If asked which Gospel is your favorite, I imagine a preacher should respond in much the same way a parent should respond to being asked about their favorite child: “Well, each one has its unique endearments and they are all equally precious.” Nevertheless, Luke has always been my favorite Gospel. Partly, yes, because it is…
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in…
The part of the Epiphany story I have always found most haunting is Matthew 2:3: “When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him.” This one line speaks to an insecure and immature political leader who the people understand will do damage if he feels threatened. It foreshadows the slaughter of…
At Peace Mennonite, we are currently using the Narrative Lectionary for worship. I will occasionally post some thoughts about the coming Sunday’s scripture as part of my own sermon preparation. These aren’t fully formed pieces, but may give some inspiration. John the Baptist apparently didn’t read many church growth blogs. He sets up his ministry…
Hello, friends! It’s been a minute. (Many, many, minutes actually.) I have been writing over these past months, but haven’t gotten around to posting. So I decided to post links to the sermons I’ve written since my last post. Now that we’re (still) in the midst of a world-wide pandemic, I record and post video…
*This post is excerpted from a sermon on Acts 3:1-12a; 4:1-4. My friend, Jay Yoder, has been supporting Black organizers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and shared a video of what happened when they were filming police badge numbers: as Jay neared the end of the line of officers, one stepped forward and, with no warning…
I don’t know how heaven will work, but if there are optional excursion packages I want to take the one where I get to listen in on the conversations that happened when people were forming the Revised Common Lectionary. I realize this will probably be one of the less popular excursions. But still. I am…
“Jesus, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” I love Thomas. He doesn’t go along to get along. He doesn’t pretend to understand Jesus’ baffling words or—later–to believe an unbelievable story of resurrection. I imagine the other disciples smiling, nodding along, just happy to be in Jesus’ presence.…
In some Puritan churches a man would walk around the worship space with a long pole. On one end of the pole was a feather, to tickle the chins of anyone who fell asleep during the sermon. On the other end of the pole was a hard wooden knob to bop children who were giggling…
My best-laid plans for posting in Advent were thwarted by a nasty sinus infection. But I’m healthy again and starting the new year with a resolution to publish something new on the blog at least once a week. Star Words I handed out “star words” during worship yesterday. These are words that can serve as…
