Frederick Buechner Sermon Illustration: God Speaking Through Us
We're back. And 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 after Epiphany. Here is this week’s reading from 1 Corinthians 3:5-7...
Susan Sparks: We're in the Same Boat Brother
Multiple tragedies have struck in the recent weeks, including the death of Tyre Nichols, mass shootings, and the continued bombing of Ukraine. This message is dedicated to finding a better way . . .
Walter Brueggemann: Start Me with Two!
We may draw several lessons from the story of one-at-a-time in Santa Vittoria, ten in the operetta, and two in ancient Israel...
Eric Shafer: What Will You Tell Your Grandchildren?
I believe we are in a “what we tell our grandchildren” moment with Afghans, Ukrainians, Haitians, Venezuelans, and so many more, fleeing war and violence around the world and seeking protection in the U.S. What will tell our grandchildren when they ask us how we responded?
Margaret Marcuson: The map is not the territory
What’s going to happen to the church in the future? Everybody’s wondering, worrying, speculating. How much will stay the same? How much will change?
Greg Cootsona: How Technology Disciples Us: An Interview with Felicia Wu Song (Part 2)
We’re continuing this week with part two of Greg’s interview with Westmont College sociologist Felicia Wu Song, especially focusing on her ideas about how technology forms and even disciples us.
Greg Cootsona: How Technology Disciples Us: An Interview with Felicia Wu Song
Dr. Felicia Wu Song is a cultural sociologist of media and digital technologies and professor of sociology at Westmont College in Santa Barbara. She researches digital technology and how our use of social media and digital devices alters us. I interviewed her about what it means for the use of technology within Christian spirituality and congregational life.
Walter Brueggemann: On Seeing “the Enemy” a Second Time
Most Americans (including me) are rooting for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. What can the Old Testament figure of Deborah teach us about "the enemy"?
Eric Shafer: The Importance of Saying “Yes”
Lots of congregations have unused space, often nearly empty for six days each week. And the housing crisis affects every community. One church said "yes" to helping address the situation.
Greg Cootsona: The Klarity of AI
I commonly hear concerns that emerging artificial intelligence (AI) technologies will compromise our humanity. In his brilliant book, Klara and the Sun, the Nobel Prize-winning author, Kazuo Ishiguro imagines life from inside the head of an AI—or more particularly an AF, or “artificial friend,” named Klara....
Kenyatta Gilbert: King built on a long legacy of prophetic preaching
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s preaching used the power of language to interpret the Gospel in the context of Black misery and Christian hope. He directed people to life-giving resources and spoke provocatively of a present and active divine interventionist who summons preachers to name reality in places where pain, oppression and neglect abound.
Drew Rick-Miller: How are Humans Unique?
Any plausible Christian response to the question of human uniqueness must account for Genesis 1:26: “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness.” The opening chapter of the Bible is clear: God created us, and there is something like God in us.
Walter Brueggemann: On Gerrymandered Texts
In the wake of that reality of which we are all aware, I want to consider here the “gerrymandering of biblical texts,” my phrase for biblical texts read aloud in the congregation that boldly and openly skip over verses in order to accent other verses the pastor believes the church most needs to hear.
Ed Rosado: Out with the Old, in with the New
Whether formally or informally, many of us engage in the time-honored practice of making new year’s resolutions. With a healthy dose of self-confidence, we welcome the new year with the resolve to make definite changes in our lives. So, how can we make new year’s resolutions work?
Margaret Marcuson: Is it time to rest?
When is it time to push, and when is it time to rest? The New Year is a time when our culture tells us to push on with those new resolutions, but winter is a time our bodies may want to slow down and, if not hibernate, at least sleep more.
Drew Rick-Miller: Devotional: Look Closely to see the Big Picture
Whether it is the nativity in your living room (or maybe the one in your front yard) or the Christmas pageant, the three Magi are often the grandest of the figures. Tall and distinguished, robed, and often crowned, they carry those gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh....
Dorothy Wells: New Lessons from the Grinch
I wasn’t a fan of Christmas when I was a child. Christmas was, for me, a long, two-week winter break during which I felt disconnected from the settled routine of school, learning and friends that brought an escape from the troubles of home.
Edgardo Rosado: The Christmas Blues
While most of us identify the Christmas season with beautifully stylized, joyful images that rival Norman Rockwell’s best, the truth is that many people experience deep-seated sadness, loneliness, hopelessness, and depression during this time.
News: Day1 awarded grant in Lilly Endowment Compelling Preaching initiative
The Alliance for Christian Media, Inc. has received a grant of $1 million from Lilly Endowment Inc. on behalf of its media ministry, Day1, to help improve accessibility and functionality of the past 75 years of Protestant Hour/Day1 sermon archives for preachers and teachers of preaching.
Drew Rick-Miller: No Place for Them in the Therapy Room
Imagine with me for a moment being Mary and Joseph’s rabbi. How on earth would you counsel this young couple, expecting a child, on the move due to the powers and principalities of their day?