Owner: Unlikely Conversation: a Lectionary Blog URL:http://unlikelyconversation.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2007 22:57:49 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Always: Curious husband and dad looking at the world his daughters are growing up in through a Lectionary lens. Sometimes: Lutheran Preacher in Minnesota on the Edge in the Mid-Western Prairie and the Hiawatha Valley reading scripture and loving life. New Site statistics:Click here
Bold Vision for the church required. 2007-07-24 16:19:00 What's your vision of the church:
A relevant body boldly proclaiming Christ to a world mired in sin.A refuge from the world where life in the risen one is celebrated even in the face of death.A people on a mission bringing Jesus vision and values with them into all places.The body of Christ is made up of people; and people come together in the church in surprising and often unexpected ways. One
What's important Luke 12:13-21; Colossians 3:1-12 2007-08-01 14:31:00 Colossians 3:1-2
1 Since you were raised from the dead with Christ, aim at what is in heaven, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Think only about the things in heaven, not the things on earth.
Paul wrote to the early church that every believer was a new creation. He believed that God is at work in all of our lives because we have died and risen with Jesus. It was that
no post today 2007-07-30 08:04:00 Vacation
I'll be done with it Wednesday
no post today
unlikely
Sermon Pentecost 10 C August 5 2007 2007-08-03 22:42:00 I appreciate all that has been said about praying for and caring for the people in Minneapolis. As a native now living 100 miles away I can sense the fear and hope that coexist for so many
this is what I am saying Sunday
where it says slides is just a reference to what is projected while I am speaking
pax
unlikely
Slide 1: What matters?
I called my folks on Wednesday night and got no Read more:Sermon
, August
Don't fear--believe Luke 12:32-48 2007-08-06 12:16:00 There's a real challenge for believe
rs reading the Gospels. When we meet Jesus in Luke (or any other Gospel) we meet a man and God who acts independently of our values and philosophies.
In our age we like to imagine God as always on our side. One might imagine God as soft and compassionate. He's portrayed by some as a big cosmic Teddy Bear who accepts all. Another might imagine God as angry
Jesus came to bring fire. Luke 12:49-56 2007-08-13 21:56:00 Its tempting to read Luke 12 and do anything but listen to what Jesus
says to his hearers. Jesus is bold in Luke 12 and that boldness is down right frightening. Jesus point to the crowd of thousands who came to see him in the marketplace is troubling: he came for a reason, for a "baptism that he had to endure." Its tempting to find some way to avoid Jesus' point, but the growing intensity of
On the Sabbath? Luke 13:10-17 2007-08-20 12:13:00 First a prayer request.
Southeastern Minnesota has been deluged with rain over the past 3 days. We've got a trickle of water in our basement; but that's nothing compare to others nearby. Some are missing, some lost their lives as roads and homes were swept away by quiet streams the swelled to raging torrents. Please keep my neighbors an hour to the east, along the Root, White Water, and Read more:Sabbath
Luke 14:1, 7-14 2007-08-27 10:10:00 Last Friday I joined four other guys from church and headed over to Stockton, MN to help muck out houses. We worked alongside of home owners, their families, and a Mennonite group from Wisconsin ripping out soaked drywall, filling buckets and wheelbarrows with mud and sewage, pulling out ruined carpet, insulation, and furniture. There still much work to be done.
Please keep our neighbors
Keep Your Eyes Open Luke 16:19-31 2007-09-25 09:23:00 Jesus' teachings about wealth and poverty, relationships of all kinds, and religion and love for the neighbor, blossom in Luke 16. It's fascinating to watch Jesus chose stories, rather than lectures, to teach his listeners about the God's vision and justice. The stories have space for each hearer to see them self either in the Kingdom of God or on the outside looking in wishing to be included. Read more:Eyes Open
Jesus Walk with Us 2007-09-22 21:57:00 Kanye West has released a fantastic rap stating the need for Jesus
.
It's one of the most profound statements I've seen in some time about the need that we as a culture have to meet him.
Who do you serve? Luke 16:1-13 2007-09-17 12:13:00 Luke 16:13 is easily used as a maxim for living. Jesus words easily slip out of the context of scripture and into our vocabulary as a proverb. "No servant can serve
two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." (KJV) It's the kind of statement we can pull out of scripture and use
Joy in Heaven Luke 15:1-10 2007-09-10 11:36:00 A wise man once told to a group of Lutheran seminarians that if you really want to squirm when you read the Gospels substitute the word Lutherans in place of the word Pharisees in the Gospels.
The suggestion is good advice for any Christian, regardless of denominational label. Just substitute your beloved group in place of Pharisees and scribes and see just how real and personal Jesus challenge Read more:Heaven
Choosing Life Deuteronomy 30:15-20, Luke 14:25-33 2007-09-04 11:00:00 Choices are part of everyday in the world...
Most, we think, are mundane; paper or plastic, cash or charge, white or wheat etc.
Serving God is an everyday choice too ... that happens right in the middle of the mundane.
The past year has taught me that many parents have made no choice for their children about church and about God. Many parents, if not even most parents, function in what
The Foreigner Returned Luke 17:11-19 2007-10-08 10:32:00 Ten leper's met Jesus as he entered a village. Luke says the 10 kept their distance; calling out, Ἰησου̂ ἐπιστάτα, ἐλέησον ἡμα̂ς Jesus, master/leader be kind/merciful to us. Jesus saw them and responded. "Go to priest and show him that you are clean."
Luke says that on their way to the priest all ten were made clean. One came back thankful that he was cleansed of his disease. The other 9 Read more:Foreigner
Increase our Faith Luke 17:5-10 2007-10-01 12:26:00 Jesus' friends asked him to increase their faith. They weren't alone in their request for more faith. I ask God for the same thing. Listen in your prayers, do you find yourself saying, "God give me faith to do..." or "God give me faith for..." Maybe you think that all you need is a little more faith and you'll finally be at peace with God and you'll finally be able to do everything that God Read more:Faith
Pestering God: Luke 18:1-8 2007-10-15 13:50:00 Prayer is part of walking with Jesus. God receives all kinds prayer: formal and corporate prayer, everyday and conversational. Its our part of communication with God as Father. But its not a one way street. God sometimes starts the conversations and other times replies when we start talking. That's called revelation; and prayer to God can't exist without faith in the God revealed to us and
Reformation Required John 8:31-36 2007-10-22 17:18:00 My apologies to any non-Lutherans who read this blog. The last Sunday in October is our day to commemorate the reformation and the freedom we have in Christ. If you were looking for thoughts about Pentecost 25c please try www.textweek.com.Freedom came to earth in the flesh and blood person of Jesus. He came to give us true freedom to trust both our earthly lives and our eternal lives into God’ Read more:Reformation
Saints and Sinners Luke 6:20-31 and Luke 19:1-10 2007-10-29 14:28:00 Jesus, as a person, brought hope and the promise of salvation with him into many lives.
Early on in Jesus' ministry Luke said that Jesus gave sermon on a plain challenging Israel to rethink justice. This sermon given on a plain is God's plan to turn the whole world over for good.
To the poor Jesus promised the kingdom of God. He told the hungry, "you will be filled." He told the Read more:Saints
What were you expecting Luke 20:27-38 2007-11-05 10:46:00 A few years ago I shared the Sadducee's story from Luke 20:27-38 with a woman in her early 90's. She listened carefully as we shared coffee and a story at her kitchen table looking over a neatly kept yard in the middle of a once active farm. The building stood as reminders of a once lively farm that was now home only to Alva and a friendly on German Shepherd.
As the line of husbands unfolded
The Temple's Coming Down Luke 21:5-19 2007-11-12 14:59:00 Reading Luke 21 this week is a reminder that context is everything Luke. Jesus and his friends were walking along side the temple in Jerusalem. The temple was the heart of Jerusalem. Jews came from far and near to worship God offering their sacrifices and prayers. Jesus and his disciples were Jews and they had a place in the temple and its worship life. They were welcome in the temple's Read more:Temple
Christ the King? Luke 23:33-43 2007-11-20 12:54:00 Where do you expect to meet your king?
Maybe you think he'll be in a palace. Perhaps you think he'll be riding in triumph in a parade displaying symbols wealth and power. In Luke we meet our King on his way to glory dying on a piece of tree. Two criminals were there with him standing, both were struggling for breath on their own crosses waiting along side of Jesus for death to come. Read more:Christ
When will the time come? Matthew 24:36-44 2007-11-26 10:19:00 Jesus spoke about a deep mystery as he and his friends walked away from the temple: THE END. There are very few topics as steeped in uncertainty in our world as death. Reading Matthew
24 stirs up two very different ways to think about THE END. The End is both our personal death and the collective end of all things.
First: THE END is personal.
There are books and TV shows about the border
Repent Heaven is Near Matthew 3:1-11 2007-12-03 11:36:00 Life with a Lectionary (like the Revised Common Lectionary) gives one the opportunity and the challenge to hear powerful parts of God's word again and again. John the Forerunner's words stop me hard every year. Right about the time my wife is saying, "Have you found any Christmas spirit yet?" John the Baptist, this fiery preacher, comes in calling me to repent. John preached waiting for the Read more:Repent
, Heaven
, Matthew
Jesus, are you the one? Matthew 11:2-11 2007-12-10 13:55:00 John the Baptist's followers came to Jesus
with a question in Matthew
11:3, "Art thou the coming one? or are we to wait for another?" 1890 Darby Bible. It's the question Christians have to ask Jesus. Even John the Baptist had to ask Jesus this question. John's calling was to prepare the way for the one and now in prison John sent out his followers to ask Jesus, "Are you the one?" John's
Joseph ... don't be afraid...share God's dream. Matthew 1:18-25 2007-12-17 14:53:00 In my first year as a pastor I preached 3 sermons in 3 days at Christmas time. I decided to try different perspectives on Christmas each day. Christmas Eve was for Mary's view. Christmas Day, with the high sounding theology of John 1 was for Jesus' side of the story. Sunday, December 26 1999 was Joseph
's story. This week lends itself to that same kind of story telling. My suggestion, start Read more:afraid
, Matthew
Christmas Present Matthew 2:13-23 2007-12-24 05:42:00 We look for certainty and security, predictability and comfort at Christmas
every year. And then we start reading the real story of Christmas in Matthew
and find anything but what we were looking for in the story. It isn't what we want to hear; but Jesus came to deal with what we can't--life's complications that require a savior--sin, death, and the devil.
A friend confided that she's always Read more:Present
, Christmas Present
Palm Sunday Preaching vs. reading the passion Matt 21:1-11, 26:1-27:66 2008-03-10 10:44:00 Over the last two years the church I serve hasn't had a full on sermon on Palm Sunday
and there won't be one this weekend either. Instead, for the last 2 years, there's been a small preface that precedes the reading of the passion. This year Isaiah's words about as servant who gave himself freely (Isaiah 50:4-9) will serve as our preface. We'll move straight into the reading from there.
This
Life Comes from God Ezekial 37:1-14 John 11:1-45 2008-03-03 12:23:00 Dry bones laid in a valley. The prophet Ezekiel was led by God back and forth among the bones. It would have been a haunting place to wander even if God had called you there. God asked the prophet a question,
"Son of man, can these bones live?"
I said, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know." Ezekiel 37:3 NIV
God asked the question and Ezekiel responded in faith. God alone knows the potential
Wake up people Jesus is at work. Ephesians 5:8-14, John 9:1-41 2008-02-25 16:06:00 Somebody recently said the congregation and denomination I serve as a pastor are, "sinking ships." He points to demographics; it's time to pray. He points to the numerous studies (they can easily be found) to shore up his argument; its time to turn to scripture. He pointed to a lack of people
at a particular program; it's time to invite people just as Jesus
did, "to come and see." I asked who
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