Mindful Leader

Narrative Lectionary -- New Testament Week Eleven -- The Scandalous Samaritan

 

This is the familiar story of the Good Samaritan.  This was acrtually extremely scandalous for Jesus to use this imagery.  Amy Jill Levine, Jewish New Testament Scholar at Vanderbilt, suggests that the image is someone coming to your rescue, that was so detested, that you would just as soon die rather than be helped by him.  Wow.  

This is an excellent text for us to examine in this most hostile of times.  How do we learn to listen to each other in a way to understand rather than to hate and reject?  

Narrative Lectionary -- New Testament Week Ten -- Transfiguration

Narrative Lectionary -- New Testament Week Eight -- John the Baptist -- Go Tell John -- 1030 version

Luke 7: 18-21 -- Go Tell John

John the Baptist has sent his men to see Jesus and ask him, if he is the one.  Jesus answers pointing to the ideas of trusting his senses and affirming John the Baptist focus on Fruitfulness.  

We have posted several of our musical offerings ... bells, congregational singing, and our praise band.  

Narrative Lectionary -- New Testament Week Eight -- John the Baptist -- Go Tell John -- 900 version

 

Luke 7: 18-21 -- Go Tell John but more than that.  It is a moment of inviting John the Baptist to "trust" and advocating a ministry focused on fruitfulness.  

This podcast is the 9:00 Service .. 

Narrative Lectionary -- New Testament Week Six -- Sabbath and Today (with a brief reflection on Methodism)

 

This podcast includes my statement of the them, our prayer over our plates, Emily's exegesis before my sermon, and the sermon.  It also includes a brief commentary on the fact I/we reserve the right to critique the state (both Federal and Utah) on what it is, and perhaps is not, doing.  

The scripture is Luke 6 and mine is mostly on 1-11 but we read to 16.  Narrative Lectionary. 

Narrative Lectionary -- New Testament Week Six -- Peter makes himself vulnerable

 

This is from Psalm 90 and Luke 5.  

Emily Flemming and I are trying a little different approach.  We are going to read the other's scripture before the sermon with a teaching moment.  

This reflection is more from the Luke than the Psalm, but it gets to both.  I have been talking a little about Emotional Intelligence (EQ) of Jesus and how he has done, and offer Peter up here as a good example of how he has made himself open to the idea of possible change, and from that, a new vocation.  

Narrative Lectionary -- New Testament Week Four -- Epiphany Sunday - John the Baptist

The reader on the Scripture Passages is Leigh Anne Duff -- and the scripture is Luke 3: 1-22.  Three ideas about how God works through John the Baptist that speaks to us in our particular now.  

Narrative Lectionary -- Old Testament Week Ten -- Jeremiah

This is actually NOT a Narrative Lectionary text.  But it worked as if it were one.  

Jeremiah 30: 18-22 meets Christ the King Sunday but before Thanksgiving.    

I got the translation of potential from this site.  I know beans if he is exactly right, but it sure worked.  

Objective:  Try and bring hope to those who feel hopeless, and do it in the context of Thanksgiving.  

The 1943 example of Roosevelt and Congress was actually more of an economics argument than a theological one, but ... it worked.  It is true that they had a conversation about Thanksgiving Day in 1943.  I may have stretched it a little on the rest of it.  Sue me.  

Narrative Lectionary -- Old Testament Week Seven -- Elijah and the Widow

We are introduced this week to Elijah.  We see here Elijah in his apprenticeship as a prophet.  But it is an important time, an important moment.  This is from 1 Kings 17 with a touch of the end of 1 Kings 16 thrown in to help us get the idea of what is going on.  Two big ideas:  (1) Yahweh is a God of Life and (2) Yahweh's words matter. 

This particular sermon is from the 9:00 Service.   

Narrative Lectionary -- Old Testament Week Five -- The Golden Calf

Exodus 32 and the Golden Calf saga.  What are our own Golden Calves?