Open Word

Semicontinuous (Track 1)

FIRST READING

Isaiah 5:1-7

Verse 1. I will sing for my beloved a song of his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. Verse 2. He dug it up and cleared the stones and planted the finest vines. He built a watchtower in the middle and dug out a winepress as well. He waited for the vineyard to yield good grapes, but the fruit it produced was sour! Verse 3. “And now, O dwellers of Jerusalem and men of Judah, I exhort you to judge between Me and My vineyard. Verse 4. What more could have been done for My vineyard than I have done for it? Why, when I expected sweet grapes, did it bring forth sour fruit? Verse 5. Now I will tell you what I am about to do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be consumed; I will tear down its wall, and it will be trampled. Verse 6. I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and thorns and briers will grow up. I will command the clouds that rain shall not fall on it.” Verse 7. For the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of His delight. He looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard a cry of distress.

PSALM

Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19

For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” A Psalm of Asaph. Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel, who leads Joseph like a flock; You who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth

before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh. Rally Your mighty power and come to save us.

You uprooted a vine from Egypt; You drove out the nations and transplanted it.

You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land.

The mountains were covered by its shade, and the mighty cedars with its branches.

It sent out its branches to the Sea, and its shoots toward the River.

Why have You broken down its walls, so that all who pass by pick its fruit?

The boar from the forest ravages it, and the creatures of the field feed upon it.

Return, O God of Hosts, we pray! Look down from heaven and see! Attend to this vine—

the root Your right hand has planted, the son You have raised up for Yourself.

Your vine has been cut down and burned; they perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.

Let Your hand be upon the man at Your right hand, on the son of man You have raised up for Yourself.

Then we will not turn away from You; revive us, and we will call on Your name.

Restore us, O LORD God of Hosts; cause Your face to shine upon us, that we may be saved.

Complementary (Track 2)

FIRST READING

Jeremiah 23:23-29

Verse 23. “Am I only a God nearby,” declares the LORD, “and not a God far away?” Verse 24. “Can a man hide in secret places where I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD. Verse 25. “I have heard the sayings of the prophets who prophesy lies in My name: ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’ Verse 26. How long will this continue in the hearts of these prophets who prophesy falsehood, these prophets of the delusion of their own minds? Verse 27. They suppose the dreams that they tell one another will make My people forget My name, just as their fathers forgot My name through the worship of Baal. Verse 28. Let the prophet who has a dream retell it, but let him who has My word speak it truthfully. For what is straw compared to grain?” declares the LORD. Verse 29. “Is not My word like fire,” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer that smashes a rock?”

PSALM

Psalm 82

A Psalm of Asaph. God presides in the divine assembly; He renders judgment among the gods:

“How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked?

Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; uphold the rights of the afflicted and oppressed.

Rescue the weak and needy; save them from the hand of the wicked.

They do not know or understand; they wander in the darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

I have said, ‘You are gods; you are all sons of the Most High.’

But like mortals you will die, and like rulers you will fall.”

Arise, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are Your inheritance.

SECOND READING

Hebrews 11:29-12:2

Text not available in the Berean Standard Bible.

GOSPEL

Luke 12:49-56

Verse 49. I have come to ignite a fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! Verse 50. But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! Verse 51. Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but division. Verse 52. From now on, five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. Verse 53. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law. ” Verse 54. Then Jesus said to the crowds, “As soon as you see a cloud rising in the west, you say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and that is what happens. Verse 55. And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It will be hot,’ and it is. Verse 56. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky. Why don’t you know how to interpret the present time?