Three-Year Lectionary
Study the appointed readings, prayers and resources for Series A, Series B and Series C through the Church Year.
November 15, 2026
See TodayProper 29
· Three-Year Lectionary · Series A
- First Reading
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Ezek. 34:11–16, 20–24 (read in NIV on Bible Gateway, opens in a new tab)
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11“ ‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. 12As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. 13I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. 14I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. 16I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.20“ ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says to them: See, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21Because you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns until you have driven them away, 22I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another. 23I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. 24I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the Lord have spoken.Select KJV to load this Scripture text.
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- Psalm
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Psalm 95:1–7a (read in NIV on Bible Gateway, opens in a new tab)
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1Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.2Let us come before him with thanksgivingand extol him with music and song.3For the Lord is the great God,the great King above all gods.4In his hand are the depths of the earth,and the mountain peaks belong to him.5The sea is his, for he made it,and his hands formed the dry land.6Come, let us bow down in worship,let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;7for he is our Godand we are the people of his pasture,the flock under his care.Today, if only you would hear his voice,Select KJV to load this Scripture text.
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- Epistle
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1 Cor. 15:20–28 (read in NIV on Bible Gateway, opens in a new tab)
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20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27For he “has put everything under his feet.”a Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.Select KJV to load this Scripture text.
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- Gospel
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Matt. 25:31–46 (read in NIV on Bible Gateway, opens in a new tab)
NIV Scripture text
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31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”Select KJV to load this Scripture text.
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Proper 29
Three-Year Lectionary · Series A
About this service
By the Cross of Christ, We Enter the Kingdom of Our God and Father
When the crucified and risen Lord Jesus comes to judge the living and the dead, “he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (Matt. 25:32). “To those on his right,” who have been crucified and raised with Him through repentance and faith in His Gospel, He will grant the blessed kingdom of His Father (Matt. 25:34). Having been justified by His grace, they live unto righteousness in Him (Matt. 25:35–40). But “those on his left,” who trust in themselves and despise their neighbor, will depart “into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41). Until that day, the Lord searches for His sheep “as a shepherd seeks out his flock” (Ezek. 34:11–12). Through His preaching of repentance, He disciplines the proud sheep and goats, “the fat and the strong,” but through the preaching of forgiveness He rescues the lost, binds up the injured, strengthens the weak and feeds “the lean sheep” (Ezek. 34:16, 20). In this way, He destroys the power of death in the children of Adam by His cross, so that “in Christ shall all be made alive” by His resurrection (1 Cor. 15:20–26).
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
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 November 26, 2023 — Responsive Form
Lord God, You gather Your people from all nations and bring them into Your one, holy Christian and apostolic flock. Strengthen them by Your grace, that they may gladly feast upon Your riches in Your Means of Grace and declare Your praises to all who will hear. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Almighty God, You judge between Your sheep, and You shepherd Your people with Your Holy Word. Encourage Your pastors. Through their faithful service, continue to seek the lost, bring back the strayed, bind up the injured and strengthen the weak. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, You have subjected all things under Your Son, who gladly subjects Himself to You. Bless the homes of Your people, that parents may train and catechize their children with wisdom and love, and that children may gladly submit and honor their father and mother. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord of lords, You sustain every rule, authority and power as You see fit, until this world’s powers should pass away. Bless all in civil authority, that they would not provoke Your wrath but maintain order and justice for the peace of Your people. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Father in heaven, we look forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness, while now we contend with a multitude of afflictions under the curse of sin. Remember those in need of help and healing [including _____________]. Preserve them, deliver them from their transgressions and hold not Your peace at their tears. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
God of grace, as death came by a man, so by Your Son has come the resurrection of the dead. Endow Your people with penitent hearts at Your table, that they would receive in Your risen Son’s body and blood a foretaste of the eternal feast to come. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
God of life, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. We give thanks to You for those You have gathered into Your kingdom and who are asleep in Him. Strengthen our conviction that death is defeated as we look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Almighty God, You have prepared Your kingdom for us from the foundation of the world. Preserve us in faith and love throughout our days, that we may care for Your servants and our neighbors with compassion and joy, looking toward that day when the Son of Man comes in His glory; through the same Jesus Christ, 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 November 26, 2023 — Ektene Form
In peace, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For the people of God’s pasture, gathered from all nations, that they may gladly feast upon His riches in the Means of Grace and declare His praises to all who will hear, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For God’s pastors, that through their service in His Word, our Good Shepherd would be pleased continually to seek the lost, bring back the strayed, bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For our homes, that the Holy Spirit would bless parents to train their children with wisdom and love; and that as the Son gladly subjects Himself to the Father, so God would bless children to gladly submit to their parents, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For those in civil authority, that God would sustain them in their governance until, on the Last Day, this world’s powers pass away, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For all in need of help and healing, [including _____________,] that God would preserve them, deliver them from their transgressions and hold not His peace at their tears, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For those who commune this day, that the God of all grace would endow His people with penitent hearts to receive the risen Christ’s body and blood, and with Him the hope of the resurrection from death to eternal life, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For the saints who have fallen asleep in Jesus, let us give thanks to the Lord; and that God would strengthen our conviction that death is defeated as we look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
Almighty God, You have prepared Your kingdom for us from the foundation of the world. Preserve us in faith and love throughout our days, that we may care for Your servants and our neighbors with compassion and joy, looking toward that day when the Son of Man comes in His glory; through the same Jesus Christ, 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 532 The Head That Once Was Crowned with Thorns
The LCMS Hymn of the Day list appoints this hymn as the Hymn of the Day for Proper 29 (Series A).
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.
The Head That Once was Crowned with Thorns — Historical TLH Edition
Historical text notice: This is the public-domain text of The Lutheran Hymnal 219, not the Lutheran Service Book 532 text. Wording and stanza form may differ.
1. The Head that once was crowned with thorns
Is crowned with glory now;
A royal diadem adorns
The mighty Victor’s brow.
2. The highest place that heaven affords
Is His, is His by right,
The King of kings and Lord of lords,
And heaven’s eternal Light;
3. The Joy of all who dwell above,
The Joy of all below
To whom He manifests His love
And grants His name to know.
4. To them the cross, with all its shame,
With all its grace, is given;
Their name an everlasting name,
Their joy the joy of heaven.
5. They suffer with their Lord below,
They reign with Him above,
Their profit and their joy to know
The mystery of His love.
6. The cross He bore is life and health,
Though shame and death to Him:
His people’s hope, His people’s wealth,
Their everlasting theme.
by Thomas Kelly, 1769-1854
Source: Project Wittenberg; The Lutheran Hymnal, Hymn 219; text as printed in The Handbook to The Lutheran Hymnal (1942) (opens in a new tab). Public domain. Project Wittenberg permits distribution, copying and printing.
Suggested hymns
- Entrance LSB 336 Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending
- Distribution LSB 508 The Day Is Surely Drawing Near
- Distribution LSB 513 The Clouds of Judgment Gather
- Closing LSB 680 Thine the Amen, Thine the Praise
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.