The Adventurous Lectionary – The Third Sunday of Easter – May 5, 2019 Acts 9:1-20; Psalm 30; Revelation 5:11-14; John 21:1-19 Some weeks, the readings are chockfull of sermon possibilities, and the Third Sunday of Easter is a mother lode of riches for the adventurous preacher. The readings all have a mystical air, but they express the mystic vision in a variety of ways. We can encounter the Living God through revelation and transformation, angelic praise, and ethics and spirituality.... Read more

What do you do with Good Friday and the Cross when you’ve abandoned the centrality of the doctrines of substitutionary atonement and the divine necessity of Jesus’ death? Like many progressive Christians, I grew up hearing the mantras “Jesus died for our sins,” “Jesus died so that we might have eternal life and escape God’s wrath,” “Jesus paid the price for our salvation,” and “sin deserves death and Jesus stood in our place.” Recently, I saw a billboard with the... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – Easter Sunday – April 21, 2019 Acts 10:34-43 Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 I Corinthians 15:19-26 John 20:1-18 and Mark 16:1-12 Easter is a challenge for most preachers. We want to say something new and life-transforming. We want to awaken our congregations to the unexpected resurrection event. We know that Easter is incomprehensible, a miracle, beyond belief, or any sort of “objective” proof. And, yet the resurrection is at the heart of our faith and gave birth to... Read more

Palm-Passion Sunday – April 14, 2019 Bruce G. Epperly The Triumphant Entry Luke 19:28-40 Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 The Passion of Jesus Isaiah 53:4-9a Psalm 31:9-16 Philippians 2:5-11 Luke 23:1-49 At the edge of Holy Week, the preacher must ponder whether to lean toward the violence and abandonment of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday or focus on the celebrative spirit of Palm Sunday or attempt a creative synthesis of both. Holy Week is an emotional and spiritual roller coaster with political... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Fifth Sunday in Lent – March 7, 2019 Isaiah 43:16-21 Psalm 126 Philippians 3:4b-14 John 12:1-8 Today’s passages invite us to embrace God’s future while honoring the past. God is constantly doing a new thing, and God’s new thing builds on God’s past faithfulness. God works in our world and our history, taking us beyond our self-imposed limits to entertain and embody new possibilities for faithful service. Guided by Christ’s vision, we keep our eyes... Read more