POPULARITY
Categories
Proper 6 (11) Third Sunday after Pentecost (Year A, 2025-2026) Scripture Readings: Genesis 18:1-15, (21:1-7), Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19, Romans 5:1-8, Matthew 9:35-10:8, (9-23)
Are you fine?Series: Lectionary Preacher: Rev. Thomas HinsonDate: 7th June 2026Passage: Matthew 9:9-13
Lectionary 10 Year A - 2nd Sunday after Pentecost
Has anyone famous come out of your hometown? In our Focus Text this week, Nathanael is convinced that nothing good has ever come out of Nazareth and God certainly wouldn't send a Messiah there! And then he encounters Jesus of Nazareth and his whole idea of how God works is changed. Time after time God is using the ordinary to share the extraordinary love of AGAPe! Even if your hometown isn't known for its celebrity, God is present working in & through the ordinary and in & through you!
Pr. Will Weedon, Host of The Word of the Lord Endures Forever The Word of the Lord Endures Forever Celebrating the Saints Thank, Praise, Serve and Obey See My Savior’s HandsThe post Looking Forward to Sunday Morning (One-Year Lectionary): First Sunday after Trinity – Pr. Will Weedon, 6/5/26 (1564, Encore) first appeared on Issues, Etc..
Jesus responds to a trap set by the Pharisees and Herodians, inviting us to offer the gift of our lives - made in God's image and likeness - to the Lord. (Lectionary #354) June 2, 2026 - Cathedral Rectory - Superior, WI Fr. Andrew Ricci - www.studyprayserve.com
Daily Lectionary with Hunter Barnes takes listeners through the daily Bible readings of the Revised Common Lectionary. Our lectionary readings follow a three year cycle through the Bible. Join Christians around the world in daily readings of the Bible as they point our hearts to the God who is love. Find out more at www.dailyradiobible.comPartner with us to produce these podcasts by gifting us HERE.We are reading through the New Living Translation. Listen to our daily podcast for KidsHERE on Spotify HERE on itunes PodcastListen to the Daily Proverbs podcast.HERE on SpotityHERE on itunes PodcastLeave a voicemail here: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible
2nd Peter offers a practical exhortation to foster one's faith that draws on elements of mind and heart, virtue and endurance, devotion, love, and self-control. (Lectionary #353) June 1, 2026 - Cathedral Rectory - Superior, WI Fr. Andrew Ricci - www.studyprayserve.com
Let's examine some of the themes in the Mass readings for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, sometimes called Corpus Christi. (Lectionary #167) June 1, 2026 - Cathedral Rectory - Superior, WI Fr. Andrew Ricci - www.studyprayserve.com
Daily Lectionary with Hunter Barnes takes listeners through the daily Bible readings of the Revised Common Lectionary. Our lectionary readings follow a three year cycle through the Bible. Join Christians around the world in daily readings of the Bible as they point our hearts to the God who is love. Find out more at www.dailyradiobible.comPartner with us to produce these podcasts by gifting us HERE.We are reading through the New Living Translation. Listen to our daily podcast for KidsHERE on Spotify HERE on itunes PodcastListen to the Daily Proverbs podcast.HERE on SpotityHERE on itunes PodcastLeave a voicemail here: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible
Proper 5 (10) Second Sunday after Pentecost (Year A, 2025-2026) Scripture Readings: Genesis 12:1-9, Psalm 33:1-12, Romans 4:13-25, Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26
The Most Holy Trinity invites us into full communion with God and one another. (Lectionary #164) May 30, 2026 - St. William Catholic Church - Foxboro, WI Fr. Andrew Ricci - www.studyprayserve.com
The Great CoronationSeries: Lectionary Preacher: Rev. Thomas HinsonDate: 31st May 2026Passage: Matthew 28:16-20
Daily Lectionary with Hunter Barnes takes listeners through the daily Bible readings of the Revised Common Lectionary. Our lectionary readings follow a three year cycle through the Bible. Join Christians around the world in daily readings of the Bible as they point our hearts to the God who is love. Find out more at www.dailyradiobible.comPartner with us to produce these podcasts by gifting us HERE.We are reading through the New Living Translation. Listen to our daily podcast for KidsHERE on Spotify HERE on itunes PodcastListen to the Daily Proverbs podcast.HERE on SpotityHERE on itunes PodcastLeave a voicemail here: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible
When his authority is questioned, Jesus offers a counter question to the chief priests, scribes, and elders. (Lectionary #352) May 30, 2026 - Cathedral Rectory - Superior, WI Fr. Andrew Ricci - www.studyprayserve.com
Daily Lectionary with Hunter Barnes takes listeners through the daily Bible readings of the Revised Common Lectionary. Our lectionary readings follow a three year cycle through the Bible. Join Christians around the world in daily readings of the Bible as they point our hearts to the God who is love. Find out more at www.dailyradiobible.comPartner with us to produce these podcasts by gifting us HERE.We are reading through the New Living Translation. Listen to our daily podcast for KidsHERE on Spotify HERE on itunes PodcastListen to the Daily Proverbs podcast.HERE on SpotityHERE on itunes PodcastLeave a voicemail here: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible
Jesus speaks to his disciples about the crucial need for faith in God, prayer, and forgiveness. (Lectionary #351) May 29, 2026 - Cathedral Rectory - Superior, WI Fr. Andrew Ricci - www.studyprayserve.com
Daily Lectionary with Hunter Barnes takes listeners through the daily Bible readings of the Revised Common Lectionary. Our lectionary readings follow a three year cycle through the Bible. Join Christians around the world in daily readings of the Bible as they point our hearts to the God who is love. Find out more at www.dailyradiobible.comPartner with us to produce these podcasts by gifting us HERE.We are reading through the New Living Translation. Listen to our daily podcast for KidsHERE on Spotify HERE on itunes PodcastListen to the Daily Proverbs podcast.HERE on SpotityHERE on itunes PodcastLeave a voicemail here: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible
After having his sight restored by Jesus, Bartimaeus immediately begins to follow the Lord. (Lectionary #350) May 28, 2026 - Cathedral Rectory - Superior, WI Fr. Andrew Ricci - www.studyprayserve.com
Daily Lectionary with Hunter Barnes takes listeners through the daily Bible readings of the Revised Common Lectionary. Our lectionary readings follow a three year cycle through the Bible. Join Christians around the world in daily readings of the Bible as they point our hearts to the God who is love. Find out more at www.dailyradiobible.comPartner with us to produce these podcasts by gifting us HERE.We are reading through the New Living Translation. Listen to our daily podcast for KidsHERE on Spotify HERE on itunes PodcastListen to the Daily Proverbs podcast.HERE on SpotityHERE on itunes PodcastLeave a voicemail here: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible
In response to James and John, Jesus teaches that sacrifice and service reveal true greatness in the Kingdom of Heaven. (Lectionary #349) May 27, 2026 - Cathedral Rectory - Superior, WI Fr. Andrew Ricci - www.studyprayserve.com
Daily Lectionary with Hunter Barnes takes listeners through the daily Bible readings of the Revised Common Lectionary. Our lectionary readings follow a three year cycle through the Bible. Join Christians around the world in daily readings of the Bible as they point our hearts to the God who is love. Find out more at www.dailyradiobible.comPartner with us to produce these podcasts by gifting us HERE.We are reading through the New Living Translation. Listen to our daily podcast for KidsHERE on Spotify HERE on itunes PodcastListen to the Daily Proverbs podcast.HERE on SpotityHERE on itunes PodcastLeave a voicemail here: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible
Dr. John Bombaro of St. James Lutheran-Lafayette, IN The post Looking Forward to Sunday Morning (One Year Lectionary): Holy Trinity – Dr. John Bombaro, 5/26/26 (1461) first appeared on Issues, Etc..
Jesus responds to Peter, reminding him that everyone who places the Lord first in their lives will receive both blessings and burdens as they journey with Christ to eternal life. (Lectionary #348) May 26, 2026 - Cathedral Rectory - Superior, WI Fr. Andrew Ricci - www.studyprayserve.com
Daily Lectionary with Hunter Barnes takes listeners through the daily Bible readings of the Revised Common Lectionary. Our lectionary readings follow a three year cycle through the Bible. Join Christians around the world in daily readings of the Bible as they point our hearts to the God who is love. Find out more at www.dailyradiobible.comPartner with us to produce these podcasts by gifting us HERE.We are reading through the New Living Translation. Listen to our daily podcast for KidsHERE on Spotify HERE on itunes PodcastListen to the Daily Proverbs podcast.HERE on SpotityHERE on itunes PodcastLeave a voicemail here: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible
Here are some of the themes in the Mass readings for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. (Lectionary #164) May 25, 2026 - Cathedral Rectory - Superior, WI Fr. Andrew Ricci - www.studyprayserve.com
Daily Lectionary with Hunter Barnes takes listeners through the daily Bible readings of the Revised Common Lectionary. Our lectionary readings follow a three year cycle through the Bible. Join Christians around the world in daily readings of the Bible as they point our hearts to the God who is love. Find out more at www.dailyradiobible.comPartner with us to produce these podcasts by gifting us HERE.We are reading through the New Living Translation. Listen to our daily podcast for KidsHERE on Spotify HERE on itunes PodcastListen to the Daily Proverbs podcast.HERE on SpotityHERE on itunes PodcastLeave a voicemail here: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible
Trinity Sunday (Year A, 2025-2026) Scripture Readings: Genesis 1:1-2:4a, Psalm 8, 2 Corinthians 13:11-13, Matthew 28:16-20
Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth (Year A, 2025-2026) Scripture Readings: 1 Samuel 2:1-10, Psalm 113, Romans 12:9-16b, Luke 1:39-57
Wind and FireSeries: Lectionary Preacher: Rev. Thomas HinsonDate: 24th May 2026Passage: Acts 2:1-11
Daily Lectionary with Hunter Barnes takes listeners through the daily Bible readings of the Revised Common Lectionary. Our lectionary readings follow a three year cycle through the Bible. Join Christians around the world in daily readings of the Bible as they point our hearts to the God who is love. Find out more at www.dailyradiobible.comPartner with us to produce these podcasts by gifting us HERE.We are reading through the New Living Translation. Listen to our daily podcast for KidsHERE on Spotify HERE on itunes PodcastListen to the Daily Proverbs podcast.HERE on SpotityHERE on itunes PodcastLeave a voicemail here: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible
Jesus directs Peter to focus on his own situation as he follows the Lord. (Lectionary #302) May 23, 2026 - Cathedral Rectory - Superior, WI Fr. Andrew Ricci - www.studyprayserve.com
Daily Lectionary with Hunter Barnes takes listeners through the daily Bible readings of the Revised Common Lectionary. Our lectionary readings follow a three year cycle through the Bible. Join Christians around the world in daily readings of the Bible as they point our hearts to the God who is love. Find out more at www.dailyradiobible.comPartner with us to produce these podcasts by gifting us HERE.We are reading through the New Living Translation. Listen to our daily podcast for KidsHERE on Spotify HERE on itunes PodcastListen to the Daily Proverbs podcast.HERE on SpotityHERE on itunes PodcastLeave a voicemail here: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible
After the resurrection while speaking about love and sacrifice, Jesus meets Peter where he is in his faith and points him to the Cross. (Lectionary #301) May 22, 2026 - Cathedral Rectory - Superior, WI Fr. Andrew Ricci - www.studyprayserve.com
Daily Lectionary with Hunter Barnes takes listeners through the daily Bible readings of the Revised Common Lectionary. Our lectionary readings follow a three year cycle through the Bible. Join Christians around the world in daily readings of the Bible as they point our hearts to the God who is love. Find out more at www.dailyradiobible.comPartner with us to produce these podcasts by gifting us HERE.We are reading through the New Living Translation. Listen to our daily podcast for KidsHERE on Spotify HERE on itunes PodcastListen to the Daily Proverbs podcast.HERE on SpotityHERE on itunes PodcastLeave a voicemail here: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible
Jesus concludes his prayer in the seventeenth chapter of John's Gospel, seeking unity for the disciples and those who will come to faith through their witness. (Lectionary #300) May 21, 2026 - Cathedral Rectory - Superior, WI Fr. Andrew Ricci - www.studyprayserve.com
Daily Lectionary with Hunter Barnes takes listeners through the daily Bible readings of the Revised Common Lectionary. Our lectionary readings follow a three year cycle through the Bible. Join Christians around the world in daily readings of the Bible as they point our hearts to the God who is love. Find out more at www.dailyradiobible.comPartner with us to produce these podcasts by gifting us HERE.We are reading through the New Living Translation. Listen to our daily podcast for KidsHERE on Spotify HERE on itunes PodcastListen to the Daily Proverbs podcast.HERE on SpotityHERE on itunes PodcastLeave a voicemail here: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible
Continuing his prayer in the seventeenth chapter of John's Gospel, Jesus implores the Father for the protection of his disciples. (Lectionary #299) May 20, 2026 - Cathedral Rectory - Superior, WI Fr. Andrew Ricci - www.studyprayserve.com
Daily Lectionary with Hunter Barnes takes listeners through the daily Bible readings of the Revised Common Lectionary. Our lectionary readings follow a three year cycle through the Bible. Join Christians around the world in daily readings of the Bible as they point our hearts to the God who is love. Find out more at www.dailyradiobible.comPartner with us to produce these podcasts by gifting us HERE.We are reading through the New Living Translation. Listen to our daily podcast for KidsHERE on Spotify HERE on itunes PodcastListen to the Daily Proverbs podcast.HERE on SpotityHERE on itunes PodcastLeave a voicemail here: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible
Dr. John Bombaro of St. James Lutheran-Lafayette, IN The post Looking Forward to Sunday Morning (One Year Lectionary): The Day of Pentecost – Dr. John Bombaro, 5/19/26 (1391) first appeared on Issues, Etc..
The seventeenth chapter of John's Gospel offers the longest extended prayer recorded in the Gospels. Jesus prays to the Father for his disciples, knowing that his saving death and resurrection will reveal God's glory. (Lectionary #298) May 19, 2026 - Cathedral Rectory - Superior, WI Fr. Andrew Ricci - www.studyprayserve.com
Daily Lectionary with Hunter Barnes takes listeners through the daily Bible readings of the Revised Common Lectionary. Our lectionary readings follow a three year cycle through the Bible. Join Christians around the world in daily readings of the Bible as they point our hearts to the God who is love. Find out more at www.dailyradiobible.comPartner with us to produce these podcasts by gifting us HERE.We are reading through the New Living Translation. Listen to our daily podcast for KidsHERE on Spotify HERE on itunes PodcastListen to the Daily Proverbs podcast.HERE on SpotityHERE on itunes PodcastLeave a voicemail here: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible
Let's explore some of the main themes for the Mass During the Day of Pentecost. (Lectionary #63) May 18, 2026 - Cathedral Rectory - Superior, WI Fr. Andrew Ricci - www.studyprayserve.com
Coming to Ephesus, Paul teaches about the Holy Spirit to some believers who had only known about the baptism of John. (Lectionary #297) May 18, 2026 - Cathedral Rectory - Superior, WI Fr. Andrew Ricci - www.studyprayserve.com
This guide covers the readings appointed in the Revised Common Lectionary for the Day of Pentecost, Year A, falling on May 24, 2026. Pentecost is the fiftieth day of the Easter season — the Sunday on which the church remembers the coming of the Holy Spirit. The lectionary offers several choices at three of the four reading positions this day, which can be confusing. The note below explains the options, and this guide covers all of them.A note on the options (just so you'll know): The lectionary for Pentecost offers these choices. (1) First Reading: Acts 2:1–21 or Numbers 11:24–30. (2) Epistle: 1 Corinthians 12:3b–13 or Acts 2:1–21 (Acts moves to the epistle slot when Numbers is used as the first reading, so Acts is read either way). (3) Gospel: John 20:19–23 or John 7:37–39. The Psalm (104:24–34, 35b) has no alternative. Most congregations will use Acts 2 as the first reading; this guide treats Acts 2 as primary and gives full coverage to all the alternatives.The ReadingsActs 2:1–21First Reading (Primary Option) — The Day of PentecostSummaryOn the day of Pentecost, the followers of Jesus are gathered together when the Spirit arrives with the sound of rushing wind and what looks like fire resting on each of them. They begin speaking in languages other than their own. A crowd gathers — devout Jewish pilgrims in Jerusalem for the festival from many different countries — and to their astonishment each person hears the disciples speaking in their own native language. Some are amazed; others mock the disciples as drunk. Peter stands up and addresses them, explaining that what they are seeing is the fulfillment of the prophet Joel's promise: in the last days God will pour out the Spirit on every kind of person, crossing the usual lines of age, gender, and social status, and everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.Pentecost by Kseniya LaptevaKey Ideas for Preaching1. The miracle at Pentecost is, very specifically, a miracle of communication across difference. The disciples do not all speak one universal language that everyone somehow understands. They speak many languages — the actual languages of the people standing in the crowd. The Spirit does not erase cultural and linguistic differences; it crosses them. What might it look like for your congregation to take this seriously? Real welcome is not everyone becoming the same. It is everyone being met in their own voice.2. Peter's quotation from the prophet Joel insists that the Spirit is poured out on everyone: sons and daughters, young and old, those at the top of the social order and those at the bottom. Every line that might limit who has access to God is named and crossed. Which of those lines does your congregation still tend to observe, even without meaning to? Where might the Spirit be inviting you to cross one?3. The crowd's first reaction is mockery. When the Spirit moves, it sometimes produces confusion and ridicule before it produces understanding. That is worth naming honestly for a congregation that might expect a movement of God to look tidy. What if your people's discomfort with something new is not a sign that God is absent, but a sign that something is actually happening?4. The text begins by saying the disciples were all together in one place. That gathering is named as the setting in which the Spirit arrives. The Spirit is not poured out on scattered individuals here — it comes upon a gathered community. What does this say about why it still matters to show up, to be present together, in a culture that often treats faith as a private matter?Significant Cautions• Pentecost is sometimes called the birthday of the church. That phrase can give the impression that God was not at work among people before this moment, or that the Jewish community from which the church grew has somehow been left behind. Neither is true. Peter grounds the whole event in Jewish prophecy. The church does not replace something old; it grows out of it.• The mockers in the crowd are easy to dismiss as villains or to use as a foil for the faithful. But they are not really villains — they are genuinely confused by something they have never seen before. Be careful about setting up a sharp us-versus-them dynamic between the believers and the skeptics.• The promise that everyone who calls on the Lord will be saved is a quotation Peter draws from Joel and applies to this specific moment. Be careful about lifting it out of the story and turning it into a simple formula that ignores the communal witness and the changed lives that surround it in the rest of Acts.Numbers 11:24–30First Reading (Alternative Option) — The Spirit Shared with the EldersSummaryMoses, worn down by the burden of leading Israel through the wilderness, has cried out to God for help. God tells him to gather seventy elders at the tent of meeting and shares some of the spirit resting on Moses with them, and they begin to prophesy — though only this one time. Two of the elders, Eldad and Medad, had stayed back in the camp rather than coming to the tent, and the spirit comes upon them there too. Joshua, Moses's assistant, is disturbed and asks Moses to stop them. Moses refuses, saying he wishes all of God's people were prophets and that God would put the Spirit on every one of them.Key Ideas for Preaching1. Moses's wish — that all the Lord's people would be prophets — is exactly what Pentecost finally delivers. If you are preaching both this text and Acts 2, you can draw that line clearly. What Moses longed for, the Spirit at Pentecost gives. The Spirit is no longer reserved for a few special leaders. What might change in your congregation if people actually believed that the Spirit had been given to all of them, not just to the clergy?2. Eldad and Medad receive the Spirit out in the camp, away from the official gathering, without having done the expected thing of showing up at the tent. The Spirit moves where it wants. Joshua wants to stop them; Moses refuses. Where in your congregation, or your community, is the Spirit clearly at work in places or people you would not have predicted? Are you paying attention, or are you trying to call them back to the tent?3. Moses's response to Joshua shows a kind of leadership that is not threatened by other people receiving what he has. He does not protect his role; he gladly shares it. Many leaders in church and elsewhere quietly fear that empowering other people will diminish them. What would it look like to lead the way Moses leads here?Significant Cautions• The seventy elders prophesy this one time and never again. It is a moment, not an ongoing gift. Be careful about treating Moses's story as a straight preview of Pentecost in a way that flattens out the genuine newness of what happens in Acts. The connection is real and worth drawing; the two events are not identical.• Joshua is not condemned for wanting to stop Eldad and Medad — he is acting out of loyalty to Moses. Be gentle in using him as a negative example. The instinct to protect structures and proper channels is not always wrong. It is just sometimes misapplied.Psalm 104:24–34, 35bThe Psalm — The Spirit That Renews the Face of the EarthSummaryThis part of the great creation psalm marvels at how varied and abundant God's creation is. Every living thing — from the countless creatures of the vast sea to all the rest — looks to God for food and receives what it needs in its time. When God withdraws, creatures are troubled; when God takes back their breath, they die and return to dust. But when God sends out the divine Spirit — the same word that means breath or wind — they are created again, and the face of the earth is made new. The psalm closes with a vow to sing to God for as long as the singer has life, and a prayer that God will be pleased with the song.Key Ideas for Preaching1. The word for Spirit in this psalm is the same word for breath and wind (ruach )— the same creative power that hovered over the waters at the beginning of Genesis. On Pentecost, this image reaches back across the whole Bible and grounds the coming of the Spirit in something much older than the upper room in Jerusalem. The breath of God has been animating creation from the beginning. (Genesis 1:2) What does it do for your congregation to hear that the Spirit who came at Pentecost is the same Spirit who breathed life into the first creatures?2. The line about God sending out the Spirit so that creatures are created and the face of the earth is renewed is one of the most hopeful sentences in the whole Bible. Renewal is what the Spirit does. How might this widen the frame of your Pentecost sermon beyond the church alone? The Spirit who renewed the earth is the same Spirit poured out on the disciples.3. The mood of the psalm is wonder — delight at what God has made. Could Pentecost be an occasion not just to explain the Spirit but to invite your congregation into that same posture: paying attention, giving thanks, being astonished at what God is doing?Significant Cautions• The psalm describes creatures dying when God withdraws breath. It is part of the rhythm of creation in the psalm, but it can land hard in a congregation where someone is grieving. Be careful not to use this image casually in a way that suggests God has withdrawn from a person's loved one.• The poetry of the psalm is expansive and imaginative. Resist the urge to flatten it into a proof text for a particular view of how creation happened or how it works scientifically. The purpose of the psalm is praise, not explanation.1 Corinthians 12:3b–13The Epistle (Primary Option) — Many Gifts, One SpiritSummaryPaul is writing to a church in Corinth that has been arguing about spiritual gifts — specifically, about who has the more impressive ones. He begins with a basic test of authenticity: only the Holy Spirit enables someone to say Jesus is Lord. Then he describes the wide variety of gifts in the church — wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous works, prophecy, discernment, tongues, interpretation — insisting that all of them come from one and the same Spirit, who distributes them as the Spirit chooses, and all are given for the good of the whole community. Paul closes with the image of the body: just as a body is one but has many parts, so it is with Christ. We were all baptized by one Spirit into one body — Jews and Greeks, enslaved and free — and we all share in the one Spirit.Key Ideas for Preaching1. The gifts Paul lists are not awards for spiritual achievement. They are given by the Spirit, however the Spirit chooses, and they are given for the benefit of the whole community rather than the prestige of the recipient. This cuts both ways. It speaks to the person who quietly believes their gift makes them important. It also speaks to the person who quietly believes they have no gift at all. Neither of those positions matches the text. What might happen if your congregation actually believed that every person in the room had been given something for the good of everyone else?2. The body image at the end of the passage looks simple but carries real weight. Every part of the body is needed. No part can opt out, and no part can claim to be more important than another. What does the body of your congregation actually look like? Which members get treated as more important? Which members feel like they barely belong? What would change if everyone took Paul at his word here?3. Paul is not writing a peaceful, theoretical description of an ideal community. He is writing pastoral correction to a real church that is fighting about exactly this issue. That makes the passage more useful, not less. Where is your congregation tempted to rank one another — by gift, by giving, by visibility, by status — and what would Paul have to say about it?4. The last line of the passage says that the unity Paul is describing is already a reality. It happened in baptism. The congregation is not being asked to build unity from scratch; it is being asked to live into something that has already been given. How does it change the way you preach about unity when you stop treating it as a goal and start treating it as a gift to be received?Significant Cautions• Lists of spiritual gifts have sometimes been used to rank Christians, or to claim that one particular gift — often speaking in tongues — is the real sign that the Spirit is present. Paul's whole argument here runs against that use. The Spirit gives whatever the Spirit chooses to give. No person and no group gets to decide which gifts count the most.• Paul mentions the categories of “enslaved or free” alongside Jews and Greeks. He does not, in this letter, challenge slavery as an institution. Be honest about that. The image of being one body in Christ did not, on its own, end the social and economic injustices of the ancient world. Speaking of unity in Christ should not be used to suggest that hard questions of justice take care of themselves.• The unity Paul describes is not uniformity. The whole point of the body image is that the body has many different parts that do different things. Be careful not to use the language of one body to pressure a diverse congregation into one cultural or stylistic expression of worship.John 20:19–23The Gospel (Primary Option) — Peace and the Breath of the SpiritSummaryOn the evening of the first Easter Sunday, the disciples are huddled together behind locked doors because they are afraid. Jesus comes and stands among them and says, peace be with you. He shows them the wounds in his hands and his side, and they are overjoyed. He says it a second time: peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you. Then he breathes on them and tells them to receive the Holy Spirit. If they forgive anyone's sins, those sins are forgiven; if they hold them against someone, the sins remain.Key Ideas for Preaching1. Jesus breathes on the disciples and gives them the Spirit. The image deliberately echoes the moment in Genesis when God breathed life into the first human being. This is presented as a kind of new creation. How might it shift the meaning of Pentecost for your congregation to see it as part of God's long pattern of creating and renewing life, rather than as an isolated, one-time event?2. In John's telling, the Spirit is given on Easter evening — not fifty days later. That is a different account than the one in Acts 2. Rather than smoothing over the difference, what would it look like to be honest with your congregation that the two accounts are doing different theological work? John ties the Spirit directly to the resurrection. Acts ties it to the Jewish festival of Pentecost. Both are saying something true about who the Spirit is.3. The commission and the gift come together. As the Father has sent me, Jesus says, so I am sending you — and then he gives them the Spirit. The Spirit is not given for a private spiritual experience. It is given for a sending. What does it mean for your congregation to receive a gift that, from its very first moment, is pointed outward?4. Jesus places in the hands of this community the responsibility of forgiving sins, of releasing one another from what binds. This has caused real argument in the church about authority. But at the very least, what would it look like for your congregation to take seriously the practice of concrete, embodied forgiveness — not as an abstract idea but as something this community is actually called to do?Significant Cautions• The difference between John's account and Acts is real. John puts the Spirit on Easter evening, and Acts puts it fifty days later at Pentecost. Resist the temptation to harmonize them or explain the difference away. Sermons that name the difference honestly tend to land better than sermons that pretend it is not there.• Jesus says that if the disciples retain sins, those sins are retained. Throughout history, this line has been used to justify exclusion, punishment, and harsh church discipline. Be clear that the main direction of what Jesus says here is toward forgiveness — the releasing of what binds people — not toward the exercise of power over those who are kept out.• The locked doors and the fear of the disciples can be used to make the post-Easter community look like a failure. But these are still the people Jesus comes to and the people he sends. Their fear is the starting point of the story, not the verdict on them. Take care not to shame your congregation's own fear when you preach this scene.John 7:37–39The Gospel (Alternative Option) — Rivers of Living WaterSummaryOn the last and most important day of the Festival of Tabernacles, Jesus stands up in the temple courts and cries out, inviting anyone who is thirsty to come to him and drink. Whoever believes in him, he says, will have rivers of living water flowing from within. John then adds a note explaining that Jesus was speaking about the Spirit, who would be given to believers later — after Jesus had been glorified.Key Ideas for Preaching1. The image of rivers of living water flowing from inside a person is one of the most vivid pictures of the Spirit in any of the Gospels. It is not a trickle. It is not a reservoir you fill up once. It is an ongoing, outward flow. The Spirit is not given to be stored. What would it look like for your congregation to think of the Spirit not as something they have, but as something that flows through them on its way to someone else?2. Jesus makes this announcement on the last day of the Festival of Tabernacles, when water was being poured out as a ritual prayer for rain. The crowd would have felt the weight of the image right away. Could your congregation feel what it means to be genuinely thirsty — not mildly curious about God, but actually in need?3. John explains in a brief note that the Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified. The coming of the Spirit is tied directly to the cross and the resurrection. How does it deepen a Pentecost sermon to remind the congregation that the Spirit they celebrate today comes as the fruit of what happened at Easter?Significant Cautions• The phrase about living water flowing from within can sound as though the Spirit is essentially a private inner experience of abundance. But the setting here is a public festival, and Jesus is shouting in the middle of a crowd. The water flows outward, not just inward. Be careful with a reading that turns this into a purely personal experience.• Jesus says the scripture has said something about rivers of living water, but no single passage in the Hebrew Bible is a clear match. Different scholars suggest different texts. Avoid confidently pointing to one specific passage as the source without acknowledging that no one is sure.Thematic ConnectionsEvery text appointed for Pentecost points toward the same central claim: the Spirit of God is now given freely, widely, and without the restrictions that once limited who could receive it. * In Acts, the Spirit crosses every linguistic and cultural line in Jerusalem. * In Numbers, it escapes the official gathering and finds two men out in the camp. * In Psalm 104, it is the breath that renews the whole face of the earth. * In 1 Corinthians, it distributes gifts to every member of the body for the good of the whole community. * In John, it is given on Easter evening to a group of frightened disciples and turns them into a sent people — or it is the living water that flows outward from whoever believes.Acts 2 is the natural center for Pentecost preaching. It is the story the day is built around, and its images of wind and fire and languages are difficult to displace. But 1 Corinthians 12 offers a strong complementary angle for congregations that need to hear about the practical, community-shaping work of the Spirit rather than just its dramatic arrival. And for congregations that preached Acts 2 last year and want something different, either John 7:37–39 or John 20:19–23 opens a distinctive door. The psalm works best in worship as a spoken or sung response rather than as the main preaching text, though its image of the Spirit renewing the face of the earth is worth a sentence or two in almost any Pentecost sermon. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lectionarypro.substack.com/subscribe
The Ascension of the Lord reveals how God invites us to stretch and grow as we face new challenges, even as we look to the Lord for the strength, guidance, and support we require. (Lectionary #58) May 16, 2026 - St. William Catholic Church - Foxboro, WI Fr. Andrew Ricci - www.studyprayserve.com
Apollos speaks authentically about Jesus, but he humbly accepts further instruction from Priscilla and Aquila. (Lectionary #296) May 16, 2026 - Cathedral Rectory - Superior, WI Fr. Andrew Ricci - www.studyprayserve.com
Paul is directed by the Lord to cast out fear and continue speaking the Good News to the people. (Lectionary #295) May 15, 2026 - Cathedral Rectory - Superior, WI Fr. Andrew Ricci - www.studyprayserve.com
St. Matthias, one of the original disciples who was with Jesus from the beginning, is chosen to take the place vacated by Judas Iscariot. (Lectionary #564) May 14, 2026 - Cathedral Rectory - Superior, WI Fr. Andrew Ricci - www.studyprayserve.com
Dr. John Bombaro of St. James Lutheran-Lafayette, IN The post Looking Forward to Sunday Morning (One Year Lectionary): Ascension Day – Dr. John Bombaro, 5/12/26 (1324) first appeared on Issues, Etc..