Frederick Buechner Sermon Illustrations: Nathan
In our blog post every Monday we select a reading from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday, and pair it with a Frederick Buechner reading on the same topic. Next Sunday, we will celebrate The Tenth Sunday After Pentecost. Here is this week’s reading from the book of 2 Samuel...
Frederick Buechner Sermon Illustrations: Uriah the Hittite
In our blog post every Monday we select a reading from the Revised Common Lectionary the upcoming Sunday, and pair it with a Frederick Buechner reading on the same topic. Next Sunday we will celebrate The Ninth Sunday After Pentecost. Here is this week’s reading from the book of 2 Samuel...
Frederick Buechner Sermon Illustrations: Healing
In our blog post every Monday we select a reading from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday, and pair it with a Frederick Buechner reading on the same topic. Next Sunday we will celebrate The Eighth Sunday After Pentecost. Here is this week’s reading from the gospel of Mark...
Pondering God’s Presence Inside and Outside
We can find God’s presence on the outside and the inside, that is, in the quests that both Ferris and Augustine lay out. We probably tend toward one direction or the other. By practicing the spiritual discipline of contemplating reality through science and faith, we develop ways to seek God in both directions...
Frederick Buechner Sermon Illustrations: Herod Antipas
In our blog post every Monday we select a reading from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday, and pair it with a Frederick Buechner reading on the same topic. Next Sunday we will celebrate the Seventh Sunday After Pentecost. Here is this week’s reading from the gospel of Mark...
Are You Drooping?
When I was a pastor, I was always drooping by June. I felt like I was hanging on by my fingernails. I was cranky. The people who seemed charmingly eccentric in September were getting on my last nerve. And I didn’t have to deal with a fiscal year starting July 1! I don’t know how people do it...
Frederick Buechner Sermon Illustrations: Jairus's Daughter
In our blog post every Monday we select a reading from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday, and pair it with a Frederick Buechner reading on the same topic. Next Sunday we will celebrate The Fifth Sunday After Pentecost. Here is this week’s reading from the gospel of Mark: **Mark 5:21-43**
So Lonely
Can you hear Sting’s unique voice repeating the chorus, “So lonely, so lonely (I feel so lonely)” in the Police’s 1978 anthem to loneliness and isolation? Sting was once asked if it was ironic singing this song to large crowds. He replied, “No, there’s no irony whatsoever. From the outside it might look a bit strange, being surrounded by all this attention and yet experiencing the worst lonely feeling…but I do. And then suddenly...
Staff leadership: If only he/she/they…
Whether you have a staff of one or 30, leading staff is one of the most challenging parts of ministry. I often find myself coaching pastors through a difficult staff issue. Sometimes it’s a part-time musician who is underperforming or members of a larger staff who can’t seem to get along. Most clergy have no training in how to supervise. You have to learn on the job, as I did. So how can pastors lead their staff?
When the Light Goes Out
Going snowmobiling 750 miles above the Arctic Circle—where the temperature is twenty below zero—isn’t everybody’s idea of fun, but it was ours. So, my husband Toby and I, our guide, and a few other bold adventurers climbed onto snowmobiles in Kjøllefjord, Norway and drove into the frozen wilderness. At the top of a mountain pass, the guide asked us to cut our engines and park. It was only 4:00 PM, yet we found ourselves surrounded by...
Frederick Buechner Sermon Illustration: Fire
In our blog post every Monday we select a reading from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday, and pair it with a Frederick Buechner reading on the same topic. Next Sunday we will celebrate the Day of Pentecost. Here is this week's reading from the book of Acts...
Frederick Buechner Sermon Illustration: Law
In our blog post every Monday we select a reading from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday, and pair it with a Frederick Buechner reading on the same topic. Next Sunday we will celebrate the Seventh Sunday of Easter. Here is this week’s reading from the book of Psalms...
Frederick Buechner Sermon Illustration: Music
In our blog post every Monday we select a reading from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday, and pair it with a Frederick Buechner reading on the same topic. Next Sunday we will celebrate the Sixth Sunday of Easter. Here is this week’s reading from the book of Psalms...
Frederick Buechner Sermon Illustration: Ethiopian Eunuch
In our blog post every Monday we select a reading from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday, and pair it with a Frederick Buechner reading on the same topic. Next Sunday we will celebrate the Fifth Sunday of Easter. Here are this week’s readings from the book of Acts...
Frederick Buechner Sermon Illustration: Feed My Sheep
In our blog post every Monday we select a reading from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday, and pair it with a Frederick Buechner reading on the same topic. Next Sunday we will celebrate the Fourth Sunday of Easter. Here are this week’s readings from the book of Psalms and the gospel of John...
John Calvin and Science—So Many Surprises
Calvin, the 16th century Protestant Reformer, not only asserted that we can discover truth in a variety of places, but that if we don’t accept the truth we find, we actually disgrace our God. At the time, he was thinking of secular philosophies. Still, since one of those philosophers, Lucretius, pondered “the nature of things,” or “natural philosophy” (the name for science until the 1830s), it’s really not a stretch to say that Calvin believed we needed to engage true scientific insights no matter the source.
Frederick Buechner Sermon Illustration: Messiah
In our blog post every Monday we select a reading from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday, and pair it with a Frederick Buechner reading on the same topic. Next Sunday we will celebrate the Third Sunday of Easter. Here is this week’s reading from the book of Acts...
Ed Rosado: Peace be With You: How the Science of Peace Can Make a Difference in Our Lives
As we look towards the second Sunday of Easter, we are reminded of God’s ultimate desire for peace. Yet, it remains an elusive ideal. In my lifetime, I have witnessed wars, genocide, civil unrest, xenophobia, misogyny, and myriad other social injustices. All these elements work together to make peace something almost impossible to attain. And even when we wish to stem the inexorable proliferation of these societal evils by returning to some utopic era, the truth is that humankind has experienced these problems, probably since the beginning of time.
Make a Plan, Even a Bad One
I came across a book on my shelf recently: Wishcraft: How to Get What You Really Want, by Barbara Sher. It brought back a flood of memories. Early in my ministry, I faced a crisis in my call. I couldn’t find a position as a pastor. No one wanted a woman pastor--it was the 80s. Over many months, the only interview I had wasn’t a serious one. I seriously thought about pursuing another line of work. Then, my brother gave me a copy of Wishcraft. The book was transformative. It helped me step back from my
Hope for Easter
My eldest is a high school senior, the class of ’24, that endured an entirely remote freshman year. We were looking forward to her last round of exams, the decision of which college to attend, prom, graduation, and a lot what my daughter’s circle of friends has dubbed the senior sillies. Her friends are an amazing group—the kind that gives all who know them hope for the future—and their laughter delights us whenever they gather. However, nearly two weeks ago, the ground under their feet shifted and...