Lectionary 06/09/2026
- Proper 18 /Ordinary 23 - Year A
Lectionary Readings
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Come let us sing a melody
Come let us sing a melody
by Marjorie Dobson
Come let us sing a melody to praise the God of harmony and blend our voices, weak or strong, in thanks to God who gave us song. So, sing our praise out loud and clear in songs that all the world can hear. Come each musician use your art and every instrument take part. Let trumpet…
Gazing on the Gospels Year A - Proper 18 Year A
Gazing on the Gospels Year A - Proper 18 Year A
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
Proper 18 - Year A Meditation on Matthew 18: 15-20 Gaze on a heated discussion in Parliament, with opposing sides interrupting and jeering at each other and the Speaker calling out in vain ‘Order! Order!’ Watch a row between two children, brothers and sisters, running to Mum or D…
Lent for Everyone Year A - Sunday: Week 3 in Lent Year A
Lent for Everyone Year A - Sunday: Week 3 in Lent Year A
by SPCK - N T Wright
Lent For Everyone WEEK 3: SUNDAY Psalm 95 A small boy I knew asked his grandfather, a retired priest, what ‘worship’ meant. The old man paused. He was over 80 years of age, he said; he had been a clergyman most of his life; and he still found it hard to say exactly what ‘worshi…
Twelve Months of Sundays Year A - Proper 18 Year A
Twelve Months of Sundays Year A - Proper 18 Year A
by SPCK - N T Wright
Twelve Months of Sundays – Year A Ordinary Time Proper 18 Exodus 12.1–14 Romans 13.8–14 Matthew 18.15–20 Jesus’ followers are to struggle to live by the law of reconciliation. It’s always a struggle, but it’s always a law. Some say, of course, that Jesus couldn’t have spoken, as …
Lectionary Reflections Year A - Proper 18 Year A
Lectionary Reflections Year A - Proper 18 Year A
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Lectionary reflections - Year A Ordinary Time Proper 18 Ezekiel 33.7–11 Romans 13.8–14 Matthew 18.15–20 I suppose we can take comfort from the fact that today’s passage from Matthew needed to be written at all, because you don’t need to give advice where it is already being follo…
Insurance is invalid
Insurance is invalid
by Andrew Pratt
Poem: Insurance is invalid Proper 18 Year A Ezekiel 33: 7 – 11 Insurance is invalid when we are fully warned, if knowing coming danger, that word is simply scorned. For those who know what's coming, yet raise up no alarm, in consequence will suffer and share the self-same harm...…
The simplest of words have eternal importance
The simplest of words have eternal importance
by Andrew Pratt
Hymn: The simplest of words have eternal importance Proper 18 Year A Matthew 18: 15 – 20 The simplest of words have eternal importance, a 'yes' or a 'no' last for more than a day. Be careful in talking and choose your words wisely, then think before speaking of what you will say.…
This day we remember the passage to freedom
This day we remember the passage to freedom
by Andrew Pratt
Hymn: This day we remember the passage to freedom Proper 18 Year A Exodus 12: 1 – 14 This day we remember the passage to freedom, the Exodus journey, redemption at hand the Passover meal we recall at this season, the sign of God's faithfulness brought to the land. This day we rem…
We are guardians for the people
We are guardians for the people
by Andrew Pratt
Hymn: We are guardians for the people Proper 18 Year A Ezekiel 33: 7 – 11 We are guardians for the people, called by God to care and serve acting out the love of neighbour, giving all without reserve. We are prophets for the people, God has asked us to protect... Tune: ALL FOR JE…
Am I in debt?
Am I in debt?
by Andrew Pratt
Meditation: Am I in debt? Proper 18 Year A Romans 13: 8 – 14 In the meditation that follows there are lots of things for which I am thankful. You can insert your own or even, perhaps, adapt it for a congregation or group of people. Am I in debt? Surely! In debt for the love you h…
Answered prayer
Answered prayer
by Marjorie Dobson
Reflection - Answered prayer Proper 18 Year A Matthew 18: 15 – 20 The room was quiet. We had gathered to talk about the future of our church – its building and its fellowship. Only a handful of people had bothered to turn up. Perhaps most of the others were beginning to think of …
Straight and narrow
Straight and narrow
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem: Straight and narrow Proper 18 Year A Psalm 119: 33-40 The straight and narrow path should be easy to follow. After all it is hemmed in and clearly defined. It is signposted and marked on the map and leads to only one place. But there are distractions along the way, wide roa…
Eco Lectionary September 11
Eco Lectionary September 11
by Keynsham Methodist Church Eco Group
ECO-HINTS FROM THE LECTIONARY September 2011 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time—Year A 4 September 2010 Ezekiel 33: 7-11 Psalm 119: 33-40 Romans 13: 8-14 Matthew 18: 15-20 In Ezekiel, the Lord has warned the watchman. It is now the watchman’s task to warn the rest. If you see the eco…
Neighbour
Neighbour
by One Small Barking Dog
A thought provoking movie about who is our neighbour? Suitable as a sermon or discussion starter, a visual prayer or a conclusion to a service on Love your Neighbour. About One Small Barking Dog OSBD (one small barking dog) began its life within a Church based urban youth work se…
Lent for Everyone Mark Year B - Sunday: Week 5 in Lent Year B
Lent for Everyone Mark Year B - Sunday: Week 5 in Lent Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
Lent for Everyone Mark Year B WEEK 5 SUNDAY... ...‘Sticks and stones may break my bones,’ goes the old jingle, ‘but words will never hurt me.’ It’s a lie. Don’t believe it. Words are far, far more powerful than anything else. A sword can maim or kill, but only in the crudest of f…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Paul in Ephesus
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Paul in Ephesus
by SPCK - N T Wright
Paul in Ephesus Acts 19.1-10 The response of the disciples Paul met at Ephesus has passed into common parlance, at least among theologians. Not long ago I was helping to organize a conference, and was inviting distinguished speakers from various parts of the world to attend and r…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - The Power of God and the Power of Ephesus
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - The Power of God and the Power of Ephesus
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Power of God and the Power of Ephesus Acts 19.11-22 When I was growing up, one of the leading politicians in the British Labour Party was a man named George Brown. He was extremely able, very shrewd. Some thought at one point he might have been a challenger for the job of par…
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - More about the "Little Ones"
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - More about the "Little Ones"
by SPCK - N T Wright
More about the “Little Ones” Matthew 18.8-14 Our neighbour was walking by the beach one day, with her dog, when suddenly the dog stopped and sniffed, and looked puzzled and wary. She stopped too, but she couldn’t see anything. Then she looked hard at the rocks in front of the dog…
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - Reconciliation and Prayer in the Community
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - Reconciliation and Prayer in the Community
by SPCK - N T Wright
Reconciliation and Prayer in the Community Matthew 18.15-20 Soap operas are a signpost of modern culture. They divide us into two types: some love them, others hate them. Many are addicted to them, know the characters inside out, read magazines about them, write them letters (eve…
Paul for Everyone Romans part 2 - Love, the Law and the Coming Day
Paul for Everyone Romans part 2 - Love, the Law and the Coming Day
by SPCK - N T Wright
Love, Law and the Coming Day ROMANS 13.8-14 When I was at boarding school, I often used to wake up early on summer mornings as the daylight came streaming in from four or five o’clock onwards. I often used to think how silly it was not to get up then. Frequently the day would be …
LWPT Meditations - Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A
LWPT Meditations - Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A
by Susan Thorne
Meditation – 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Yr A Matthew 18: 15-20 Our passage from Matthew 18 v 15-20 is embedded in a chapter that deals with humility, not causing others to sin, God’s love for the lost, and the serious consequences of being unmerciful. It is a chapter about the …
Exodus and Leviticus - Anticipatory Celebration
Exodus and Leviticus - Anticipatory Celebration
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Anticipatory Celebration EXODUS 12: 1-27 I am sometimes asked, “What do you miss about England?” One of my joke replies is that I miss a magnificent chocolate-and- cream pastry called an “elephant’s foot” that they sell at a bakery where we often had Saturday lunch. Another reply…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 108:1
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 108:1
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 108:1 I was three weeks into my recuperation when this verse revived me! As in life, so in convalescence there are good days and bad days, like walking on a cloudy summer’s day, one moment through a field of sunshine, the next under a canopy of shade...
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 119:34, 36
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 119:34, 36
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 119:34, 36 Like the eye, the heart can wander. Sometimes it seems as if the eye has the heart on a lead! Like pushing a child on a tricycle and constantly needing to reset the direction with the handlebars, so the heart needs steering. We have to set the heart’s direction w…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 149:4
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 149:4
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 149:4 What a glorious place to end! The thought that God takes pleasure in us supplants all those other false notions of God being rather fed up with us. The problem with low self-esteem, which afflicts so many of us, is that we project this on to how God must see us. When …
The Living God - Images as windows into God
The Living God - Images as windows into God
by SPCK - Alister McGrath
Which God Are We Talking About? 1 Images as windows into God A picture is worth a thousand words.’ Being able to show someone a picture of a beautiful scene, a complicated piece of machinery or a pet cat goes a long way towards making up for the limitations of human words. So per…
Rhythms of remembering - Lent - Wednesday Morning Prayer
Rhythms of remembering - Lent - Wednesday Morning Prayer
by SPCK - Hannah Ward & Jennifer Wild
LENT - Wednesday Morning Prayer Blessed are you, O God: you made us to care for the earth. The earth is God’s and all that is in it, the world and all who dwell therein. For it is God who founded it upon the sea and made it firm upon the rivers of the deep...
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Will You Just Shut Up and Listen?
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Will You Just Shut Up and Listen?
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Will You Just Shut Up and Listen? Psalm 95 One of the most formative experiences of my life was being a chorister in the choir at the cathedral in my home city in England. I learned to sing and to read and write music, and I wouldn’t have become a music freak except for that expe…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Standing on the Promises
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Standing on the Promises
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Standing on the Promises Psalm 119: 25-48 Yesterday I got our congregation to write out their thanksgivings, uncertainties, and commitments for the coming year, in line with the plan I mentioned in connection with Psalm 105. Just before doing so, I realized that there was another…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Teach Me
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Teach Me
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Teach Me Psalm 119: 49-72 I’m grading student papers, and one effect that has on me (alongside making me want to commit suicide) is to make me puzzle over what it is that enables people to learn. There are people who have read the Scriptures with fresh eyes, seen things they had …
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - On Raising the Ceiling of Our Hope
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - On Raising the Ceiling of Our Hope
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Teach Me Psalm 119: 49-72 I’m grading student papers, and one effect that has on me (alongside making me want to commit suicide) is to make me puzzle over what it is that enables people to learn. There are people who have read the Scriptures with fresh eyes, seen things they had …
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - I Can Be Wiser Than My Professor
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - I Can Be Wiser Than My Professor
by SPCK - John Goldingay
I Can Be Wiser Than My Professor Psalm 119:97-120 After my class on the Prophets last night, we invited the students back to our home for scones and tea, and during the conversation one of them asked what I enjoyed most about teaching. My response was that I love sending people a…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - The Faithful Master
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - The Faithful Master
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Faithful Master Psalm 119:121-144 One of my former colleagues used to delight to talk about her first appointment with her boss. His opening words to her were “How can I serve you?” “What can I do for you?” “How can I help you do your job?” In a way the questions seem smarmy …
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - The Appeal of the Lost Sheep
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - The Appeal of the Lost Sheep
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Appeal of the Lost Sheep Psalm 119:145-176 A Bedouin herdsman tells of how he was tending a flock of goats in the Judean wilderness near the Dead Sea. Before sleeping, the herdsmen would count their flocks, but for some reason this herdsman failed to do the count for two days…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Dance and Slaughter
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Dance and Slaughter
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Dance and Slaughter Psalm 148-149 As a teenager, I did not learn to dance or to shoot a gun for different reasons. I didn’t learn to dance because my church regarded dancing as “worldly”; it wasn’t appropriate to people who were really committed to God. I didn’t learn to shoot be…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The new teaching
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The new teaching
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
The new teaching The Discourses, Matthew 5—7, 10, 13, 18, 23—25 While Mark has very little actual teaching, Matthew builds the character of Jesus as the Teacher of Israel, and structures the gospel around his five great blocks of teaching – the discourses punctuating the narrativ…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Conflict between the Teacher and Israel
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Conflict between the Teacher and Israel
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
Conflict between the Teacher and Israel Matthew 8—23 The intrusion of substantial non-narrative material in these sermons inhibits the movement of the plot. This mixture of Jesus’ ministry and his teaching produces a more measured air; instead of the breathless dash of Mark’s bou…
Times and Seasons - Full Service - Proper 18(23) - Year A
Times and Seasons - Full Service - Proper 18(23) - Year A
by Andrew Pratt and Marjorie Dobson
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 18(23) - Year A Service contents: Call to Worship: Psalm 149 – it is suggested that alternate verses are said responsively Hymn: When in our music God is glorified or Come let us sing a melody (inspired by Psalm 149) Prayer: God of music…
Imagining the Lectionary: Binding and releasing (Proper 18A/Ordinary 23A)
Imagining the Lectionary: Binding and releasing (Proper 18A/Ordinary 23A)
by David Perry
Imagining the Lectionary: Binding and releasing (Proper 18A/Ordinary 23A) Reflection accompanying images “Unlocking the heart” and “Hinge between light and dark” This impressive and imposing charm bracelet padlock at the bottom of Newhall Hill in Birmingham marks the start of the…
Unlocking the heart
Unlocking the heart
by David Perry
Image accompanying reflection Imagining the Lectionary: Binding and releasing (Proper 18A/Ordinary 23A) TIP- PowerPoint Slide Size- The ideal way to insert into PowerPoint is:- Reduce the image size to 1024x768 pixels using your image editing software. (Will reduce image proporti…
Hinge between light and dark
Hinge between light and dark
by David Perry
Image accompanying reflection Imagining the Lectionary: Binding and releasing (Proper 18A/Ordinary 23A) TIP- PowerPoint Slide Size- The ideal way to insert into PowerPoint is:- Reduce the image size to 1024x768 pixels using your image editing software. (Will reduce image proporti…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Book V
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Book V
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Book V (Psalms 107-150) Book V of the Psalter opens with Psalm 107, a community hymn celebrating God’s graciousness in delivering the community of faith from exile in Babylon. The psalmist says: “Let the redeemed of YHWH say so, those he redeemed from trouble and gathered in from…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Restoration and the Return of the Divine
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Restoration and the Return of the Divine
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Restoration and Return of the Divine (Ezekiel 25: 1- 48: 35) The oracles against the nations in chapters 25–32 form a kind of hinge in the book, as the scathing, judgment language against Israel comes to an end after the sign-action involving the lack of mourning observance for E…
clouds and glory - Proper 18 - Year A
clouds and glory - Proper 18 - Year A
by SPCK - David Adam
Proper 18 Year A Sunday between 4 and 10 September inclusive Lord, awaken us to your glory. Open our eyes to your presence. Open our ears to your call. Open our hearts to your love, that we may proclaim that you are among us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen…
glimpses of glory - First Sunday of Christmas - Year C
glimpses of glory - First Sunday of Christmas - Year C
by SPCK - David Adam
The First Sunday of Christmas Lord of all power and might, let us not just suppose you to be in our company, but seek you out until we find you and rejoice in your presence; through Jesus Christ our Saviour, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and fore…
The Act of Prayer Year C - First Sunday of Christmas - Year C
The Act of Prayer Year C - First Sunday of Christmas - Year C
by BRF - John Birch
The First Sunday of Christmas Year C Opening prayer A lot has happened in the last week. Some of us have spent time travelling to visit family and old friends. Gifts and greetings have been exchanged; carols have been sung to remind us of the birth of the Christ-child. Now a sens…
The Act of Prayer Year C - Fifth Sunday of Easter - Year C
The Act of Prayer Year C - Fifth Sunday of Easter - Year C
by BRF - John Birch
Fifth Sunday of Easter Year C Opening prayer Let us be still for a moment as we draw near to worship God. Let us remind ourselves why we are gathered together today. Listen. God speaks even through the background noise of the world around us…
52 Reflections on Faith - Love your enemies: Israelis and Palestinians
52 Reflections on Faith - Love your enemies: Israelis and Palestinians
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Love your enemies: Israelis and Palestinians It’s well known that Christianity tells us to love our neighbours. The expression ‘love thy neighbour’ has a special place in the English language and there was once a British TV sitcom with exactly that title…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Moses and Pharaoh
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Moses and Pharaoh
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Moses and Pharaoh As instructed, Moses and Aaron approach Pharaoh and request time off to celebrate a festival to YHWH. Pharaoh refuses and increases the Israelites’ work load by no longer providing straw to make bricks…
Fresh Thoughts For Sunday - Fresh Thoughts For Sunday Issue 184
Fresh Thoughts For Sunday - Fresh Thoughts For Sunday Issue 184
by Twelvebaskets Ltd
A selection of commentary, reflection and prayer ideas from various Christian authors and the full bible texts from the NRSV for this week's lectionary. NOW INCLUDING SERIALISED BOOKS FROM SPCK AND CONTRIBUTIONS FROM BRF. Check below for details. Subscribe to Fresh Thoughts For S…
Vine Video - Introduction with Kerry Tankard - The Vine Video - 6th September 2020
Vine Video - Introduction with Kerry Tankard - The Vine Video - 6th September 2020
by Twelvebaskets Ltd
The Vine Video 6th September 2020 Introduction with Kerry Tankard Video is just over 5 minutes - the first 30 seconds are available as a preview. Click 'download' to view the whole video. Revd Kerry Tankard, Chair of the Yorkshire West Methodist District, discusses the way worshi…
The Fatherhood of God