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Prayer Ventures

Prayer ventures: Jan. 6

Every day, Living Lutheran offers a prayer for the day from the ELCA resource Prayer Ventures, which can be downloaded here. These petitions are offered as a guide for your own prayer life…

Illumination
Voices of Faith

Illumination

Alleluia. We have observed his star at its rising, and have come to worship him. Alleluia. —Gospel acclamation for Epiphany (Year A), from Matthew 2:2   When I left the…

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Lectionary Blog

Lectionary blog: Servant songs

Lectionary blog for Jan. 12, 2020 First Sunday after Epiphany Isaiah 42:1-9; Psalm 29; Acts 10:34-43; Matthew 3:13-17 Have you ever had one of those conversations in which you are…

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Prayer Ventures

Prayer ventures: Jan. 5

Every day, Living Lutheran offers a prayer for the day from the ELCA resource Prayer Ventures, which can be downloaded here. These petitions are offered as a guide for your own prayer life…

Search the darkness
Voices of Faith

Search the darkness

Where is God? If you ask some children and many adults, they will point to the sky. And they might be right—at night. The Gospel readings that frame January locate…

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Spiritual Resources

Training liturgical imagination

For over 30 years, I’ve had the great privilege and joy of teaching worship to students preparing for ministry. As a teacher, I find that some questions never go away:…

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Lectionary Blog

Lectionary blog: Bringing together the family

Lectionary blog for Jan. 5, 2020 Second Sunday of Christmas Jeremiah 31:7-14; Psalm 147:12-20; Ephesians 1:3-14; John 1:10-18 For those of us who are blessed to live relatively close to…

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Lectionary Blog

Lectionary blog: The way forward

Lectionary for Dec 29, 2019 First Sunday of Christmas Isaiah 63:7-9; Psalm 148; Hebrews 2:10-18; Matthew 2:13-23 The Feast of the Holy Innocents is a difficult day. Only a few…

My take: Mary as a figure of power
Voices of Faith

My take: Mary as a figure of power

I have always loved Mary, the mother of our Lord, and each year she becomes more important to me. But my love for Mary does not come from admiration of…

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Lectionary Blog

Lectionary blog: Crying out for good news

Lectionary blog for Dec. 22, 2019 Fourth Sunday of Advent Isaiah 7:10-16; Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-25 Do you ever feel pressure to conform to appearances during the…

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Lectionary Blog

Lectionary blog: When Jesus disappoints

Lectionary blog for Dec. 15, 2019 Third Sunday of Advent Isaiah 35:1-10; Psalm 146:5-10; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11 With all the celebration, family time and joy, it’s easy to forget…