Fourth Sunday after Pentecost	June 21, 2026
Prayer of the Day
For those who love you, O God, you have chosen and prepared what no eye has seen nor ear heard. Pour into our hearts a loving affection for you, that we may choose you in and above all things. For only then shall we have what you promise, which far exceeds all we can desire; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. He lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
First Reading: Jeremiah 20:7-13 
7O Lord, you have deceived me, and I was deceived; you are stronger than I, and you have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all the day; everyone mocks me. 8For whenever I speak, I cry out, I shout, “Violence and destruction!” For the word of the Lord has become for me a reproach and derision all day long. 9If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot. 10For I hear many whispering. Terror is on every side! “Denounce him! Let us denounce him!” say all my close friends, watching for my fall. “Perhaps he will be deceived; then we can overcome him and take our revenge on him.” 11But the Lord is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble; they will not overcome me. They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten. 12O Lord of hosts, who tests the righteous, who sees the heart and the mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you have I committed my cause. 13Sing to the Lord; praise the Lord! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers.
Psalm 91:1-10 [11-16] 
1He who dwells in the shelter of | the Most High,*
	abides under the shadow of | the Almighty.
2He shall say to the Lord, “You are my refuge | and my stronghold,*
	my God in whom I | put my trust.”
3He shall deliver you from the snare | of the hunter*
	and from the | deadly pestilence.
4He shall cover you with his pinions, and you shall find refuge un- | der his wings;*
	his faithfulness shall be a | shield and buckler.
5You shall not be afraid of any ter- | ror by night,*
	nor of the arrow that | flies by day;
6Of the plague that stalks | in the darkness,*
	nor of the sickness that lays | waste at mid day.
7A thousand shall fall at your side and ten thousand at | your right hand,*
	but it shall | not come near you.
8Your eyes have only | to behold*
	to see the reward | of the wicked.
9Because you have made the | Lord your refuge,*
	and the Most High your | habitation,
10There shall no evil hap- | pen to you,*
	neither shall any plague come | near your dwelling.
[11For he shall give his angels charge | over you,*
	to keep you in | all your ways.
12They shall bear you | in their hands,*
	lest you dash your foot a- | gainst a stone.
13You shall tread upon the li- | on and adder;*
	you shall trample the young lion and the serpent un- | der your feet.
14Because he is bound to me in love, therefore will I de- | liver him;*
	I will protect him, because he | knows my name.
15He shall call upon me, and I will | answer him;*
	I am with him in trouble; I will rescue him and bring | him to honor.
16With long life will I sa- | tisfy him,*
	and show him | my salvation.]
Psalm 91:1-10 [11-16] (ESV)
1He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
3For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.
4He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
6nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
7A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
8You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked.
9Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place — the Most High, who is my refuge —
10no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent.
[11For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
12On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.
13You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
14“Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name.
15When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.
16With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”]
Second Reading: Romans 6:12-23 
12Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. 15What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 19I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. 20For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Gospel: Matthew 10:5a, 21-33
5aThese twelve {disciples} Jesus sent out, instructing them, 
21“Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. 24A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household. 26So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. 28And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”
Next Week’s Readings:
Jeremiah 28:5-9; Psalm 119:153-160; Romans 7:1-13; Matthew 10:34-42