Revised Common Lectionary Readings for August 30, 2026

Revised Common Lectionary Readings (Three-Year Cycle)

Lectionary Readings for Sunday, August 30, 2026

First Reading Exodus 3:1-15 1Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. 3Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.” 4When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. 7Then the LORD said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, 8and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. 10So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” 11But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12He said, “I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.” 13But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” 15God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’:      This is my name forever,      and this my title for all generations.” Psalm Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c 1   O give thanks to the LORD, call on his name,           make known his deeds among the peoples. 2   Sing to him, sing praises to him;           tell of all his wonderful works. 3   Glory in his holy name;           let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. 4   Seek the LORD and his strength;           seek his presence continually. 5   Remember the wonderful works he has done,           his miracles, and the judgments he has uttered, 6   O offspring of his servant Abraham,           children of Jacob, his chosen ones. 23  Then Israel came to Egypt;           Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham. 24  And the LORD made his people very fruitful,           and made them stronger than their foes, 25  whose hearts he then turned to hate his people,           to deal craftily with his servants. 26  He sent his servant Moses,           and Aaron whom he had chosen. 45cPraise the LORD! Second Reading Romans 12:9-21 9Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 10love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. 11Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. 13Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. 14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. 17Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 18If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Gospel Matthew 16:21-28 21From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” 23But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” 24Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. 26For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? 27“For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. 28Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, KY 40202

Looking into the lectionary - Prayers for the fall 🍎

Matthew 18:15-20 Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time September 6, 2026 What if we actually did what Jesus teaches his disciples about handling conflict? This teaching on “dealing with sin in the church” immediately follows the parable of the lost sheep. In Luke, that parable is part of a “lost things” parables collection, alongside the lost coin and lost son(s), told strategically and deliberately to tax collectors and sinners who were open and eager and leaning in, and to grumbling Pharisees and scribes (Luke 15:1-2). Matthew only includes the parable of the lost sheep, and he uses it as a bridge connecting warnings to the disciples about the consequences of their sin and instruction on how they should respond when someone sins against them. Remember, you are sinful, and God pursues you when you are lost. Remember, when others sin and harm you, God loves and pursues them. And … be wise. In the simplicity of the teaching, Jesus corrects some of the most common behaviors of “good Christian people” when it comes to conflict. Some of the more unconfrontational among us focus on the passage that immediately follows this one – forgive not seven but 77 (or 70 times seven) times – and spend our days attempting (and encouraging others) to “forgive and forget,” “love overlooks wrongs,” as though it is better not to acknowledge injustice or wrongdoing at all. The teaching in Matthew 18:15-20 does not ignore the sin that harms you, but addresses it head on, out of love. Some of the more people-pleasing among us muster what feels like superhuman strength to tolerate wrong so severe that it can be rightly named abuse, effectively becoming doormats on which others may walk and wipe their boots. Jesus does not give a minimum bar for a sin that meets a standard of worthiness to address, but simply tells his disciples to address the one who has wronged you, and Jesus does not seem hesitant about getting others involved. Safe boundaries of increasing distance between someone who has been harmed and the offender is what Jesus is laying out, not shrugging harm away nor inviting the harmed to return for more. What Jesus teaches, with such succinct clarity, is a pathway toward reconciliation and restoration. It isn’t easy, but it is clear. Had Scripture included pictures or images, I think Jesus would get credit for inventing what we now know as flow charts. Here’s how it lays it out: ... Thank you to this week's writer, David Germer. Read the rest of the commentary at pres-outlook.org. Want the worship resources for August 30, 2026? You can find them here.

Order of worship — September 6, 2026 by David Germer    Columbia Theological Seminary President Victor Aoloyo, Jr. to retire — Press Release A prayer for college students beginning a new school year by Caroline Garcia Blessing of the backpacks by Jess Rigel

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT... Paxton, Talarico tap contrary versions of God and Christianity in appeal to Texas voters In a state where two-thirds of the adult population identifies as Christian and 45% say religion is 'very important' in their life, the candidates are asking voters to choose between two dramatically different views of Christianity. — Religion News Service Beyond capitalism vs. socialism Scott Anderson argues that Christianity offers a way to think about markets, government and economic justice beyond the tired binary of capitalism and socialism. Faith leaders return home equipped to transform their communities More than 300 clergy and lay leaders from across the country gathered for the DART Network's annual Justice Ministry Conference to strengthen congregations and organize for lasting community change. — Press Releases Sixteen PC(USA) young adults attend United Nations’ annual High Level Political Forum Delegates attended UN meetings on global sustainable development goals, held vigils and discussed vocational discernment. — Presbyterian News Service Christian universities pull together during Spokane wildfires As wildfires devastated northern Spokane, Gonzaga and Whitworth universities joined forces to shelter evacuees, support displaced communities and raise emergency funds. — FāVS News Registration for the Atwood Institute gun violence prevention training extended to Aug. 30 The Sept. 15-18 event at Heartland Retreat Center near Kansas City is offered by the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship. — Press Releases Now loaded with disaster kits, Boxanne heads home to Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center Synod School’s 650 participants sort and box hygiene kits, period packs, kids’ kits and school bags. — Presbyterian News Service

Copyright © 2026 Presbyterian Outlook, All rights reserved.

Revised Common Lectionary Readings for August 23, 2026

Revised Common Lectionary Readings (Three-Year Cycle)

Lectionary Readings for Sunday, August 23, 2026

First Reading Exodus 1:8-2:10 8Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9He said to his people, “Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more powerful than we. 10Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” 11Therefore they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labor. They built supply cities, Pithom and Rameses, for Pharaoh. 12But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. 13The Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks on the Israelites. 14and made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labor. They were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them. 15The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16“When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she shall live.” 17But the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live. 18So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and allowed the boys to live?” 19The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” 20So God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and became very strong. 21And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. 22Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every boy that is born to the Hebrews you shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let every girl live.” 1Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman.2The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him three months. 3When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. 4His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him. 5The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. 6When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him, “This must be one of the Hebrews’ children,” she said. 7Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” 8Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Yes.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. 9Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed it. 10When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses, “because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.” Psalm Psalm 124:1-8 1   If it had not been the LORD who was on our side           — let Israel now say — 2   if it had not been the LORD who was on our side,           when our enemies attacked us, 3   then they would have swallowed us up alive,           when their anger was kindled against us; 4   then the flood would have swept us away,           the torrent would have gone over us; 5   then over us would have gone           the raging waters. 6   Blessed be the LORD,           who has not given us           as prey to their teeth. 7   We have escaped like a bird           from the snare of the fowlers;      the snare is broken,           and we have escaped. 8   Our help is in the name of the LORD,           who made heaven and earth. Second Reading Romans 12:1-8 1I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God — what is good and acceptable and perfect. 3For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, 5so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. 6We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness. Gospel Matthew 16:13-20 13Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, KY 40202

Looking into the lectionary - Nominate a faith leader we should know

Exodus 3:1-15 14th Sunday after Pentecost 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time August 30, 2026 The bush was burning but not burned up. That is the hook of this famous story. It is the scientific impossibility that causes Moses to turn aside and look. It is the image that has captured the faithful imagination for centuries. There are certainly many threads in this passage for a faithful preacher to follow; but at this moment, having just celebrated my 10th year as an ordained pastor, I am as amazed as Moses was at the idea of a bush – or a person – burning but not burnt up. Burning but not, to use the parlance of our day, burnt out. It’s no secret that the pastoral profession suffers heavily from burnout. Fewer studies focus on congregation members, but I suspect any faithful, committed member of the body of Christ sometimes flirts with exhaustion of the soul. There is so much we are called to do by God, by our families, by our workplaces, and by our churches, that even the most energetic volunteer is in danger of running out of fuel. Burnout – showing up as apathy, rage, cynicism, and withdrawal – haunts our pulpits and our pews. And yet God appears to Moses as a fire that burns but does not consume. God’s nature is not to destroy. God does not demand, applaud or admire our slow self-destruction, either. It sounds obvious, but the church has such a long tradition of asking folks to sacrifice themselves to God’s service that I think it needs to be said. God is the fire that burns in us, that animates us, that gives us heat and strength and power. God is not the fire that leaves us dry and brittle and empty inside. I am not about to propose a cure, antidote or vaccine for burnout. But I do think there are instructive lessons in this ancient call story to help us stay connected to the holiness that does not destroy what it inhabits. The first lesson: know what your call is. God is beautifully specific about Moses’ call. “I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” True, it is an overwhelming, near-impossible, potentially deadly job, but at least Moses knows what he’ll be doing. He is not called to save everyone who suffers across the world. God sends him to this one people.... Thank you to this week's writer, Carol Holbrook Prickett. Read the rest of the commentary at pres-outlook.org. Want the worship resources for August 23, 2026? You can find them here.

Order of worship — August 30, 2026 by Carol Holbrook Prickett A prayer for parents who are afraid by Naomi McQuiller   Can attending a school board meeting be an act of ministry? by Owen Gray A case for the title 'commissioned pastor' by Janet Benson Nominate a faith leader we should know by Teri McDowell Ott Remembering the Rev. Dr. Joanna Moseley Adams by McKenna Britton

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT... A prayer for seminarians Naomi McQuiller offers a prayer for seminarians entering a new academic year with curiosity, uncertainty and hope, asking God for peace, endurance and moments of joy. Blessed are the peacemakers in a militarized world Mihee Kim-Kort shares what remembering the Korean War, American militarism and the church’s witness can teach us. Shadows of the Republic: The Rebirth of Fascism in America and How to Defeat It for Good Amy Pagliarella reviews Omer Aziz's "Shadows of the Republic," tracing America's fascist roots and offering a local-action playbook for fighting back. The garden of a PC(USA) church in Georgia feeds the community and earns an Earth Care Congregation certification Kevin’s Garden began in 2011 as a way to remember a young church member who passed away. — Presbyterian News Service  Discussion guide for July/August 2026 issue In each issue of the Outlook, we include a discussion guide to further reflect on the issue. We recommend using this guide in your Bible study, small group or book club. It's our invitation into a faithful conversation. — Donald L. Griggs Three PC(USA) pastors discuss the joy of working toward their certificate in older adult ministry Presbyterian Older Adult Ministries Network and Columbia Seminary’s Center for Lifelong Learning have partnered to train more than 175 people to date. — Mike Ferguson

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