SUNDAY 6 July Third Sunday After Trinity

FIRST READING Isaiah 66.10–14

A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah.

Rejoice with Jerusalem,and be glad for her,

all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy,

all you who mourn over her –

that you may nurse and be satisfied

from her consoling breast;

that you may drink deeply with delight

from her glorious bosom.

For thus says the LORD:

I will extend prosperity to her like a river,

and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream;

and you shall nurse and be carried on her arm,

and dandled on her knees.

As a mother comforts her child,

so I will comfort you;

you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.

You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice;

your bodies shall flourish like the grass;

and it shall be known

that the hand of the LORD is with his servants,

and his indignation is against his enemies.

PSALM Psalm 66.1–8

R Be joyful in God, all you lands.

or

R Bless our God, you peoples,

make the voice of his praise be heard.

1 Be joyful in God, all you lands;

sing the glory of his name;

sing the glory of his praise.

2 Say to God, ‘How awesome are your deeds!

because of your great strength

your enemies cringe before you.

3 All the earth bows down before you,

sings to you, sings out your name.’ R

4 Come now and see the works of God,

how wonderful he is in his doing towards all people.

5 He turned the sea into dry land,

so that they went through the water on foot,

and there we rejoiced in him. R

6 In his might he rules for ever;

his eyes keep watch over the nations;

let no rebel rise up against him.

7 Bless our God, you peoples;

make the voice of his praise to be heard;

8 Who holds our souls in life,

and will not allow our feet to slip. R

SECOND READING (Short or long reading)

Galatians 6.(1–6), 7–16

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Galatians.

[ 1 My friends,

if anyone is detected in a transgression,

you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness.

Take care that you yourselves are not tempted.

2 Bear one another’s burdens,

and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ.

3 For if those who are nothing think they are something,

they deceive themselves.

4 All must test their own work;

then that work, rather than their neighbour’s work,

will become a cause for pride.

5 For all must carry their own loads.

6 Those who are taught the word

must share in all good things with their teacher. ]

7 Do not be deceived;

God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow.

8 If you sow to your own flesh,

you will reap corruption from the flesh;

but if you sow to the Spirit,

you will reap eternal life from the Spirit.

9 So let us not grow weary in doing what is right,

for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.

10 So then, whenever we have an opportunity,

let us work for the good of all,

and especially for those of the family of faith.

11 See what large letters I make when I am writing in my own hand!

12 It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh

that try to compel you to be circumcised –

only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.

13 Even the circumcised do not themselves obey the law,

but they want you to be circumcised

so that they may boast about your flesh.

14 May I never boast of anything

except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,

by which the world has been crucified to me,

and I to the world.

15 For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything;

but a new creation is everything!

16 As for those who will follow this rule –

peace be upon them, and mercy,

and upon the Israel of God.

GOSPEL Luke 10.1–11, 16–20

Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.

The Lord appointed seventy others

and sent them on ahead of him in pairs

to every town and place where he himself intended to go.

He said to them,

‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few;

therefore ask the Lord of the harvest

to send out labourers into his harvest.

Go on your way.

See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves.

Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals;

and greet no one on the road.

Whatever house you enter,

first say, “Peace to this house!”

And if anyone is there who shares in peace,

your peace will rest on that person;

but if not, it will return to you.

Remain in the same house,

eating and drinking whatever they provide,

for the labourer deserves to be paid.

Do not move about from house to house.

Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you,

eat what is set before you;

cure the sick who are there, and say to them,

“The kingdom of God has come near to you.”

But whenever you enter a town

and they do not welcome you,

go out into its streets and say,

“Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet,

we wipe off in protest against you.

Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.”

16 Whoever listens to you listens to me,

and whoever rejects you rejects me,

and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.’

The seventy returned with joy, saying,

‘Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!’

He said to them,

‘I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning.

See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions,

and over all the power of the enemy;

and nothing will hurt you.

Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this,

that the spirits submit to you,

but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’

SUNDAY 13 July Fourth Sunday after Trinity

FIRST READING Deuteronomy 30.9–14

A reading from the book of Deuteronomy.

Moses spoke to the people, saying,

The LORD your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all your undertakings, in the fruit of your body, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your soil.

For the LORD will again take delight in prospering you,

just as he delighted in prospering your ancestors,

when you obey the LORD your God

by observing his commandments and decrees

that are written in this book of the law,

because you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart

and with all your soul.

Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today

is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away.

It is not in heaven, that you should say,

‘Who will go up to heaven for us,

and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?’

Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say,

‘Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us,

and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?’

No, the word is very near to you;

it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.

PSALM Psalm 25.1–10

R Show me your ways, O Lord,

and teach me your paths.

1 To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul;

my God, I put my trust in you;

let me not be humiliated,

nor let my enemies triumph over me.

2 Let none who look to you be put to shame;

let the treacherous be disappointed in their schemes. R

3 Show me your ways, O Lord,

and teach me your paths.

4 Lead me in your truth and teach me,

for you are the God of my salvation;

in you have I trusted all the day long. R

5 Remember, O Lord, your compassion and love,

for they are from everlasting.

6 Remember not the sins of my youth

and my transgressions;

remember me according to your love

and for the sake of your goodness, O Lord. R

7 Gracious and upright is the Lord;

therefore he teaches sinners in his way.

8 He guides the humble in doing right

and teaches his way to the lowly. R

9 All the paths of the Lord are love and faithfulness

to those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

10 For your name’s sake, O Lord,

forgive my sin, for it is great. R

SECOND READING Colossians 1.1–14

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Colossians.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

and Timothy our brother,

To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus

and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.

You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth,

the gospel that has come to you.

Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world,

so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God.

This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow-servant.

He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf,

and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

For this reason, since the day we heard it,

we have not ceased praying for you

and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will

in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord,

fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work

and as you grow in the knowledge of God.

May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father,

who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.

He has rescued us from the power of darkness

and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son,

in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

GOSPEL Luke 10.25–37

Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.

A lawyer stood up to test Jesus.

‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’

He said to him, ‘What is written in the law?

What do you read there?’

He answered,

‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,

and with all your soul, and with all your strength,

and with all your mind;

and your neighbour as yourself.’

And he said to him,

‘You have given the right answer;

do this, and you will live.’

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus,

‘And who is my neighbour?’

Jesus replied,

‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho,

and fell into the hands of robbers,

who stripped him, beat him, and went away,

leaving him half dead.

Now by chance a priest was going down that road;

and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him,

passed by on the other side.

But a Samaritan while travelling came near him;

and when he saw him, he was moved with pity.

He went to him and bandaged his wounds,

having poured oil and wine on them.

Then he put him on his own animal,

brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

The next day he took out two denarii,

gave them to the innkeeper, and said,

“Take care of him; and when I come back,

I will repay you whatever more you spend.”

Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’

He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’

Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.