April 28, 2019 Acts 5:27-32 John 20:19-31 Giving Campaign 1 “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” It is easy to hear those words as if they are directed to Thomas. In fact, they are directed to him according to the dialogue, and when we read them that […]
April 21, 2019 Luke 24:1-12 What is most interesting, I think, about Luke’s version of the Easter story is that there is no body, no Jesus present. Unlike in John’s gospel, the one that tends to be more familiar, Jesus doesn’t appear to the women, call Mary by name, and open her eyes to […]
Feb. 24, 2019 Luke 6:27-38 Why should we love our enemies? After 20 years in ministry and a lifetime of being a Christian, it surprises me that that’s my question this time around with this passage. Why do it?! Maybe I’ve always assumed that we should because Jesus said so. It is right because […]
Oct. 28, 2018 Hebrews 7:23-28 Mark 10:46-52 The Book of Hebrews doesn’t get a ton of play in the lectionary that we (and most other mainline churches) follow. Right now, toward the end of what they call Year B, is high season for Hebrews. We get 7 weeks of Hebrews; that is, if I […]
Oct. 21, 2018 Job 38:1-7, 34-41 Psalm 104 Mark 10:35-45 A friend of mine told me the other day how he keeps getting these really inspired sermon ideas. He shared some of those ideas with me and I agreed: they were fantastic. The churches where he had been preaching agreed too. “They really responded,” […]
Oct. 7, 2018 Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12 Mark 10:2-16 Here’s how one of my commentaries begins its reflection on Mark 10:2-16: “She did not look like a Pharisee. She appeared harmless: a flowered-print dress, short in stature, glasses too large for her rounded face. I thought she was going to welcome me to the church. […]
Sept. 2, 2018 Song of Solomon 2:8-13 Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 I told you about Debie Thomas last week. She blogs on the lectionary passages, and so far I have to say I haven’t read a thing by her that’s failed to leave me at least little better off than I was before. This […]
Aug. 26, 2018 Ephesians 6:10-20 John 6:56-69 I want to begin with a quote from a book that I just started reading. The author’s been talking about the lack of civility in our current cultural climate. She writes: “If we disagree, we must hate each other, right? No. This is our culture’s lie du […]
Aug. 19, 2018 John 6:51-58 I’m not sure what inspired me, but there were a few semesters during college when I sang with the college choir. It wasn’t a fancy thing; it’s not like there were auditions or evaluations of any kind. Pretty much anybody who wanted to could join a section and give […]
July 8, 2018 Mark 6:1-13 I missed you last week because I was on an island somewhere in Lake Michigan attending a preaching conference that was focused primarily on reading the biblical verbs. In fact, the title to the lecture series was, “Reading the Verbs: Finding the Script in Scripture.” It’s funny to think that […]