3rd Sunday of Advent December 13, 2020 Is.61:1-4, 8-11
For the third Sunday of Advent we turn again to III-Isaiah, that loose collection of oracles that has played an outsized role in the formation and understanding of Christianity.
Preaching in the Purple Zone: Ministry in the Red-Blue Divide by Leah D. Schade
Dr. Schade’s book offers tools for bridging the red-blue divide and for addressing controversial issues of public concern while building up your parishioners’ faith.
2nd Sunday of Advent December 6, 2020 Isaiah 40:1-11
There has never been an Advent series of texts that does not include Is.40. The plangent opening lines, “Comfort, comfort, my people,” shape the very essence of the coming birth of Jesus and its attendant beauty and wonder.
Words That Heal: Preaching Hope to Wounded Souls by Joni Sancken
Preaching with empathy for wounded souls can help with healing. Dr. Sancken introduces the term “soul wounds” and defines it as experiencing loss, brokenness, unresolved pain, and grief. She acknowledges that healing from these wounds does not happen instantaneously and that we should allow the time for the complex process of healing to unfold.
1st Sunday of Advent November 29, 2020 Isaiah 64:1-9
It is once again Advent, that season of expectation and anxious waiting for the birth of Jesus, for Christians the long-hoped-for Messiah of the nations.
The Overshadowed Preacher by Jerusha Matsen Neal
Dr. Neal talks about her exploration of what it means to be fully human as a preacher and as a pastor. Her book exposes the “shadows” – false understandings of who we are as preachers.
Practicing the Preaching Life by David B. Ward
Dr. Ward shifts the conversation from homiletical techniques to Christian practices, or contextual virtues, that give life to preachers and to their preaching.
Ingenuity: Preaching as an Outsider by Lisa L. Thompson
In the Must Reads interview, Dr. Thompson elaborates on the challenges that black women preachers face as outsiders in the pulpit.
Finders Weepers, Losers Keepers - Reflections on Matthew 16:24-28
“Whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”
Something is lost. Something more important is found.
Inside Out: Reflections on Matthew 15:1-20
Clean hands aren’t enough. The heart must also be pure. The pure in heart are those who are spiritually pure rather than ritually or ceremonially clean. Most people get heart checkups and start watching what goes into their mouths. Jesus recommends that we check out our hearts and then start watching what comes out of them!
Feeding the Multitude: Reflections on Matthew 14:13-21
As we stand in the shoes of the disciples in Matthew’s account, we are to obey Jesus’ daring, ridiculous command. We are to offer our limited resources to him to bless and multiply, and take responsibility, not to hoard them for ourselves, but to distribute them to others.
Simplify the Message: Multiply the Impact by Talbot Alan Davis
Veteran preachers regularly become attached to their favorite/comfortable methodologies. Davis offers both novice and old hand preachers a new point of view by which they can create and analyze sermons. The book’s balance flows from the principal of one point and its attendant bottom line.
