FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST (Proper 7)
June 25, 2023
AS WE GATHER
The Christian faith is the way of humble trust in the Lord. In Jesus God Himself unites His power and the weakness of man to overcome sin, death, and the devil and his temptations. Through the Word and Sacrament ministry of the Church faith grasps and hopes in and possesses the same victory established in our Lord’s crucifixion and resurrection. With the Apostle Paul we confess, “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).
Bible Reading
OLD TESTAMENT READING: Jeremiah 20:7-13
(The prophet struggles between his weakness and the Lord’s promise of deliverance.)
EPISTLE READING: Romans 6:12-23
(Overcoming sin by God’s promised grace.)
HOLY GOSPEL: Matthew 10:5a, 21-33
(“Have no fear.”)