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Lectionary

A collection of 30 issues

Are We Part of the Oppression?

OK, let's cut to the chase. This week's lections have two readings that present an easy-peasy contrast: Isaiah 58 and Luke 13. The Isaiah passage addresses religious people who act out the stage play of their religion (holding fasts), but then fail to act out

Can We Get a Grown-Up View of Faith?

(A Lection Reflection on Hebrews 11) Years ago, I read a book that immediately went onto my "key books" bookshelf: Good to Great by Jim Collins. The author and his team of researchers looked at pairs of companies in the same industries that at one time had been

Are You Wealthy Toward God?

(a Lection Reflection on Luke 12: 13-21) There's an old joke about sermon writing that references "three points and a poem." If you're working on a sermon, I don't have a poem for you -- although there are some on the site

Amos 8, the Headlines, the System, and Us

(A Lection Reflection on Amos 8, Psalm 15, and Psalm 52) Have you read this week's lections yet? No? OK, then -- here is the link to the online lectionary provided by the Vanderbilt Divinity Library. Be sure to read Amos and the two Psalms. I'll wait

Are You That Guy?

I love reading spy thrillers. I like following all the plots and characters, I like the suspense, I like the twists and turns of the story. And, I like a good hero. Why? Because I imagine myself as the hero. As Bruce Willis said in Die Hard 4, I like

Is Your Pride Godly?

(A Lection Reflection on Luke 10 and Galatians 6) If you were to plan a sermon on pride in most churches, the thought bubbles above the listeners would look like this: "Pride. Root of the seven deadly sins. God hates it. Bad stuff. Got it." <brain off&

Asking God to Leave ... and to Stay

Let me ask you an obvious question: do you pray in your church services? OK, too easy. Here's a tougher one: do you expect anything to happen? And here's the toughest one: what if something happened, and it seemed to be tied to a certain one

"A Little Lower than God" -- Really?

There is a Bible study group that meets in a coffee shop I frequent. They sit at a long table near an easy chair where I like to relax, drink my coffee, and read the morning paper or write. From the first time I saw them, I suspected we might

Pentecost -- Who Was There, and Why Do You Care?

Let's play a game. I'm going to write a phrase, and you take a snapshot of the picture that pops up in your mind when you see it. Ready? OK -- just highlight the space after the parens with your mouse: (highlight with mouse -->) Gathered believers

Tough Verses in John 17

(A Lection Reflection on John 17: 20-22) OK, let's get something on the table right up front: if you want to go beyond just the devotional, then some passages are hard. They raise issues of Christology and the nature of humankind that are both complex and challenging.