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Lectionary Blog

Lectionary blog: Worshiping who we used to be

Lectionary blog for Oct. 30 Reformation Sunday Jeremiah 31:31-34; Psalm 46; Romans 3:19-28; John 8:31-36 A story is told about a young priest who was assigned to a cathedral in…

Lectionary blog: ‘Valley of the weeper’
Lectionary Blog

Lectionary blog: ‘Valley of the weeper’

Lectionary blog for Oct. 23 23nd Sunday after Pentecost Jeremiah 14:7-10, 19-22; Psalm 84:1-7; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18; Luke 18:9-14 I like to check out a variety of English translations…

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Lectionary Blog

Lectionary blog: Faith during bad times

Lectionary blog for Oct. 16 22nd Sunday after Pentecost Genesis 32:22-31; Psalm 121; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5; Luke 18:1-8 Our gospel lesson about the widow pestering the judge reminds me of…

Lectionary blog: Trusting God as we journey
Lectionary Blog

Lectionary blog: Trusting God as we journey

Lectionary blog for Oct. 9 21st Sunday after Pentecost 2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c; Psalm 111; 2 Timothy 2:8-15; Luke 17:11-19 We have before us today two interesting stories: the story…

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Lectionary Blog

Lectionary blog: What it means to have faith

Lectionary blog for Oct. 2 20th Sunday after Pentecost Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4; Psalm 37:1-9; 2 Timothy 1:1-14; Luke 17:5-10 In her autobiography, Broadway actress Helen Hayes tells about her first…

Lectionary blog: You were serious about that?
Lectionary Blog

Lectionary blog: You were serious about that?

Lectionary blog for Sept. 25 19th Sunday after Pentecost Amos 6:1a, 4-7; Psalm 146; 1 Timothy 6:6-19; Luke 16:19-31 In the movie “The Princess Bride,” one of the running gags…

Lectionary blog: It takes total trust
Lectionary Blog

Lectionary blog: It takes total trust

Lectionary blog for Sept. 18 Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost Amos 8:4-7; Psalm 113; 1 Timothy 2:1-7; Luke 16:1-13 As baseball season is winding down and the pennant races are heating…

Lectionary blog: God loves us anyway
Lectionary Blog

Lectionary blog: God loves us anyway

Lectionary blog for Sept. 11 Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost Exodus 32:7-14; Psalm 51:1-10; 1 Timothy 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-10 “Is God a grown-up or a parent?” Writing in the Catholic Digest,…

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Lectionary Blog

Lectionary blog: The cost of discipleship

Lectionary blog for Sept. 4 Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 1; Philemon 1-21; Luke 14:25-33 I grew up attending a congregation somewhat loosely affiliated with the Southern Baptist…

Lectionary blog: Being radically inclusive
Lectionary Blog

Lectionary blog: Being radically inclusive

Lectionary blog for Aug. 28 Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost Proverbs 25:6-7; Psalm 112; Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16; Luke 14:1, 7-14 When you’re pastor of the Lutheran church in Athens, Ga., where…

Lectionary blog: Love can trump the rules
Lectionary Blog

Lectionary blog: Love can trump the rules

Lectionary blog for Aug. 21 Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost Isaiah 58:9b-14; Psalm 103:1-8; Hebrews 12:18-29; Luke 13:10-17 As a graduate of a non-Lutheran seminary, I spent a year at the…

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Lectionary Blog

Lectionary blog: Good, not pleasant, news

Lectionary blog for Aug. 14 Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost Jeremiah 23:23-29; Psalm 82; Hebrews 11:29-12:2; Luke 12:49-56 Some years ago a man I knew in one of my congregations had…