Ashland follows the Lectionary scriptures as part of weekly worship services. Current and past scripture readings are listed here.

September 6, 2009 14th Sunday after Pentecost

Psalm 124: Thanksgiving for God's deliverance from enemies.

Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23: Proverbs contrasts the lives of the rich and the lives of the poor. This passage stresses the importance of a good name, the responsibility of the rich for the poor, and the duty of the powerful to care for the powerless.

James 2:1-10 (11-13), 14-17: James relates the responsibilities of Christians directly to the concerns expressed in Proverbs, stressing charity as a sign of living faith.

Mark 7:24-37: Jesus is encountered by a Syrophoenician woman who earnestly beseeches him to heal her daughter. Though the woman and her daughter are Gentiles, Jesus reaches out in compassion and heals the daughter.

September 13, 2009 15th Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 19)

Psalm 19

Proverbs 1:20-33: Wisdom is personified as a person who cries out in the streets, calling to people to trust in her wise counsel.

James 3:1-12: The qualities of teachers and the power of words and speech for good and for ill.

Mark 8:27-38: In Caesarea Philippi Jesus asks his disciples, "Who do people say I am?"

September 20, 2009 15th Sunday after Pentecost

Proverbs 31:10-31: The virtuous woman, the wife and mother who shows great wisdom in all her undertakings.

Psalm 1: A celebration of a way of life rooted in God.

James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a: One path is the way of wordly wisdom that ultimately leads to death. The other path, heavenly wisdom, is humble, merciful, and fruitful.

Mark 9:30-37: Jesus shares with the 12 that he is soon to be betrayed, killed, and resurrected on the third day. Then Jesus teaches his ambitious followers about faithful discipleship.

September 27 2009 16th Sunday after Pentecost

Esther 7:1-6, 9-10, 9:20-22: Wicked Haman finally gets his due, and Esther and her people, the Jews, are preserved from terrible destruction.

Psalm 124 A psalm of thanksgiving to God for deliverance.

James 5:13-20: The early church cares for those among them who are sick and disabled.

Mark 9:38-50: Jesus warns of the need for decisive action in accord with the demands of the reign of God.