Lectionary 26/07/2026
- Proper 12 /Ordinary 17 - Year A
Lectionary Readings
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Amazing pearl
Amazing pearl
by Hand to Mouth Ministries
In this video the Parable of the Amazing Pearl is told by puppets, based on Matthew 13:45-46. The parable is also re-told by puppets in a modern setting - Jezzer and his prized card. Taken from the Puppets 'n' Parables DVD, an amazing downloadable video resource for use in Scho…
The shells which cup such precious pearls
The shells which cup such precious pearls
by Andrew Pratt
A hymn which compares shells which hold pearls with our cupped hands offering God's assurance. Metre - LM Extract: The shells which cup such precious pearls are like our hands that cradle hope, which reach to others out of love; we seek assurance, strength to cope. The pearls tha…
Gazing on the Gospels Year A - Proper 12 Year A
Gazing on the Gospels Year A - Proper 12 Year A
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
Proper 12 - Year A Meditation on Matthew 13: 31-33, 44-52 Gaze into the loft of an old house, left undisturbed by three or four generations of the same family. Feel the cobwebs brush against your face as you enter. Smell the dust and see it cake your hands. Begin to tidy up a…
Twelve Months of Sundays Year A - Proper 12 Year A
Twelve Months of Sundays Year A - Proper 12 Year A
by SPCK - N T Wright
Twelve Months of Sundays – Year A Ordinary Time Proper 12 Genesis 29.15–28 Romans 8.26–39 Matthew 13.31–33, 44–52 ‘All things work together for good to those who love God.’ Probably not the first thought that sprang to Jacob’s mind the morning after his wedding, on discovering ho…
Lectionary Reflections Year A - Proper 12 Year A
Lectionary Reflections Year A - Proper 12 Year A
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Lectionary reflections - Year A Ordinary Time Proper 12 1 Kings 3.5–12 Romans 8.26–39 Matthew 13.31–33, 44–52 With this piling up of images of the kingdom, I think you need first of all to listen to them and get an overall feel, and then to start trying to tease out some of the p…
3 Cheated Hearts
3 Cheated Hearts
by Kate Abbott
Imaginative account based on Genesis 29 - Lectionary Proper 12 year A 2 voice dialogue of Jacob and Leah telling their experience of becoming husband and wife. included are 3 pages : Page 1 - as in preview, account in full colour Page 2 - low ink version of page 1 Page …
Eco Lectionary July
Eco Lectionary July
by Keynsham Methodist Church Eco Group
ECO-HINTS FROM THE LECTIONARY July 2011 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time—3 July 2011 Zechariah 9: 9-12 Psalm 145: 8-14 (H&P 884) Romans 7: 15-25a Matthew 11: 16-19, 25-30 In Romans 7, Paul says “I do not understand what I do.” But we ought to be convinced that our actions (and it is …
Imagining the Lectionary: God the Upholder (Proper 12A/Ordinary 17A)
Imagining the Lectionary: God the Upholder (Proper 12A/Ordinary 17A)
by David Perry
Imagining the Lectionary: God the Upholder (Proper 12A/Ordinary 17A) Reflection accompanying images “marine way suspension bridge southport, pedestrians on marine way suspension bridge southport, anchor point on marine way suspension bridge southport.”. 'Uphold me according t…
Constant God we offer praises
Constant God we offer praises
by Andrew Pratt
Hymn: Constant God we offer praises Proper 12 year A Psalm 105: 1 – 11, 45b Constant God we offer praises, God of history, God of might, God of every generation, God of covenant and light. God of miracle and wonder, God of ages, yet the same... Tune: SUSSEX 24 July 2011, Sixth Su…
Strange how deceit has run down through our hist'ry
Strange how deceit has run down through our hist'ry
by Andrew Pratt
Hymn: Strange how deceit has run down through our hist'ry Proper 12 year A Genesis 29: 15-28 Strange how deceit has run down through our hist'ry, humans are human with frailty and faults. Strange that our stories still mirror the Bible, lives filled with compromise, sin still ass…
Whenever we're challenged by loss or disaster
Whenever we're challenged by loss or disaster
by Andrew Pratt
Hymn: Whenever we're challenged by loss or disaster Proper 12 year A Romans 8: 26 – 39 Whenever we're challenged by loss or disaster when horror is stalking, and health drains away, when hope has been strangled and faith follows after, our God never leaves us by night or by day. …
What are the gifts we would treasure most highly
What are the gifts we would treasure most highly
by Andrew Pratt
Hymn: What are the gifts we would treasure most highly Proper 12 year A 1 Kings 3: 5-12 What are the gifts we would treasure most highly: freedom or justice or money or wealth; food for the hungry or drink for the thirsty, love for our children, or power, or health? Once God had …
Treasures abounding, wonders confounding
Treasures abounding, wonders confounding
by Andrew Pratt
Hymn: Treasures abounding, wonders confounding Proper 12 year A Matthew 13: 31 – 33, 44 – 52 Treasures abounding, wonders confounding limits and concepts humanly held; pearls of great treasure, love beyond measure, graciously given, never compelled. Yeast for our baking, loaves w…
Rachel betrayed
Rachel betrayed
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem: Rachel betrayed Proper 12 year A Genesis 29: 15-28 Betrayed – by my own father! How could he? Seven long years I’ve waited. Seven years I’ve noticed his eyes following me; heard his voice speaking loudly enough for me to hear; watched his strong arms lifting, carrying, work…
Holding the pebble
Holding the pebble
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem: Holding the pebble Proper 12 year A Matthew 13: 31 – 33 That pebble was smooth, hard and cold, inanimate, unyielding, shaped by countless years of pounding seas and rocks. Like millions more, it seemed – yet not the same. (Published 2008 in Nothing Too Religious – Andrew Pr…
Grant us wisdom
Grant us wisdom
by Marjorie Dobson
Responsive prayer: Grant us wisdom Proper 12 year A 1 Kings 3: 5-12 When dislike teeters on the brink of hatred: God grant us wisdom. When prejudice threatens to overwhelm balanced judgement: God grant us wisdom. When disinterest in the welfare of others begins to turn into apath…
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…
John for Everyone Part 1 - Feeding the Five Thousand
John for Everyone Part 1 - Feeding the Five Thousand
by SPCK - N T Wright
Feeding the Five Thousand John 6.1-15 When you read detective stories, you quickly learn that what may look like an irrelevant little detail may actually be the clue to discovering who the murderer really is. A good writer will put in all kinds of detail, designed to lead the eye…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Parable of the Weeds
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Parable of the Weeds
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Parable of the Weeds Matthew 13.24-35 Why doesn’t God do something?’ That is perhaps the most frequent question that people ask Christian leaders and teachers – and those of some other faiths, too. Tragedies happen. Horrific accidents devastate lives and families. Tyrants and…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Other Parables
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Other Parables
by
Other Parables Matthew 13.44-53 I went last week to the final concert in a great music festival. The hall (a cathedral, actually) was packed to overflowing. It was a fine summer evening, and everyone had come determined to enjoy themselves. The two main pieces of music that were …
Paul for Everyone Romans part 1 - Prayer, Sonship and the Sovereignty of God
Paul for Everyone Romans part 1 - Prayer, Sonship and the Sovereignty of God
by SPCK - N T Wright
Prayer, Sonship and the Sovereignty of God ROMANS 8.26-30 How many names can you think of for God? It may sound an odd question. God’s proper name in the Old Testament is of course YHWH; but he is referred to in a great many other ways as well, such as ‘the Almighty’, the Holy On…
Paul for Everyone Romans part 1 - Nothing Separate Us from God's Love
Paul for Everyone Romans part 1 - Nothing Separate Us from God's Love
by SPCK - N T Wright
Nothing Shall Separate Us from God’s Love ROMANS 8.31-39 Terrible tales emerge from wars, terrorist action, and other violent scenes. Those held hostage in Lebanon in the 1980s tell of more than one occasion when they were taken off, blindfolded, and told they were going to die. …
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - What do You Most Want?
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - What do You Most Want?
by SPCK - John Goldingay
What do You Most Want? 1 Kings 3:1-15 I used to ask a friend of mine from time to time, “What would you like to do?” The question would usually relate to concerts; I would outline possibilities to her, but she would usually ask me to decide. Just last week she protested that this…
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - Temples and Churches
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - Temples and Churches
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Temples and Churches 1 Kings 6: 1-38 The little church building where I worship each Sunday holds only fifty or sixty people, but it divides into three parts. The congregation sits in the main body of the church; there is a little step up to the choir stalls; and finally there is…
LWPT Meditations - Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A
LWPT Meditations - Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A
by Susan Thorne
Meditation – 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time Yr A Roman 8: 26-39 It takes a lot of faith to believe and trust what Paul states in his letter to the Romans chapter 8 verse 28; “In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 105:3, 25
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 105:3, 25
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 105:3, 25 Heart versus heart. The heart can fill up with love or hatred. The greatest challenge for the heart filling up with love is to encounter another whose empty heart fills up with hatred, especially when the focus of the bitterness is love itself...
The Jilted Bride
The Jilted Bride
by Rev. Margaret Roe
Rachel recalls the night her father reneged on his promise of marriage. The Jilted bride How could he be so cruel! We had waited seven years for that day. Jacob loved me as much I loved him, ever since we first met by the well. He wanted to impress me, rolling the stone away with…
The Surprise Bride
The Surprise Bride
by Rev. Margaret Roe
Leah – Genesis 29:14b-30 Leah recalls her surprise that she is to be married. The surprise bride Let’s face it. I was jealous of my younger sister. She seemed to have everything going for her. She was more attractive than I was, more popular, and in love with this young man Jacob…
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - The Deceiver Deceived
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - The Deceiver Deceived
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Deceiver Deceived Genesis 29:14b-31 The chapters in Genesis for Everyone regularly begin with a story making a link with our own world, but who needs a story to introduce the account of Jacob’s wedding? If I made a list of the moments in the Bible that I would most like to ha…
PAUL AND THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD - From Worldview to Theology
PAUL AND THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD - From Worldview to Theology
by SPCK - N T Wright
Part 1: PAUL AND HIS WORLD Chapter One RETURN OF THE RUNAWAY? 2 Philemon and the Study of Paul (iii) From Worldview to Theology The particular claim of the present book, then, embodied in the transition between Part II and Part III, is that when we understand the worldview of Pau…
Paul and the Faithfulness of God - The Story Retold: Bible
Paul and the Faithfulness of God - The Story Retold: Bible
by SPCK - N T Wright
Chapter TWO LIKE BIRDS HOVERING OVERHEAD: THE FAITHFULNESS OF THE GOD OF ISRAEL (ii) The Continuous Story (b) The Story Retold: Bible The long tradition of retelling the story of Israel, not only on the large scale (as in the Pentateuch itself, the books from Joshua through to 2 …
Paul and the Faithfulness of God - The Story Retold :Conclusions
Paul and the Faithfulness of God - The Story Retold :Conclusions
by SPCK - N T Wright
Part 1: PAUL AND HIS WORLD PAUL AND THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD Chapter TWO LIKE BIRDS HOVERING OVERHEAD: THE FAITHFULNESS OF THE GOD OF ISRAEL (ii) The Continuous Story (e) The Story Retold: Conclusions This brief summary of multiple retellings of Israel’s story as a whole or in par…
New Testament Prayer for Everyone - The Searcher of Hearts
New Testament Prayer for Everyone - The Searcher of Hearts
by SPCK - N T Wright
PART 1 NEW TESTAMENT TEACHING ON PRAYER THE TEACHING OF PAUL THE SEARCHER OF HEARTS Romans 8: 22-23, 26-27 How many names can you think of for God? It may sound an odd question. God’s proper name in the Old Testament is of course YHWH; but he is referred to in a great many other …
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…
The Living God - God and the darkness of faith
The Living God - God and the darkness of faith
by SPCK - Alister McGrath
An almighty God: power, compassion and suffering 3 God and the darkness of faith When I was young my family took vacations in County Donegal in the north-west of Ireland. We loved its beautiful beaches and rugged countryside. However, Atlantic rainstorms, sweeping in from the wes…
Rhythms of remembering - Ordinary Time - Monday Morning Prayer
Rhythms of remembering - Ordinary Time - Monday Morning Prayer
by SPCK - Hannah Ward & Jennifer Wild
ORDINARY TIME - Monday Morning Prayer Blessed are you, O God, source of all wisdom and understanding. O powerful Wisdom, you encircle all that is, holding everything together in one life-giving path. Hildegard of Bingen...
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 - On Learning from Your Story
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - On Learning from Your Story
by SPCK - John Goldingay
On Learning from Your Story Psalm 105 It’s coming up to Thanksgiving/Advent Sunday, and I’m asking the members of our church to think about the following four questions: 1. “What are you particularly thankful for this year?” 2. “In your Christian faith, what are you finding nouri…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - God’s Laws as the Way to Blessing
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - God’s Laws as the Way to Blessing
by SPCK - John Goldingay
God’s Laws as the Way to Blessing Psalm 119: 1-24 After church today, a friend asked me a question that had arisen out of a conversation he’d had with a co-worker. My friend was surprised that the co-worker was willing to work seven days a week—what about the commandment concerni…
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…
Mustard seed
Mustard seed
by Sue Brown
Mustard Seed Sometimes the world looks bleak: much hatred and injustice, violence and poverty. Love is stifled; faith is quenched; hope is crushed. What use is one small act of love in such world? Faith may move mountains, but does it lift the burdens of the poor? If hope is dash…
Times and Seasons - Full Service - Seventh Sunday after Pentecost - Year A
Times and Seasons - Full Service - Seventh Sunday after Pentecost - Year A
by Andrew Pratt and Marjorie Dobson
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost - Year A Service Contents: Hymn: Praise to the Lord, the almighty, the King of creation or Constant God we offer praises Prayer: God of miracle and wonder Hymn: God in great [his] love for us lent us this planet or What are the gifts we would treasu…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Fulfilment of the law and the prophets
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Fulfilment of the law and the prophets
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
Fulfilment of the law and the prophets Second, this new Teacher of Israel fulfils scripture repeatedly during the opening chapters, and Jesus uses scripture to defeat Satan in the wilderness. Matthew has about sixty references or quotations from the Old Testament – three times as…
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 - Righteousness, morality and judgement
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Righteousness, morality and judgement
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
Righteousness, morality and judgement Matthew’s Teacher is concerned about moral teaching; one of his key words (occurring seven times in Matthew, once in Luke, and never in Mark) is dikaiosune, justice or righteousness, with its adjective dikaios (fifteen times in Matthew; once …
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…
the greatest prayer - Pray Then in This Way
the greatest prayer - Pray Then in This Way
by SPCK - John Dominic Crossan
1 Pray Then in This Way We do not know how to pray as we ought. Romans 8:26 There is a design team for airports whose special job is the location of public electricity outlets in passenger terminals. Their job is to make them…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Book IV
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Book IV
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Book IV (Psalm 90-106) Book IV opens with “A Prayer of Moses, the Man of God.” It is the only psalm in the Hebrew Psalter ascribed to Moses. Its words are a plea to God for mercy: “Turn [shub], O YHWH! How long? Change your mind [nakham] concerning your servants” (90:13, my trans…
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 - The Reign of Solomon
The Women's Bible Commentary - The Reign of Solomon
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
The Reign of Solomon Four primary markers characterize Solomon’s kingship over Israel as presented in the book of Kings: his superlative wisdom, his remarkable prosperity, his accomplishment of building the temple, and his penchant for marrying foreign women. Solomon’s wisdom is …
The Womens' Bible Commentary - The Mothers and Fathers of Israel
The Womens' Bible Commentary - The Mothers and Fathers of Israel
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
The Mothers and Fathers of Israel Commentaries on Genesis 12–50 generally focus on Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, ancestral heroes of Israel. Their life stories are built from traditional elements such as the hero’s unusual birth, his stormy relationship with his brothers, yo…
52 Reflections on Faith - Jesus the teacher: words and deeds
52 Reflections on Faith - Jesus the teacher: words and deeds
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Jesus the teacher: words and deeds We can probably all remember particular teachers we had at school. Some stick in the mind as ‘good teachers’, but we probably remember others because we didn’t like them, got on the wrong side of them or were hopeless at their subjects…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - The Parable of the Yeast
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - The Parable of the Yeast
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
The Parable of the Yeast By teaching in parables, Jesus assumes Wisdom’s role. The third of seven parables gathered in chapter 13 presents a woman as a main character. Paralleling 13:31–32, the immediately preceding parable of the Mustard Seed…
embodying mark - 3 Following the Healer
embodying mark - 3 Following the Healer
by SPCK - meda a a stamper
3 Following the Healer Hearing the healing in Mark The teacher on the boat of Mark 4 has crossed over to the other side. Beyond the stormy seas, he is confronted by the torment of human suffering in its various guises: the raging of a tortured demoniac, the desperation of the fat…
embodying mark - 7 Following the King
embodying mark - 7 Following the King
by SPCK - meda a a stamper
7 Following the King Finally we come to the terrible death of the Son, betrayed, denied and deserted by his male followers; mocked by passers-by, who shake their heads and say ‘Aha’, and by the religious authorities, who have condemned him in a kangaroo court and handed him over …
Fresh Thoughts For Sunday - Fresh Thoughts For Sunday Issue 178
Fresh Thoughts For Sunday - Fresh Thoughts For Sunday Issue 178
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…
CHRISTIANITY AND THE RENEWAL OF NATURE - 1d Creative engagement with nature
CHRISTIANITY AND THE RENEWAL OF NATURE - 1d Creative engagement with nature
by SPCK - Sebastian C.H. Kim and Jonathan Draper
Creative engagement with nature Renewing the face of the earth, then, is an enterprise not of imposing some private human vision on a passive nature but of living in such a way as to bring more clearly to light the interconnectedness of all things and their dependence on what we …
Dealing with Disaster