Proper 10 (Ordinary 15)
July 12, 2026 — liturgical color: green
Jump to your tradition's hymnal & calendar notes:
Readings for Proper 10 (Ordinary 15)
- First ReadingIsaiah 55:10-11
- PsalmPsalm 65:(1-8) 9-13
- Second ReadingRomans 8:1-11
- GospelMatthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Sermon angles to start your study
Starting points for your OWN study — not finished sermons.
Start with the Gospel
Begin your study in Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 — read it aloud, slowly, more than once, and note the first image or line that snags your attention before turning to commentaries.
Read the first reading alongside it
Isaiah 55:10-11 was chosen to sit next to the Gospel this week — ask what conversation the two texts are having with each other, and let that conversation shape your outline.
Let the Psalm set the tone
Psalm 65:(1-8) 9-13 is this week's prayer language — its emotional register (lament, praise, trust, complaint) is a clue to how the congregation may be arriving on Sunday.
Illustrations from the tradition
Teasers from Sermon Helper's illustration archive, matched to this week's texts.
Perseverance
“Want of love to God is the ground of apostasy. The seed in the parable which had no root fell away.”
Worldliness
“That which was sown among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the error of riches, and the rest of the other lusts enter, and choke the word, and it becometh without fruit.”
Scripture and the Word
“The sower went forth to sow: and some fell on the beaten highway, and it was trodden upon, and the birds ate it.”
Hymn suggestions by hymnal
Cross-referenced to this week's texts via the Hymnary.org scripture index.
- A Sower Came from Ancient HillsNo. 171
- Come, Ye Thankful People, ComeNo. 367
- I Am the Bread of LifeNo. 522
- Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and NeedyNo. 415
- Isaiah the Prophet Has Written of OldNo. 77
- Joyful, Joyful, We Adore TheeNo. 611
- Come, Ye Thankful People, ComeNo. 694
- As the Sun Doth Daily RiseNo. 675
- Blessed Jesus, at Thy wordNo. 596
- Come, Ye DisconsolateNo. 510
- Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and NeedyNo. 340
- Joyful, Joyful, We Adore TheeNo. 89
- Lord, Let My Heart Be Good SoilNo. 512
- Come, Ye Thankful People, ComeNo. 693
- I Am the Bread of LifeNo. 485
- Come, Ye DisconsolateNo. 607
- Joyful, Joyful, We Adore TheeNo. 836
- Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)No. 779
- Come, Ye Thankful People, ComeNo. 290
- I Am the Bread of LifeNo. 335
- Blessed Jesus, at Thy wordNo. 440
- God Moves in a Mysterious WayNo. 677
- Joyful, Joyful, We Adore TheeNo. 376
- Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)No. 671
Call to worship
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