Margaret Marcuson: Fasting from Complaining: 9 Reasons Why Church Leaders Might Want To Try It
It’s the Easter season, more of a time for church leaders to celebrate than fast. But I’m thinking about fasting as a spiritual practice.
Frederick Buechner Sermon Illustration: Peter (John 21:9-17)
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 gospel of John...
Diana Butler Bass: The Holy Thursday Revolution
Before the pandemic, I was often asked to preach on the second Sunday after Easter. The traditional verses for that day are always the same in liturgical churches — John 20:19-31 — the story of Jesus’ first post-resurrection appearance, including the popular account known as “Doubting Thomas.”...
Walter Brueggemann: Remembering Old Testament Scholar Norman Gottwald
Norman Gottwald has died at 95. He is, in my judgment, the most important and influential Old Testament scholar of the twentieth century in the U.S.
Maureen Wise: Helping Your Church Make Green Choices
I am one of many Christians in the sciences who take our stewardship of creation seriously. As a person of faith, I know that small actions (mustard seeds) can add up to mountains.
Frederick Buechner Sermon Illustration: The Seeing Heart (John 20:19-29)
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 Second Sunday of Easter. Here is this week’s reading from the gospel of John
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry: Easter 2022 Message
“Easter is the celebration of the victory of God,” Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop and Primate Michael B. Curry says in his Easter 2022 message. “The earth, like an egg, has been cracked open, and Jesus has been raised alive and new, and love is victorious.”
Walter Brueggemann: Let Us Now Praise Famous Health Care Providers
The Apocrypha of the Old Testament includes the book of Ecclesiasticus, The Wisdom of Jesus son of Ben Sirach. The book, a collection of various kinds of wisdom sayings, is commonly dated to 180 BCE. In what follows I will juxtapose two famous sections of the book as background for my appreciation of care-givers.
Greg Cootsona: “But I Still Love Technology…” (An Easter Meditation)
Our resurrection hope is both personal and cosmic: God will “transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory” (Phil. 3:21) and “create new heavens and a new earth” (Isa. 65:17).
Jenny Sung: The Church Is TikToking
It seems like churches that see the writing on the wall are trying their best to shift into what they believe is coming next. With the pandemic, many congregations dipped their toes in the digital pool and noticed that digital spaces and social media platforms are gathering real community.
Frederick Buechner Sermon Illustration: Easter (Matthew 28:1-10)
Next Sunday we will celebrate Easter. Here is some commentary by Frederick Buechner from this week’s reading from Matthew 28:1-10...
Frederick Buechner's Special Sermon Illustration for Good Friday (John 19:28-30)
On April 15, 2022 we will observe Good Friday. Here is a sermon illustration from Frederick Buechner based on a reading from John 19:28-30...
Frederick Buechner Special Sermon Illustration for Maundy Thursday: The Lord's Supper
On April 14, 2022 we will observe Maundy Thursday. Here is a sermon illustration from Frederick Buechner based on 1 Corinthians 11:23-26...
Nadia Bolz-Weber: Lord's Prayer (extended dance remix)
Prayer isn’t the only tool at our disposal when the world is burning, but it’s a pretty good one. Jennifer Garner asked if I would offer some prayers on her InstaLive. Here’s [the prayer] we used...
Ed Rosado: Easter: An Epistemological Rearrangement of Hope
Easter reminds us that there is hope when science has reached its limits.
Walter Brueggemann: Bonds of Affection!
The phrase “bonds of affection” has drawn my sustained attention as I watched the hearing for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. I could think of three places in scripture where we see the “bond of affection” operating, though you might think of others as well.
Frederick Buechner Sermon Illustration: The Things That Make For Peace - Palm Sunday
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 Palm Sunday. Here this week’s reading from the gospel of Luke...
Gail Bach: Rattled by Doubt
We’d like to share a recent sermon by one of the Church Anew Team Members, Pastor Gail Bach, who gave this sermon on being rattled by doubt on March 13, 2022. We hope it resonates with you today.
Walter Brueggemann: Speak Truth; Do Justice
For no reason beyond my curiosity I recently read a biography of John Charles McQuaid, who was the long-running Catholic archbishop of Dublin in the mid-twentieth century, before, during, and after Vatican II.
Drew Rick-Miller: Considering Culture
Does our biology determine us, for better or for worse? Or is it culture and environment that shape us into who we are?