NOVEMBER 2, 2025
ALL SAINTS SUNDAY
DANIEL 7:1-3, 5-18; PSALM 149; EPHESIANS 1:11-23; LUKE 6:20-31
In holy baptism God makes saints out of sinners. In holy communion God forgives the sins of all the saints. In worship today we give thanks for all the saints, “who from their labors rest”. In the same breath we petition our God for the strength to hear an to heed the admonitions of Jesus in today’s gospel. Sealed by the Spirit and sustained by the Savior’s body and blood, we live with joy as God gives us breath, to the praise of God’s glory.
NOVEMBER 9, 2025
TIME AFTER PENTECOST
JOB 19:23-27a; PSALM 17:1-9; 2 THESSALONIANS 2:1-5, 13-17; LUKE 20:27-38
We worship on the first day of the week because Jesus was raised on that day. Every Sunday is a little Easter. This Sunday feels more like Easter than many as the appointed texts celebrate the reality of the resurrection. Live it up this Lord’s day. Our God is the God of the living.
NOVEMBER 16, 2025
TIME AFTER PENTECOST
MALACHI 4:1-2a; PSALM 98; 2 THESSALONIANS 3:6-13; LUKE 21:5-19; ISAIAH 65:17-25; ISAIAH 12:2-6
The end is near. There is no doubt about it. The warnings are dire. The tone of today’s tests is ominous. But the baptized know how to live in the meantime. The baptized are strengthened for the living of these days in word and sacrament. The baptized rally around the invitation of the apostle: “Do not be weary in doing what is right.”
NOVEMBER 23, 2025
CHRIST THE KING
LAST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
PSALM 46; COLOSSIANS 1:11-20; LUKE 23:33-43; JEREMIAH 23:1-6; LUKE 1:68-79
Jeremiah’s promise of the execution of “justice and righteousness in the land” finds ironic fulfillment in the execution of Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. It appears utterly contradictory that a king should be crucified with a criminal. This victory appears for all the world as humiliating defeat. Yet through the gate of death Jesus opens the door to paradise.
NOVEMBER 30, 2025
FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT
PSALM 122; ISAIAH 2:1-5; ROMANS 13:11-14; MATTHEW 24:36-44
The new church year begins with a wake-up call: Christ is coming soon! In today’s readings both Paul and Jesus challenge us to wake from sleep, for we know neither the day nor the hour of the Lord’s coming. Isaiah proclaims the day when God will gather all people on the holy mountain and there will be no more war or suffering. Though we vigilantly watch for the promised day of salvation, we wait for what we already have: Christ comes among us this day as the word and meal that strengthens our faith in the promises of God.
