran Service Book 3-Year Lectionary, Year A
Evangelical Heritage VersionTM

Old Testament / First Reading
Genesis 50:15–21
15When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and will pay us back in full for all of the evil that we did to him.” 
16They sent the following message to Joseph: “Before he died your father commanded us, 17‘You are to tell Joseph, “Please forgive the offense of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ Now, please forgive the offense of the servants of the God of your father.” 
Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 
18His brothers also came and fell down in front of him, and they said, “See now, we are your servants.” 
19Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? 20You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring this to pass and to keep many people alive, as it is this day. 21Now therefore do not be afraid. I will nourish you and your little ones.” He comforted them and spoke to them in a kind way. 

Epistle / Second Reading
Romans 14:1–12 
Accept a person who is weak in faith, and do not pass judgment on things that are just a difference of opinion. 2One person believes it is right to eat anything. Another person who is weak eats only vegetables. 3The one who eats everything should not look down on the person who does not do so, and the one who does not eat everything should not judge the person who does, because God has accepted him. 4Who are you to pass judgment on someone else’s servant? It is up to his master to decide whether that servant stands or falls. And he will stand, because God is able to make him stand. 
5One person values one day above another. Another person values every day the same. Let each person be fully convinced in his own mind. 6The person who honors a certain day does this for the Lord, and the person who eats does this for the Lord, because he gives thanks to God. And the person who does not eat does this for the Lord and gives thanks to God. 
7In fact, not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself. 8Indeed, if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9For this reason he died, rose, and lived, to be Lord of both the dead and the living. 
10But you, why do you pass judgment on your brother? And you, why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11Indeed, it is written: 
As I live, says the Lord, 
every knee will bow to me, 
and every tongue will acknowledge God. 
12So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. 

Holy Gospel 
Matthew 18:21–35
21Then Peter came up and asked Jesus, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother when he sins against me? As many as seven times?” 
22Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but I tell you as many as seventy-seven times. 23For this reason the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24When he began to settle them, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25Because the man was not able to pay the debt, his master ordered that he be sold, along with his wife, children, and all that he owned to repay the debt. 
26“Then the servant fell down on his knees in front of him, saying, ‘Master, be patient with me, and I will pay you everything!’ 27The master of that servant had pity on him, released him, and forgave him the debt. 
28“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him one hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began choking him, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ 
29“So his fellow servant fell down and begged him, saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back!’ 30But he refused. Instead he went off and threw the man into prison until he could pay back what he owed. 
31“When his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were very distressed. They went and reported to their master everything that had taken place. 
32“Then his master called him in and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt when you begged me to. 33Should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had mercy on you?’ 34His master was angry and handed him over to the jailers until he could pay back everything he owed. 
35“This is what my heavenly Father will also do to you unless each one of you forgives his brother from his heart.”

Proper 20
Lutheran Service Book 3-Year Lectionary, Year A
Evangelical Heritage VersionTM

Old Testament / First Reading
Isaiah 55:6-9
6Seek the Lord while he may be found! 
Call on him while he is near! 
7Let the wicked man abandon his way. 
Let an evil man abandon his thoughts. 
Let him turn to the Lord, 
and he will show him mercy. 
Let him turn to our God, 
because he will abundantly pardon. 
8Certainly my plans are not your plans, 
and your ways are not my ways, declares the Lord. 
9Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, 
so my ways are higher than your ways, 
and my plans are higher than your plans. 

Epistle / Second Reading
Philippians 1:12–14, 19-30 
12I want you to know, brothers, that the things which happened to me actually took place to advance the gospel. 13And so it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to all the rest, that I am in chains because of Christ. 14And, through my chains, the majority of the brothers in the Lord have become much more confident about daring to speak the word of God fearlessly. 
19Because I know that this will turn out for my deliverance, through your prayer and the support of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. 20This matches my earnest expectation and hope that I will in no way be put to shame, but with all boldness, as always, so even now, Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. 21Yes, for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22But if I am to go on living in the flesh, that will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet which should I prefer? I do not know. 23I am pulled in two directions, because I have the desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far. 24But, it is more necessary for your sake that I remain in the flesh. 25And since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and will continue with all of you, for your progress and joy in the faith. 26And so by my coming to you again, my goal is to give you even more reason to boast in Christ Jesus. 
27Just conduct yourselves in a way that is worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come to see you or am absent, I may hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, contending together with one soul for the faith of the gospel, 28not frightened in any way by the adversaries. This is a sign for them of their destruction and of your salvation, and that from God. 29For it has been graciously granted to you on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, 30having the same kind of struggle that you saw I was in, and that you now hear I am still experiencing. 

Holy Gospel 
Matthew 20:1–16
“Indeed the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2After agreeing to pay the workers a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3He also went out about the third hour and saw others standing unemployed in the marketplace. 4To these he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will give you whatever is right.’ So they went. 5Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour and did the same thing. 6When he went out about the eleventh hour, he found others standing unemployed. He said to them, ‘Why have you stood here all day unemployed?’ 
7“They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ 
“He told them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ 8When it was evening, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last group and ending with the first.’ 
9“When those who were hired around the eleventh hour came, they each received a denarius. 10When those who were hired first came, they thought they would receive more. But they each received a denarius too. 11After they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner: 12‘Those who were last worked one hour, and you made them equal to us who have endured the burden of the day and the scorching heat!’ 
13“But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not make an agreement with me for a denarius? 14Take what is yours and go. I want to give to the last one hired the same as I also gave to you. 15Can’t I do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 16In the same way, the last will be first, and the first, last.”

Proper 21
Lutheran Service Book 3-Year Lectionary, Year A
Evangelical Heritage VersionTM

Old Testament / First Reading
Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32
The word of the Lord came to me. 
2What do you mean, you who keep repeating this proverb concerning the soil of Israel, “Fathers eat sour grapes, and their sons’ teeth are set on edge”? 3As surely as I live, declares the Lord God, you will never again use this proverb in Israel. 4Indeed, all souls are mine. The soul of the father is mine just like the soul of the son. The soul who sins is the one who will die. 
25But you say, “The Lord’s way is not fair.” Listen now, house of Israel. Is it my way that is not fair? Is it not your ways that are not fair? 26If a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and practices unrighteousness, he will die because of it. Because of the unrighteousness that he has practiced, he will die. 
27But if a wicked man turns from his wickedness that he has done and practices justice and righteousness, he will preserve his life. 28Because he has seen and turned away from all the rebellious acts that he had committed, he will surely live, and he will not die. 29But the house of Israel says, “The Lord’s way is not fair.” Is it really my ways that are not fair, O house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are not fair? 
30Therefore, I will judge each one of you according to his ways, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn away from all your rebellious acts, so that you will not set out a stumbling block that makes you guilty. 31Throw off from yourselves all your rebellious actions by which you have rebelled, and obtain a new heart and a new spirit for yourselves. Why should you die, O house of Israel? 32For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies, declares the Lord God. So repent and live! 

Epistle / Second Reading
Philippians 2:1–4 (5-13) 14-18
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being united in spirit, and having one mind. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility consider one another better than yourselves. 4Let each of you look carefully not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 

5Indeed, let this attitude be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. 6Though he was by nature God, he did not consider equality with God as a prize to be displayed, 7but he emptied himself by taking the nature of a servant. When he was born in human likeness, and his appearance was like that of any other man, 8he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross. 9Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 
12So then, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed, not only when I was with you, but also now much more in my absence, continue to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13In fact, it is God who is working in you, both to will and to work, for the sake of his good pleasure. 

14Do everything without complaining and arguing, 15so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish among a crooked and perverted generation. You shine among them like lights in the world, 16as you hold on to the word of life. Then I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. 17But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I continue to be glad and rejoice with you all. 18In the same way, also be glad and rejoice with me. 

Holy Gospel 
Matthew 21:23-27 (28–32)
23When Jesus went into the temple courts, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him while he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things?” and “Who gave you this authority?” 
24Jesus answered them, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer it, I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25The baptism of John, where was it from? From heaven or from men?” 
They discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 26But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the crowd, since they all regard John as a prophet.” 27So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” 
He said to them, “Then I will not tell you by what authority I do these things.” 

28“What do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in my vineyard.’ 29He answered, ‘I will not,’ but later he changed his mind and went. 30He came to the second and said the same thing. The second son answered, ‘I will go, sir,’ but he did not go. 31Which of the two did the will of his father?” 
They said to him, “The first.” 
Jesus said to them, “Amen I tell you: The tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32For John came to you in the way of righteousness, but you did not believe him. However, the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him. Even when you saw this, you did not change your mind and believe him.”

Proper 22
Lutheran Service Book 3-Year Lectionary, Year A
Evangelical Heritage VersionTM

Old Testament / First Reading
Isaiah 5:1-7
Let me sing for my loved one a song about my loved one’s vineyard. 
My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile ridge. 
2He dug it up and gathered the stones out of it. 
He planted it with the best vines. 
He built a tower in the middle of it. 
He also cut a winepress into it. 
He expected it to produce clusters of sweet grapes, 
but it produced only sour grapes. 
3So now, you residents of Jerusalem and you men of Judah, 
judge between me and my vineyard. 
4What more could have been done for my vineyard 
that I have not already done for it? 
When I expected it to produce clusters of sweet grapes, 
why did it produce sour grapes? 
5Now, let me tell you what I will do to my vineyard. 
I will take away its hedge, and it will become a pasture. 
I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled down. 
6I will make it a wasteland. 
It will not be pruned or hoed. 
So briers and thorns will shoot up. 
I will also command the clouds not to pour rain on it. 
7Yes, the vineyard of the Lord of Armies is the house of Israel, 
and the men of Judah are the planting that was pleasing to him. 
He expected justice, but instead there was oppression. 
He expected righteousness, but there was an outcry. 

Epistle / Second Reading
Philippians 3:4b–14
If anyone else thinks that he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6in regard to zeal, persecuting the church; in regard to the righteousness that is in the law, blameless. 
7But, whatever things were a profit for me, these things I have come to consider a loss because of Christ. 8But even more than that, I consider everything to be a loss because of what is worth far more: knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. For his sake, I have lost all things and consider them rubbish, so that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, which comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God by faith. 10I do this so that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, 11in the hope that in some way I may arrive at the resurrection from the dead. 
12Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus also took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it yet, but there is one thing I do: Forgetting the things that are behind and straining toward the things that are ahead, 14I press on toward the goal, for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 

Holy Gospel 
Matthew 21:33–46
33“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a tower. He leased it out to some tenant farmers and went away on a journey. 34When the time approached to harvest the fruit, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. 35The tenant farmers seized his servants. They beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36Then the landowner sent even more servants than the first time. The tenant farmers treated them the same way. 37Finally, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. 38But when the tenant farmers saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance!’ 39They took him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40So when the landowner comes, what will he do to those tenant farmers?” 
41They told him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end. Then he will lease out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his fruit when it is due.” 
42Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: 
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 
This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? 
43“That is why I tell you the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces its fruit. 44Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.” 
45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he was talking about them. 46Although they were looking for a way to arrest him, they were afraid of the crowds because the people regarded him as a prophet. 

Proper 23
Lutheran Service Book 3-Year Lectionary, Year A
Evangelical Heritage VersionTM

Old Testament / First Reading
Isaiah 25:6-9
6On this mountain 
the Lord of Armies will prepare for all peoples 
a banquet of rich food, 
a banquet of aged wines, 
with the best cuts of meat, 
and with the finest wines. 
7On this mountain 
he will destroy the shroud that covers all peoples, 
the burial cloth stretched over all nations. 
8He has swallowed up death forever! 
The Lord God will wipe away the tears from every face. 
He will take away the shame of his people throughout the earth. 
For the Lord has spoken. 
9On that day it will be said, 
“Look, here is our God! 
We waited for him, and he saved us! 
This is the Lord! 
We waited for him. 
Let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation!” 

Epistle / Second Reading
Philippians 4:4–13
4Rejoice in the Lord always! I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6Do not worry about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 
8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if anything is excellent, and if anything is praiseworthy, think about these things. 9The things that you learned, received, heard, and saw in me: Keep doing these things. And the God of peace will be with you. 
10I rejoice greatly in the Lord now that you have revived your concern for me once again. Actually, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11I am not saying this because I lack anything; in fact, I have learned to be content in any circumstances in which I find myself. 12I know what it is to live in humble circumstances, and I know what it is to have more than enough. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, while being full or hungry, while having plenty or not enough. 13I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. 

Holy Gospel 
Matthew 22:1–14
Jesus spoke to them again in parables. He said, 2“The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3He sent out his servants to summon those who were invited to the wedding banquet, but they did not want to come. 
4“Then he sent out other servants and said, ‘Tell those who are invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and my fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet!’ 
5“But those who were invited paid no attention and went off, one to his own farm, another to his business. 6The rest seized the king’s servants, mistreated them, and killed them. 7As a result, the king was very angry. He sent his army and killed those murderers and burned their town. 
8“Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9So go to the main crossroads and invite as many as you find to the wedding banquet.’ 10Those servants went out to the roads and gathered together everyone they found, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12He said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wearing wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless. 13Then the king told the servants, ‘Tie him hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14For many are called, but few are chosen.” 

Proper 24
Lutheran Service Book 3-Year Lectionary, Year A
Evangelical Heritage VersionTM

Old Testament / First Reading
Isaiah 45:1-7
This is what the Lord says to his anointed one, 
to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, 
to subdue nations before him 
by stripping kings of their weapons, 
to open doors before him 
so that the gates cannot be shut. 
2I myself will go before you, 
and I will level high mountains. 
I will break bronze doors into pieces, 
and I will cut through iron bars. 
3I will give you treasures hidden in darkness 
and riches concealed in secret places, 
so that you will acknowledge that I am the Lord, 
the one who calls you by name, the God of Israel. 
4For the sake of my servant Jacob, 
for the sake of Israel my chosen one, 
I will call you by your name. 
I will give you an honored name, though you do not know me. 
5I am the Lord, and there is no other. 
Except for me, there is no god. 
I will equip you even though you do not know me, 
6so that people will know from the rising of the sun 
to the place where it sets 
that there is no one except me. 
I am the Lord, and there is no other. 
7I am the one who forms light and creates darkness, 
the one who makes peace and creates disaster. 
I am the Lord, the one who does all these things. 

Epistle / Second Reading
1 Thessalonians 1:1–10
Paul, Silas, and Timothy, 
To the church of the Thessalonians, which is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: 
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 
2We always give thanks to God for all of you as we make mention of you in our prayers, 3because we constantly remember before God our Father your work produced by faith, your labor produced by love, and your patient endurance produced by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 
4Dear brothers, loved by God, we know that God has chosen you, 5because our gospel did not come to you with mere words, but with power, with the Holy Spirit, and with deep conviction. You yourselves know very well what kind of people we proved to be for your sake, while we were with you. 6You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, when you welcomed the word during a time of great affliction with the joy from the Holy Spirit, 7so that you became a model for all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8Indeed, the word of the Lord has resounded from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith in God has become known. As a result, we do not need to say anything, 9because they themselves inform us about what kind of reception we received from you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God. 10They also report how you patiently wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, the one who is going to rescue us from the coming wrath. 

Holy Gospel 
Matthew 22:15–22
15Then the Pharisees went out and plotted together how to trap him in his words. 16They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are truthful and teach the way of God in accord with the truth. You are not concerned about gaining anyone’s approval because you are not swayed by appearances. 17So tell us, what do you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 
18But Jesus knew their evil purpose and said, “Why are you testing me, hypocrites? 19Show me the coin used for the tax.” 
They brought him a denarius. 
20He asked them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” 
21“Caesar’s,” they replied to him. 
Then he said to them, “Therefore give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”  
22When they heard this, they were amazed. Then they left him and went away. 

Proper 25
Lutheran Service Book 3-Year Lectionary, Year A
Evangelical Heritage VersionTM

Old Testament / First Reading
Leviticus 19:1–2, 15-18 
The Lord told Moses 2to speak to the whole community of the Israelites and tell them these things: 
You shall be holy, because I, the Lord your God, am holy. 
15You shall not act unjustly in court cases. Do not show favoritism to a poor person, and do not show undue honor to an important person. You must judge your fellow citizens with justice. 
16You shall not go around spreading slander among your people. You shall not testify falsely against your neighbor in a capital case. I am the Lord. 
17You shall not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. You must openly rebuke your fellow citizen so that you do not become responsible for his sin. 18You must not take revenge. You must not bear a grudge against the members of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. 

Epistle / Second Reading
1 Thessalonians 2:1–13
Indeed, brothers, you yourselves know that our visit to you was not a waste of time. 2Even though we had suffered previously and were treated shamefully in Philippi (as you know), we were bold in our God to speak the gospel of God to you in the face of great opposition. 3For our appeal does not come from error or impure motives, or by way of deceit. 4Instead, just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please people but God, who examines our hearts. 5Indeed, as you know, we never at any time used flattering speech nor did we act with greed as a motive. God is our witness. 6Also, we did not seek the praise of people (neither yours nor anyone else’s), 7even though we could have been a burden as Christ’s apostles. On the contrary, we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 8We yearned for you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us. 
9Surely, brothers, you remember our labor and hardship! We worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you, while we preached the gospel of God to you. 10You are witnesses, and so is God, of how devout, righteous, and blameless we were toward you who believe. 11In the same way, you know that we treated each of you as a father deals with his own children: 12encouraging, comforting, and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who is calling you into his kingdom and glory. 
13There is also another reason we give thanks to God unceasingly, namely, when you received God’s word, which you heard from us, you did not receive it as the word of men but as the word of God (as it really is), which is now at work in you who believe. 

Holy Gospel 
Matthew 22:34–46
34When they heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees met together. 35One of them who was an expert in the law asked him a question, trying to trap him. 36“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?” 
37Jesus said to him, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments.” 
41While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: 42“What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” 
They said to him, “The Son of David.” 
43He said to them, “Then how can David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying, 
44The Lord said to my Lord, 
‘Sit at my right hand, 
until I put your enemies 
under your feet’? 
45“So if David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” 
46No one was able to answer him a word, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions. 

Proper 26
Lutheran Service Book 3-Year Lectionary, Year A
Evangelical Heritage VersionTM

Old Testament / First Reading
Micah 3:5-12
5This is what the Lord says concerning the prophets who mislead my people: 
Give them something to chew with their teeth, and they declare peace, 
but they declare a holy war against anyone who doesn’t put something into their mouths. 
6Therefore, a night without prophetic vision will come upon you. 
Darkness will come upon you, without any omens from God. 
The sun will set for the prophets, 
and daytime will become dark for them. 
7The seers will be ashamed, 
and the fortune tellers will hide in disgrace. 
They will all cover their mouths, 
because there will be no answer from God. 
8I, on the other hand, I am full of power from the Spirit of the Lord, 
full of judgment and strength, 
to declare Jacob’s sinful rebellion to him 
and Israel’s sin to him. 
9Hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob. 
Listen attentively, leaders of the house of Israel, 
you who have contempt for justice and pervert everything that is right, 
10you who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with injustice. 
11Her leaders render verdicts for a bribe, 
and her priests issue rulings for a payoff. 
Her prophets foretell the future for silver, 
yet they lean on the Lord and say, 
“The Lord is in our midst, isn’t he? Disaster will not come upon us.” 
12Therefore, because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field. 
Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins, 
and the Temple Mount will become a wooded hill. 

Epistle / Second Reading
1 Thessalonians 4:1–12
Therefore, beyond this, brothers, just as you received instruction from us about how you are to walk so as to please God (as indeed you are doing), we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that you do so even more. 2To be sure, you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3Indeed, this is God’s will: that you be sanctified, namely, that you keep yourselves away from sexual immorality. 4He wants each of you to learn to obtain a wife for yourself in a way that is holy and honorable, 5not in lustful passion like the heathen, who do not know God. 6No one is to overstep and take advantage of his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, just as we said previously and solemnly testified to it. 7For God did not call us for uncleanness, but in sanctification. 8Consequently, whoever rejects this is not rejecting a man, but the God who gives you his Holy Spirit. 
9Concerning brotherly love, there is no need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God, with the result that you love one another. 10In fact, you are doing so toward all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we encourage you, brothers, to do this even more, 11and to make it your ambition to live a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, just as we instructed you. 12Do this so that you are conducting yourselves decently toward outsiders and are not lacking anything. 

Holy Gospel 
Matthew 23:1–12
Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples. 2He said, “The experts in the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3So practice and observe whatever they tell you. But do not do as they do, because they do not practice what they preach. 4They tie up heavy loads, burdens that are hard to carry, and place them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to help them. 5They do all their works to be seen by people. They make their phylacteries wide and lengthen the fringes of their garments. 6They love the place of honor at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, 7the greetings in the marketplaces, and being called ‘Rabbi’ by people. 8But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9Also do not call anyone on earth your ‘Father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10And you are not to be called ‘leaders,’ for you have one Leader, the Christ. 11But the greatest among you will be your servant. 12Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

Proper 27
Lutheran Service Book 3-Year Lectionary, Year A
Evangelical Heritage VersionTM

Old Testament / First Reading
Amos 5:18-24
18Woe to those who long for the Day of the Lord! 
What good will the Day of the Lord be for you? 
It will be darkness and not light. 
19It will be as if a man flees from a lion, 
but a bear meets him, 
or he enters a house and rests his hand on a wall, 
but a snake bites him. 
20Will not the Day of the Lord be darkness and not light, 
gloom without a trace of brightness? 
21I hate, I reject, your festivals! 
I do not delight in the aroma of the sacrifices at your sacred convocations. 
22Even if you offer up to me your whole burnt offerings and your grain offerings, 
I will not accept them. 
I will not pay any attention to your fellowship offerings of fattened calves. 
23Get the noise of your songs away from me! 
I will not listen to the music of your harps. 
24But let justice roll like the waters, 
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. 

Epistle / Second Reading
1 Thessalonians 4:13–18
13We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who have fallen asleep, so that you do not grieve in the same way as the others, who have no hope. 14Indeed, if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then in the same way we also believe that God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus. 
15In fact, we tell you this by the word of the Lord: We who are alive and left until the coming of the Lord will certainly not go on ahead of those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them, to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. 18Therefore, encourage one another with these words.  

Holy Gospel 
Matthew 25:1–13
“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3When the foolish ones took their lamps, they did not take any oil with them; 4but the wise took oil in their containers with their lamps. 5While the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ 7Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. 8The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’ 9But the wise answered, ‘No, there may not be enough for us and for you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ 10But while they were away buying oil, the bridegroom came. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut. 11Later, the other virgins also came and said, ‘Lord, Lord, let us in.’ 12But he answered, ‘Amen I tell you: I do not know you.’ 13Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”

Proper 28
Lutheran Service Book 3-Year Lectionary, Year A
Evangelical Heritage VersionTM

Old Testament / First Reading
Zephaniah 1:7-16
7Keep silent before the Lord God, for the Day of the Lord is at hand. Yes, the Lord has prepared a sacrifice. He has consecrated those who will attend it. 8This is what will take place on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice: I will deal with the officials and the king’s sons and with all those who wear foreign clothing. 9In the same day I will also deal with all who leap over the threshold, who fill their master’s house with violence and deceit. 
10On that day, declares the Lord, there will be crying from the Fish Gate and wailing from the Second Quarter and the sound of a great crashing from the hills. 11Wail, you who sit in the marketplace, for all the merchants are destroyed. All those who weigh out silver will be cut off. 
12At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, to deal with the men who are complacent, like wine resting on its dregs, who say in their hearts, “The Lord will not do anything good. Neither will he do anything bad.” 13Therefore their wealth will become plunder, and their houses a ruin. They will build houses but never live in them. They will plant vineyards, but they will not drink the wine. 
14The great Day of the Lord is near. It is near and coming very quickly. Listen! The sound of the Day of the Lord! The cry of the warrior is bitter. 15That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of devastation and total destruction, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, 16a day for the ram’s horn and for the battle cry against the fortified cities and against the high towers. 

Epistle / Second Reading
1 Thessalonians 5:1–11
Concerning the times and dates, brothers, there is no need to write to you, 2for you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3When people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will suddenly come on them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will certainly not escape. 4But you, brothers, are not in the dark so that this day takes you by surprise like a thief, 5for you are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or the darkness. 6So then let us not sleep like everyone else, but rather let us remain alert and sober. 
7To be sure, those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 9You see, God did not appoint us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10He died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. 11Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up, just as you are also doing. 

Holy Gospel 
Matthew 25:14–30
14“You see, the kingdom of heaven is like a man going on a journey. He called his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. 15To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to still another one talent, each according to his own ability. Then he went on his journey. 16The servant who had received the five talents immediately put them to work and gained five more talents. 17In the same way, the servant who had received the two talents gained two more. 18But the servant who had received one talent went away, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money. 
19“After a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20The servant who received the five talents came and brought five more talents. He said, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ 
21“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 
22“The servant who received the two talents came and said, ‘Master, you entrusted me with two talents. See, I have gained two more talents.’ 
23“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 
24“Then the servant who received one talent came and said, ‘Master, I knew that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter seed. 25Since I was afraid, I went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’ 
26“His master answered him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! You knew that I reap where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter seed? 27Well then, you should have deposited my money with the bankers so that when I came I would get my money back with interest. 28Take the talent away from him and give it to the servant who has the ten talents. 29Because everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. But the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 30Throw that worthless servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

Proper 29
Lutheran Service Book 3-Year Lectionary, Year A
Evangelical Heritage VersionTM

Old Testament / First Reading
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
11For this is what the Lord God says. Here I am. I myself will seek the welfare of my flock and carefully search for them. 12As a shepherd searches for his flock when his sheep that were with him have been scattered, so I will search for my flock and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own soil. I will shepherd them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys, and in all the settlements of the land. 14I will lead them into good pasture, and their grazing land will be on the high mountains of Israel. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and they will pasture on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15I myself will shepherd my flock. I myself will let them lie down, declares the Lord God. 16I will seek the lost. I will bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured. I will strengthen the weak. I will destroy the fat and the strong, and I will shepherd them with justice. 
20Therefore, this is what the Lord God says to them. I myself am going to judge between the fat sheep and the thin sheep. 21Because you have shoved them with your side and shoulder and butted all the weak ones with your horns, until you scattered them abroad, 22I will save my flock so that they will not become plunder anymore. In this way I will judge between one sheep and another. 
23Then I will raise up over them one shepherd, and he will tend them. My servant David will tend them, and he will be their shepherd. 24I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be the prince among them. I, the Lord, have spoken. 

Epistle / Second Reading
1 Corinthians 15:20–28
20But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came by a man, the resurrection of the dead also is going to come by a man. 22For as in Adam they all die, so also in Christ they all will be made alive. 23But each in his own order: Christ as the firstfruits and then Christ’s people, at his coming. 24Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has done away with every other ruler and every other authority and power. 25For he must reign “until he has put all his enemies under his feet.” 26Death is the last enemy to be done away with. 27Certainly, “he has put all things in subjection under his feet.” Now when it says that all things have been put in subjection, obviously that does not include the one who subjected all things to him. 28But when all things have been subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who subjected all things to him, in order that God may be all in all. 

Holy Gospel 
Matthew 25:31–46
31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. 36I was lacking clothes and you clothed me. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me.’ 
37“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or lacking clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 
40“The King will answer them, ‘Amen I tell you: Just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for me.’ 
41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire, which is prepared for the Devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you did not give me food to eat. I was thirsty and you did not give me anything to drink. 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, lacking clothes and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not take care of me.’ 
44“Then they will also answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or lacking clothes or sick or in prison and did not serve you?’ 
45“At that time he will answer them, ‘Amen I tell you: Just as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for me.’ 46And they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”