Live in the rhythm of the Church Year.
Explore the readings, prayers, hymns and seasons that form Christian life week by week.
October 11, 2026
See TodayProper 23
Three-Year Lectionary · Series A
- First Reading
-
Isaiah 25:6–9 (read in NKJV on Bible Gateway, opens in a new tab)
NKJV Scripture text
Select ESV to load this Scripture text.
Select NIV to load this Scripture text.
Select KJV to load this Scripture text.
6And in this mountain
The Lord of hosts will make for all people
A feast of choice pieces,
A feast of wines on the lees,
Of fat things full of marrow,
Of well-refined wines on the lees.
7And He will destroy on this mountain
The surface of the covering cast over all people,
And the veil that is spread over all nations.
8He will swallow up death forever,
And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces;
The rebuke of His people
He will take away from all the earth;
For the Lord has spoken.
9And it will be said in that day:
“Behold, this is our God;
We have waited for Him, and He will save us.
This is the Lord;
We have waited for Him;
We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”
- Psalm
-
Psalm 23 (read in NKJV on Bible Gateway, opens in a new tab)
NKJV Scripture text
Select ESV to load this Scripture text.
Select NIV to load this Scripture text.
Select KJV to load this Scripture text.
NKJV text is shown for one reading at a time. Show the Psalm in NKJV
- Epistle
-
Phil. 4:4–13 (read in NKJV on Bible Gateway, opens in a new tab)
NKJV Scripture text
Select ESV to load this Scripture text.
Select NIV to load this Scripture text.
Select KJV to load this Scripture text.
NKJV text is shown for one reading at a time. Show the Epistle in NKJV
- Gospel
-
Matt. 22:1–14 (read in NKJV on Bible Gateway, opens in a new tab)
NKJV Scripture text
Select ESV to load this Scripture text.
Select NIV to load this Scripture text.
Select KJV to load this Scripture text.
NKJV text is shown for one reading at a time. Show the Gospel in NKJV
Proper 23
Three-Year Lectionary · Series A
About this service
Clothed in the Righteousness of Christ, We Partake of His Wedding Feast
By His cross and resurrection, the Lord has swallowed up death forever, and by His Gospel He “will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth” (Is. 25:8). Therefore, “let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation” (Is. 25:9). On the mountain of the Lord of hosts — in His Church on earth, as in the kingdom of heaven — He has made “for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine” (Is. 25:6). It is the royal “wedding feast” of the Son of God, “and everything is ready” (Matt. 22:1, 4). Thus, His servants are sent into the highways and byways to invite and gather as many as they find, “both good and bad,” to fill the wedding hall with guests (Matt. 22:8–10). In Holy Baptism, He clothes them all in the “wedding garment” of His own perfect righteousness (Matt. 22:11). Therefore, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God,” and “rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil. 4:4–6).
Source: LCMS Worship, Lectionary Summaries — Three-Year Lectionary Series A (opens in a new tab). Used by permission. These pages may be reproduced for congregational use only. Commercial reproduction, or reproduction for sale of this work or any portion of this work, without the written permission of the copyright holder, is prohibited. © The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Scripture quoted in the summary is from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Introit, Gradual and Verse
- Gradual (seasonal)
- Psalm 91:11, 103:1 (read in NKJV on Bible Gateway, opens in a new tab)
Source: LCMS Three-Year Series (A) Propers Chart (opens in a new tab). Citations only; no liturgical or Scripture text is reproduced.
Prayers of the Church
Prayers of the Church for October 15, 2023 — Responsive Form
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Heavenly King, Your Son, Jesus Christ, purchased the Church with His precious blood. Preserve her in the pure teaching of Your Word, in the right use of the Sacraments and in the unity of the faith. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly King, You send out Your invitation that all who believe in Your Son should take their seats at His feast. By the proclamation of Your Church, gather many, however evil they may be, to repent and fill Your eternal banquet hall. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly King, bless all families and the homes in which our people dwell. Grant grace to husbands and wives, that they may fulfill their vocations to one another and to their children. Grant also that, as a family, they may faithfully teach and learn the faith. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly King, keep the coming of Your Son always at the forefront of heart and mind, that subject for His sake to the fleeting powers of this world, we may live in continual godliness and the peace that passes all understanding. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly King for whom we wait, You promise to wipe away the tears from all faces. Bless [_____________ and] all who weep here, that at the last they may be comforted, restored and received into the banquet of heaven. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly King, You have prepared a table before us in the midst of those who refuse Your invitation. Keep Your Church unstained by the world, that we may partake of our Lord’s Supper worthily, clothed in His baptismal grace. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly King, give us such joy in pursuing what is true, just, pure and worthy of praise that, spurning the temptations of this world, we would suffer no anxiety. Let our trust be placed fully in Christ and let our hope rest in the life of the world to come; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Source: LCMS Worship, Prayers of the Church — Series A 2022–2023 (opens in a new tab). Prepared by LCMS Worship for congregational use. Used by permission. © The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.
Prayers of the Church for October 15, 2023 — Ektene Form
In peace, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For the Church purchased with Christ’s precious blood, that God would preserve her in the pure teaching of His Word, in the right use of His Sacraments and in the unity of the faith, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For the proclamation of the Gospel, that by it God would gather many, however evil they may be, to repent and believe in Christ, and so take their seat at His eternal feast, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For the homes in which our people dwell; for husbands and wives, that they may fulfill their vocations to one another; for children; and for all who teach and learn the faith, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For the peace that passes understanding and a constant readiness for the coming of Christ, that under the fleeting powers of this world, we may live in continual godliness for His sake, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For [_____________ and] all who weep here, that the Lord of hosts, who at last will wipe away all tears, would comfort them as they await full restoration at His heavenly banquet, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For all who commune this day, that in the midst of a world that refuses Christ’s gracious invitation, the Church may remain unstained by the world and not fail to partake of His Supper worthily, clothed in His baptismal grace, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
Heavenly King, give us such joy in pursuing what is true, just, pure and worthy of praise that, spurning the temptations of this world, we would suffer no anxiety. Let our trust be placed fully in Christ and let our hope rest in the life of the world to come; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Source: LCMS Worship, Prayers of the Church — Series A 2022–2023 (opens in a new tab). Prepared by LCMS Worship for congregational use. Used by permission. © The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.
Hymn of the Day
LSB 510 A Multitude Comes from the East and the West
The LCMS Hymn of the Day list appoints this hymn as the Hymn of the Day for Second Sunday after Trinity (One-Year), Proper 23 (Series A) and Proper 16 (Series C).
Source: LCMS Worship, Hymn of the Day — Arranged by Church Year, p. 169 (opens in a new tab). Appointment identity only. Lutheran Service Book text and LCMS study content are not reproduced.
Lo, Many Shall Come from the East and the West — Historical TLH Edition
Historical text notice: This is the public-domain text of The Lutheran Hymnal 415, not the Lutheran Service Book 510 text. Wording and stanza form may differ.
1. Lo, many shall come from the East and the West
And sit at the feast of salvation
With Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the blest,
Obeying the Lord’s invitation.
Have mercy upon us, O Jesus!
2. But they who have always resisted His grace
And on their own virtue depended
Shall then be condemned and cast out from His face,
Eternally lost and unfriended.
Have mercy upon us, O Jesus!
3. Oh, may we all hear when our Shepherd doth call
In accents persuasive and tender,
That, while there is time, we make haste, one and all,
And find Him, our mighty Defender!
Have mercy upon us, O Jesus!
4. Oh, that we the throng of the ransomed may swell,
To whom He hath granted remission!
God graciously make us in heaven to dwell
And save us from endless perdition.
Have mercy upon us, O Jesus!
5. God grant that I may of His infinite love
Remain in His merciful keeping
And sit with the King at His table above
When here in the grave I am sleeping.
Have mercy upon us, O Jesus!
6. All trials are then like a dream that is past,
Forgotten all trouble and sorrow;
All questions and doubts have been answered at last;
Then dawneth eternity’s morrow.
Have mercy upon us, O Jesus!
7. The heavens shall ring with an anthem more grand
Than ever on earth was recorded;
The blest of the Lord shall receive at His hand
The crown to the victors awarded.
Have mercy upon us, O Jesus!
By Magnus Brostrup Landstad, 1802-1880
Source: Project Wittenberg; The Lutheran Hymnal, Hymn 415 (opens in a new tab). Public domain. Project Wittenberg permits distribution, copying and printing.
Suggested hymns
- Entrance LSB 514 The Bridegroom Soon Will Call Us
- Distribution LSB 636 Soul, Adorn Yourself with Gladness
- Distribution LSB 680 Thine the Amen, Thine the Praise
- Closing LSB 516 Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying
Source: LCMS Worship, Hymn Suggestions — Three-Year Lectionary Series A 2025–26 (opens in a new tab). Hymn numbers and titles only; hymn texts are not reproduced. Reproduction for individual, church or school use does not require permission. © The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.