Preaching Mark (Part 1)
Back by popular demand, this Preacher’s Roundtable led by David Schmitt discusses preaching Mark in year B of the three-year lectionary. Part 1 (of 2) looks at preaching Mark from Advent through Easter
Epiphany 3 • 1 Corinthians 7:29–31 (32–35) • January 25, 2015
By David Schmitt At the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art, there is an installation called Cup by Thomas Skomski. It’s basically a shelf extending out of the wall with a cup at the very end. The shelf is about the height of a countertop, making the cup perfectly within reach. Suspended there, this cup promises water for the weary. ..
Epiphany 2 • 1 Corinthians 6:12–20 • January 18, 2015
By Tim Saleska Relevant Background Acts 18:1–17 describes Paul’s eighteenth-month stay in Corinth. When both Silas and Timothy came to help him, he was able to spend all of his time ministering to the Jews (v. 5). But eventually, opposition to his message forced him to stop preaching in the synagogue. He moved next door to the house ..
Baptism of Our Lord • Romans 6:1–11 • January 11, 2015
By Jeffrey A. Oschwald This pericope has all the dangers of a familiar text: we recall parts of it perfectly but may not remember how those parts all fit together. The themes of this passage are, no doubt, regular themes within our preaching. This day, however, can provide us with an opportunity to present this passage as something ..
Epiphany • Ephesians 3:1–12 • January 4, 2015
By Joel P. Okamoto Notes on the Pericope The Old Testament people knew that God had promised life and salvation to all nations (e.g., see Genesis 12:3 and Isaiah 60:1–6, the appointed OT lesson), but they did not know how he would do that. God made this clear through his Son and in the witness of the apostles. Paul’s ..
Lectionary@Lunch Live – 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16
Paul Raabe continues the discussion of the Old Testament pericopies in Advent Year B
Lectionary@Lunch Live – Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
Tom Egger continues his discussion of the Old Testament pericopies in Advent Year B
Christmas 1 • Galatians 4:4–7 • December 28, 2014
By Glenn A. Nielsen The celebration of Christmas begins, in stores and media, months before December 25. Advent has led up to the church’s celebrations of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Now, three days later, the season of Christmas continues. But what is left to say? What is left now that the children’s program has brought the trip to ..
Advent 4 • Romans 16:25–27 • December 21, 2014
By Ben Haupt On the final Sunday of Advent, just a few days before the glorious celebration of Christmas, these three verses at the end of the Epistle to the Romans are full of homiletical possibility. In just a few days, the people of God will join in countless hymns which all use the word “glory” (“Angels from the ..
Lectionary@Lunch Live – Isaiah 40:1-11
Prof. Tom Egger presents the first Lectionary at Lunch Live on Isaiah 40:1-11 (Advent 2B)
Advent 3 • 1 Thessalonians 5:16–24 • December 14, 2014
By Jeff Gibbs It would be tempting to regard this text, a series of short imperative clauses, as a random series of “inspired one-liners” that exhort the Thessalonian believers (and us) to general Christian behaviors and attitudes. To be sure, there’s some truth in such a description, for there is no complex argument involved and the hardest structural ..
Lectionary at Lunch LIVE
Starting Tuesday, December 2, Lectionary at Lunch will also be available as a free, real-time video chat at www.csl.edu/live
Advent 2 • 2 Peter 3:8–14 • December 7, 2014
By Jeff Thormodson The seven verses just preceding our text describe a cultural milieu that seriously doubts the existence of God or a literal judgment day. This first century attitude fits the current context where “[many] see no tangible evidence of the Lord’s second coming and thus doubt its reality. As a result, they see no need for ..
Advent 1 • 1 Corinthians 1:3–9 • November 30, 2014
By David A. Johnson The church journeys into Advent, anticipating renewal in the vital proclamation of Jesus’s incarnation—embodied grace in the embryo of a woman’s womb. The church becomes that vessel of incarnate grace where we are saturated in baptismal living waters that have claimed, redeemed, and forgiven us. The Church remains an eternal community gathered around the table of ..
Proper 20 • Ezekiel 34:11–16; 20–24 • November 23, 2014
By Timothy Dost God Protects and Heals His Flock When faced with the fall of Jerusalem, Ezekiel describes the judgment on those shepherds responsible and the reasons for the fall. In our passage he declares that God will provide new shepherds who will care for the flock and will tend to them properly. In the intervening verses, he ..
Proper 28 • Zephaniah 1:7–16 • November 16, 2014
By Andrew Bartelt With the end of the church year near and coming quickly, Zephaniah deepens the darkness of the “great and terrible day of Yahweh.” The pericope includes the famous Dies Irae passage of the ancient hymn by that name (TLH 607). But this is only chapter 1, which is focused against Judah (1:4). Zephaniah 2 continues ..