Lectionary blog: Letting the light shine
Lectionary Blog

Lectionary blog: Letting the light shine

Lectionary blog for March 3, 2019 Last Sunday of [time after] Epiphany Exodus 34:29-35; Psalm 99; 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2; Luke 9:28-36   The life of faith can be dull sometimes….

Placeholder image
Study Guides

Study guide: Pray without ceasing

Among the building blocks of our faith lives—prayer, worship, the sacraments, Scripture and sacred community—prayer is arguably most vital. After all, prayer is an essential ingredient of all the others,…

Lectionary blog: Because that’s what God is like!
Lectionary Blog

Lectionary blog: Because that’s what God is like!

Lectionary blog for Feb. 24, 2019 Seventh Sunday after Epiphany Genesis 43:3-11, 15; Psalm 37:1-11, 39-40; 1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50; Luke 6:27-38 Wanting to win is human nature. Whether in…

Lectionary blog: Not being mockers
Lectionary Blog

Lectionary blog: Not being mockers

Lectionary blog for Feb. 17, 2019 Sixth Sunday after Epiphany Jeremiah 17:5-10; Psalm 1; 1 Corinthians 15:12-20; Luke 6:17-26 In this time of microtargeted advertisements and affinity communities on Facebook…

Placeholder image
Lectionary Blog

Lectionary blog: Fishing for humans

Lectionary blog for Feb. 10, 2019 Fifth Sunday after Epiphany Isaiah 6:1-8; Psalm 138; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 5:1-11 The Gospel story of the fishermen enjoying one last great haul…

Placeholder image
Voices of Faith

What forced sabbath reveals about God

When the polar vortex hit Minnesota, our weekend crawled on for six days, Jan. 26-31. Where we live, even the mail was suspended on the coldest day. My kids kept…

What is God up to?
From The Presiding Bishop

What is God up to?

What is to be done? Our congregations are growing older and smaller. At least 40 percent of our congregations have an average weekly worship attendance of 50 or less. ELCA…

God out loud
Voices of Faith

God out loud

And a voice came from heaven … (Mark 1:11). Upon returning to church after a long absence, the writer Nora Gallagher spent the whole first year crying. She would receive…

Lectionary blog: Love is not envious
Lectionary Blog

Lectionary blog: Love is not envious

Lectionary blog for Feb. 3, 2019 Fourth Sunday after Epiphany Jeremiah 1:4-10; Psalm 71:1-6; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; Luke 4:21-30 The highlights of my life of faith have been times when…

All in God’s image
Living Faithfully

All in God’s image

“You have a yellow tooth.” Occasionally, a child notices the discoloration on my front left tooth and states this. For a while, I marveled that only children commented on this….

Placeholder image
Lectionary Blog

Lectionary blog: What Scripture does to and for us

Lectionary blog for Jan. 27, 2019 Third Sunday after Epiphany Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a; Luke 4:14-21 It was a time of deep political upheaval, when…