Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church - Olive Branch, MS

Acts 20:36-21:14

Color: Green Old Testament: Isaiah 65:17–25 Psalm: Psalm 149; antiphon: v. 2 Epistle: 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11 Gospel: Matthew 25:1–13 Introit: Psalm 39:4–5, 7–8; antiphon: Isaiah 35:10 Gradual: Psalm 45:14–15 Verse: Revelation 21:2 By Faith We Are Prepared for Christ’s Return   “The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” (1 Thess. 5:1–11). The arrival of the bridegroom will be sudden and unexpected. Therefore you are to be watchful and ready like the five wise virgins. “For you know neither the day nor the hour” when the Son of Man is to return. (Matt. 25:1–13). The lamps are the Word of Christ. The oil in the lamps is the Holy Spirit, who works through the Word to create and sustain the flame of faith in Christ. The foolish are those who do not give proper attention to the working of the Holy Spirit in baptism, preaching, and the supper, and so their faith does not endure. The wise, however, are those who diligently attend to these gifts of the Spirit, and who therefore have an abundance of oil. The flame of faith endures to the end. By God’s grace they are received into the eternal wedding feast of the Lamb in His kingdom, the new heavens and the new earth created by the Lord for the joy of His people (Is. 65:17–25). Lectionary summary © 2021 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Used by permission. http://lcms.org/worship

Joshua 1:1-9

Exodus 34:14-28

Getting more out of Sermons and Bible Reading

Acts 20:13-35

Color: Green Old Testament: Micah 6:6–8 Psalm: Psalm 116:12–19; antiphon: v. 13 Epistle: Philippians 1:3–11 Gospel: Matthew 18:21–35 Introit: Psalm 130:1–2, 7–8; antiphon: vv. 3–4 Gradual: Psalm 133:1, 3b Verse: Psalm 147:3 Walking Humbly with Our God and Forgiving One Another   With what shall we come before the Lord (Micah 6:6) who forgives all our sins, and how often shall our fellow Christians sin against us and we forgive them (Matt. 18:21)? Our gracious God on high does not need our “burnt offerings” or “thousands of rams” (Micah 6:6-7), which we could legitimately offer in thanksgiving. He is the Savior who gave His only-begotten Son for our transgression. He offers the fruit of His body, once hanging dead on a cross but now living and giving life in His holy Meal, for the sin of our souls (Micah 6:7). Because He releases us from our enormous debt of sin against Him, we need not imprison our fellow sinners with our lack of love and refusal of forgiveness (Matt. 18:24, 27, 30). As partakers of His grace, we yearn for one another “with the affection of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:8). As forgiven sinners, “filled with the fruit of Christ’s righteousness,” our “love may abound more and more, with knowledge and discernment” (Phil. 1:11, 9), for He leads us “to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with [our] God” (Micah 6:8). Lectionary summary © 2021 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Used by permission. http://lcms.org/worship

Exodus 33:12-17; 34:1-13

Rev. 22:16-17 and Getting More out of Sermons

Acts 20:1-12

Color: Green Old Testament: Genesis 1:1—2:3 Psalm: Psalm 8; antiphon: v. 9 Epistle: Ephesians 6:10–17 Gospel: John 4:46–54 Introit: Psalm 119:1, 38–40; antiphon: Liturgical Text Gradual: Psalm 90:1–2 Verse: Psalm 125:1 God Declares Us Righteous Unsheathing His Word Against All Evil   “‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Gen. 1:1—2:3). The Father speaks, and it is so. His Word accomplishes what it says. He created all things out of nothing through His Son by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Father’s creative Word became flesh in Jesus Christ, that He might restore fallen creation and save fallen man. To the nobleman whose son was deathly ill, Jesus says, “Go; your son will live” (John 4:46–54). And in the very hour Jesus spoke, the nobleman’s son was made well. The Word of Christ still accomplishes what it says. In baptism, absolution, and the Lord’s Supper, He declares His life–giving forgiveness to you, and it is so. This saving Word of God is the sword of the Spirit by which you are able to fight off all the onslaughts of the devil (Eph. 6:10–17). “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” Lectionary summary © 2021 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Used by permission. http://lcms.org/worship

Matthew 11:25-30

Exodus 33:4-11; 18-22

Rev. 22:6-17

Color: White First Reading: Revelation 7:2–17 First Reading: Revelation 7:9–17 Psalm: Psalm 149; antiphon: v. 4 Epistle: 1 John 3:1–3 Gospel: Matthew 5:1–12 Introit: Psalm 31:1, 3, 5; antiphon: Revelation 7:14b Gradual: Revelation 7:14b; Psalm 84:5 Verse: Hebrews 12:1a, 2a Saints Are Blessed in the Eternal Presence of Christ   “A great multitude from all tribes and peoples and languages,” cry out “salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne” (Rev. 7:9–17). Faith-filled saints from every place and time with unified voices eternally magnify the Lamb of God. As His beloved children, we too, “shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:1–3). Joined with the throng of angels and a myriad of saints, we shall “serve him day and night in his temple” (Rev. 7:9–17). In our earthly tension vacillating between saint and sinner, faith and doubt, sacred and profane, we earnestly seek Jesus to calm our fears, comfort our spirits, and forgive our sins. The Holy Spirit, through faith in Christ propels us forward, fortifying us in Word and Sacrament, to our eternal home. In the midst of our constant struggle as believers, we need to be blessed. And so we are. The poor in spirit, the meek, the hungry, the thirsty, the merciful, the pure, and the persecuted are all blessed and we will most certainly inherit the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:1–12). Lectionary summary © 2021 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Used by permission. http://lcms.org/worship

November 1, 2025 - Gates of Gaza II - Preparing for Cosmic Warfare: Reading Revelation as Men - St. Paul Lutheran Church Paducah, KY

Exodus 32:30-33:3

Revelation 22:1-10

Acts 19:23-41

Color: Red First Reading: Revelation 14:6–7 Psalm: Psalm 46; antiphon: v. 7 Epistle: Romans 3:19–28 Gospel: Matthew 11:12–19 Gospel: John 8:31–36 Introit: Psalm 34:1–2, 11, 22; antiphon: Psalm 119:46 Gradual: Psalm 48:1a, 12–14a Verse: Luke 12:32 The Son of God Has Set Us Free from Sin and Death by His Grace   “Wisdom is justified by her deeds” (Matt. 11:19), and the true Wisdom of God, Christ Jesus the incarnate Son, justifies us by His deeds. He prepares His way by the preaching of repentance, but He has suffered the violence of the Law and voluntarily handed Himself over to violent men, that we might eat and drink with Him in His Kingdom and “remain in the house forever” (John 8:35). For He is “a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Matt. 11:19), and He has rescued us by His grace from the slavery of sin and death. By the proclamation of His eternal Gospel “to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people” (Rev. 14:6), “the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law” (Rom. 3:21), “that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Rom. 3:26). And by hearing the Gospel of Christ Jesus, “whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith” (Rom. 3:25), “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31–32). Lectionary summary © 2021 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Used by permission. http://lcms.org/worship