A clever friend points out that tomorrow’s gospel lesson sounds like a word problem: if one train leaves the station going 100 miles per hour…

(I hate word problems.)

Where are you headed this week? Will you tangle with the Sadducees? Twist your tongue around Zerubbabel?
Commune with Job?

Or are you doing All Saints this week, with those texts?

Whatever challenge you have set for yourself, this Preacher Party is leaving the station now, and it will be right where you need it to be, all day and all night. Join us in the comments: let us know what you’re up to today, share a great idea for a children’s message, ask us a question or tell us something we need to know.

I’ve got coffee cake from our new Trader Joe’s, and I’ll keep the Fair Trade Coffee coming.

If you read the Preacher Party but haven’t commented, I especially invite you to introduce yourself today!

110 thoughts on “11th Hour Preacher Party: Word Problem Edition”

  2. Me and Revelation are going on a double date… or something. I am preaching Consecration Sunday at my own church and an Ordination service at my previous church using the same texts from Isaiah and Revelation.It seemed like a good idea at the time. :)The good news is I am well on my way research-wise. The bad news is I am often right about here on a Saturday morning but now I have two to write, not 1. I've reached the juncture where I need to separate them out and so ordination is first.PLEASE pass me a piece of coffee cake and feel free to have any of the bagels, spreads and fruit that I have brought along. Good to see everybody!

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  3. Breakfast Church tomorrow, so no preaching for me. Someone asked on Tuesday about hints for breakfast church, I'd say keep it simple food wise. Last year we looked at Zacchaeus, this year celebration. If anyone is interested, send me an e-mail, and I can send you a copy of the service. minister[at]engadine[dot]unitingchurch[dot]org[dot]auchamomile tea is made, and there is some sweet potato and corn soup.

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  4. I'm recycling this week – having spent time writing, with others, all age worship material for Lent and Easter 2011, there hasn't been much time to think of the more immediate matter of this Sunday! So I am doing a few running repairs to something from 3 years ago. But first, I really need to go and grocery shop – then I might have something more digestible to bring to the table.

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  5. I am at our Regional Assembly, so in between workshops and "Minister/Spouse Breakfasts" I will be marinating on the All Saints text. I'm expected to tie in a small "report" of the regional assembly along with the all saints texts, so I'm not sure how that's going to go?I'm going more theme based than I am scripture, but focusing on the use of the word "saints" in Ephesians 1 and in 4:11-12. Serving a mainline protestant denomination I fear most people don't actually understand what we are celebrating with "All Saints" so much as it is just a time to remember those who have passed away. Starting with the question, "Who are the saints?" If you have any answers for me to tie in – I look forward to your sharing. :DI'm not sure what I have to offer as I haven't made it to this "Minister/Spouse" breakfast – but I will be sure to offer whatever it is that they are serving us there! đŸ˜€

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  6. Hi folks – still not preaching and enjoying having weekends… is this bad?? Was on a road trip with wise friend and mentor on Thurs and we were discussing the readings – she, unlike me, will be preaching. Got into a good pastoral conversation about the gospel and a tie-in with All Saints… instead of going down a 'they were just being tricksy to Jesus' route, we talked about the very real questions people ask both out loud and in the quiet of their own hearts: the 92yr old who adored her husband and who wonders will she see him again and how will all of that work in practice? The parents of a cot death infant, who yearn for him and hope they will see him again.The gospel as a passage that allows us perhaps to address the questions and longings of our hearts when it comes to loss….I have strong coffee [am in the office working on a chapter – argh] and plenty of therapeutic chocolate on the table. Blessings on your reflecting today all.

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  8. Hi. We're doing all saints here. We always name the names of those in our congregation who died in the past year, which is getting to be a big list, sadly. So, Luke's blessings and woes, and the hidden-ness of the saints is my theme. wish I could call in sick. feeling sort of blech. but I also have a "house meeting" tomorrow night at someone's house. I'm trying to convince myself that it will be fun.

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  9. Sally, congratulations to your son!kzj, you can do it! Thanks for the bagels.a pearl, your soup sounds delicious. Yum.liz, we support you.Peace Babe, I'm in a similar spot, not sure what "saints" means in my new context.Nik, I'm headed in the same direction: how we think of heaven and why.More coffee, y'all?

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  10. Songbird, I need coffee. oh, yeah, I forgot about the Children's sermon. going to get a big box called "Acme saint kit" and have halo, wings, white choir outfit, etc. to "make" a saint. but then put a mirror up to the children's faces and say "this is what a saint looks like." hope it works!and….at home… our yard has to be excavated, because we have a crack in our plumbing/sewer pipe. probably Monday. yuck.

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  11. Diane, I love the children's sermon idea! Thanks!I am doing All Saints this week. Yes, I did All Saints last week. Different church, filling in because the pastor's mother died this week. It is the church here in our little town, which is nice to not have a drive and assorted childcare challenges.However, my sermon from last week…er…stinks. It started with sermon A and ended with sermon B. I've deleted sermon B and still have the first half of sermon A. I just need to figure out where it ends. Peace Babe, I think it goes with your sermon idea, but I clearly don't know how to finish it yet.Up for us today? Trip to the playground once it warms up. Really–it's in the 30's here–Brrr. Hopefully the girls will nap at the same time, so I can work a bit before this evening.Fresh apple cake to share, in convenient mini-muffin sizes!

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  12. Good morning all! I am preaching tomorrow for the first time in 4 weeks. 3 weeks ago was a scheduled absence, but since that time I haven't been able to get up on the chancel due to my broken ankle and the lack of mobility that has resulted from it. I considered preaching from the floor level, but that would have been such a big departure for us (and not everyone would've been able to see me well) that it was not a decision I wanted to make based on my own personal issues. So I enjoyed worship the last two weeks from the pews, which has been great.I laid awake a long time last night feeling anxious about my sermon. We are doing All Saints but are sticking with the November 7 texts. I thought the Gospel text went pretty well with what I wanted to do vis-a-vis All Saints, so I went with it. I am departing from my usual text-based style and will be looking more thematically at issues of resurrection and the communion of the saints. This is not a concept we Baptists have a lot of familiarity with, but I'm hopeful I can navigate the issue in a way that people can be open. I am going to make myself turn off the internet in a few minutes because I am really need to be disciplined today! But I will stop by the party later.p.s. Songbird, send coffee cake!

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  13. thanks, esperanza! 12 years ago our intern did a children's message something like that, and it stuck in my mind. however, the all saints sermon I have on papers so far — sucks. I always put so much pressure on myself for all saints, and I have given so many (I think) excellent sermons on it, that's part of the problem.so, I'm going to make pancakes and then get to fixing what I have…

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  14. Just dropping by the party today – I am not preaching again this Sunday. The up side is that I am doing pulpit supply pretty much every week from here to Christmas. The down side is I am still waiting to hear from the call committee I interviewed with mid-October. They interviewed the other candidate last week, and since they seem to have a bi-weekly meeting pattern, I hope to hear something by this time next week. The synod assures me that if this one doesn't work out, they have a couple of other options for me. I hope I get a call soon. I am not looking foward to 60-80 mile drives in the winter to do pulpit supply! And, of course, I am really, really ready to be working again!Hubby has a rare Saturday off today, so we have a chance to enjoy some time as a family. Housework awaits (ugh!) and maybe a movie later on.All I have to share right now is coffee. But at dinner time, we'll have BBQ brisket, roasted squash and parsnips and elderberry-apply cobbler to share.

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  15. I've got one in the works on the church as the Body of Christ in the world. We've got communion so I'll tie into that, and I'll also throw in a little All Saints, too. It all fits together really well. Now I just need to write the VERY SHORT sermon. Some of the introductory pieces to the other stuff will be sermon-esque, too, and all of the pieces will take some time, so my official sermon needs to be on the very short side. I'm not so good at that, but will do my best.I'll do my best a bit later, though. First groceries and Sam's with the family. A craft store stop to get the materials for the All Saints banner, and all that other family stuff. We have a free concert and art show at the church tonight, too. Oh! And I hope to buy my iPad. That will distract me from all other things!

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  16. I am not preaching tomorrow (more about that shortly) but if I were,I'd be doing All Saints' and Luke's Sermon on the Plain. I LOVE All Saints' and I love the Sermon on the Mount/Plain, so I'm a bit sorry to miss it. I try to hold up Saints as exemplars of faithful living, and the SotM/P are guidebooks so to speak for that faithful living. I did a variation on that theme last year, and it worked out pretty well.I also love the hymn "I Sing a Song of the Saints of God" (the first hymn I ever learned as a child) with its emphasis on "and I mean to be one, too."Diane, I love the holding the mirror up idea for a kids' sermon. So I am not preaching tomorrow b/c I am leaving at o'dark thirty to get on a train to Florida where I will be attending a CREDO conference–really a clergy wellness retreat put on by the Church Pension Fund. My friends and colleagues who've been had a wonderful time, so I'm looking forward to it. CREDO lasts 8 days, and on the way home I'm stopping to see my mother and sister — you can read more about that on my blog — so I'll be gone 11 days altogether.And now I need to start packing.

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  18. Celeste here- I have been enjoying the preacher party/lurking almost since the begining… Thanks for the invitation/reminder to introduce myself. Looking forward to meeting more RevGals IRL at the next BE!All Saints here – the first Sunday back after preaching and presiding at the Table for my father's memorial service … communion and remembrance of all the saints tomorrow so I need to be concise and not totally lose it myself. It is a glorious Fall day – rather not spend all of it in my office so back at it!

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  19. Rev Dr Mom my CREDO journey is in October. I hope yours is fruitful.As for tomorrow's sermon(s), I'm struggling and wondering where the morning went. I feel like there is a logjam/blockade in my brain and I cannot figure out how to bust through.The Boy will be home soon so I'm trying to grind out as much as I can but it's a struggle.

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  20. Rev Dr Mom, CREDO has never worked out for me schedule-wise, but I have loads of friends who have been who have loved it! Rest and renew :-)Diane, I need to tuck that children's sermon idea away for future use.Ramona, I hope you hear something before much longer; it's hard to wait and wonder.All Saints for us, on a children's choir Sunday, which means we make the worship a bit more experiential/engaging for all ages. We have a gathering this morning at which we make collage crosses from foamboard for each person on our "departed" prayer list from the year; each cross is then put on a long thin dowel and we bring them all in the opening procession, then stick them into foam inside a pair of planter boxes in front of the altar. Very cool, and very meaningful for the people who come to make the crosses today for those they love.The sermon is tied in with both All Saints and our hosting the area CROP Walk in the afternoon. The rector and I are using some folks in our stained glass windows, and playing off the CROP Walk theme of "We walk because they walk" by expanding it to "We walk because they walked." It's one of those "If this works the way we hope…" sermons that will go one way or the other, dramatically!

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  23. I'm doing All Saints combined with "witness" as one of four sermons on our membership vows. Rough outline written but not typed. First I'm gonna do some worship planning for the next two Sundays. Then I'll type sermon outline which means revise sermon outline. I'm hoping to go to a Walk to Emmaus event tonight which will put me home late. Thank goodness for fall back.Prayers appreciated for new ministry start up tomorrow. 1/4 of my congregation are widows and 3 of them have lost husbands in the last 7 months. Tomorrow we are gathering for lunch to talk about how they can support each other through the holidays. I have some lovely cinnamon flavored tea given to me by a parishoner. Help yourself.

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  24. CREDO didn't work for me. They scheduled me for a retirement group because of my age but never bothered to notice that I'd only been a priest for 3 years with lots more to come. But I seem to be a rarity as everyone else loved it.This next week is the announcement of our bishop nominees and then a mad dash to Louisiana to see my son, accompanied by my mom and youngest sister. So a little wild and crazy.And that has spilled backwards into this last several days as we get everything ready for the announcement and handoff to my transition committee. So even though I started the week by reading all the lessons for 11/7, I still haven't put them into sermon form. I do like Fred Craccock's remarks about Sadducees and resurrection, how Jesus uses reason and Scripture to answer them – this is so Anglican. So I'm preaching Luke and the Sadducees. The hard part for me is, if we take Jesus' remarks in a historic context and not as read back into the situation by Luke, then Jesus is speaking about resurrection as something that happens already to those who die. So I'm wrestling with that.Songbird, thanks for the opening about word problems. That just might find itself in my sermon. Also the story about how I went to see the doctor once and, before I could tell him why I was there, he said, "You will know the answer to this question. Why can't I be married to my wife in heaven?" Yes, ladies, he really asked me that while I sat on the end of the table – clothed, thanks be to God. đŸ™‚ (and my word verification is coterize!)

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  26. Hi friends. Popping in to be a looky-loo. The next two weeks I will be here to participate, God willing. Next week I am doing a friend a solid by filling in and the week after I am being the preacher for a local church's once-a-year Chickapalooza. Okay, I'm probably the only one who calls it that, but one Sunday a year it is "all gals, all morning long". (All male staff.)Yeah…I know. But they're going to ask someone. It might as well be my turn. I will do my best not to be a token, but to have integrity about it.Today's errand: to get out there and see if I can replace the diamond I lost in my ring. Two of the prongs are broken–that's how it fell out–so I don't know if it can be fixed.Wish me luck.

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  27. This week I'm sympathizing with the Sadducees a little bit, since we all do want to know what will happen after we die, and then taking up what seems like a constant theme in my ministry: Our God is a bigger God than we can ever imagine on our own. This follows an All Saints Day sermon reminding us that our God makes *us* bigger and better than we can ever imagine on our own. (It makes sense from the pulpit, I promise!)I will take this opportunity to introduce myself so I can thank you all for the many inspirations you have shared with a lurker!I am a tentmaker – a Presbyterian pastor in a tiny mountain church and a newspaper publisher in a somewhat larger town 50 miles downhill. I don't have time for a blog, except for the informational church blog, currently populated with pictures of our youth Halloween party (we had 18 kids, in a church with an average attendance of less than 18, thanks be to God!) and the weekly discussion questions for our book study on Michael Lindvall's "A Geography of God."I have grown children, the care of my aging mother who is struggling with the recent loss of my father, and a wonderful husband who sings loudly, shovels snow, and fixes all the things that can go physically wrong in a 120-year-old building at 9,000 feet elevation.One of my challenges is to settle the pastor hat on my head after a week (especially *this* week!) of running a newspaper group, and I cannot begin to express how helpful you all are in that regard. Grace to you all, and the peace of Christ.

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  29. at the 11th hour I'm on to preach as my colleague (sr. pastor) has spent the last days in the hospital with his 18month old son. the diagnosis is leukemia.since the bulletin is printed and it's stewardship sunday, I'm preaching on the passage from Luke 19:1-10 that was selected. going to examine how we climb trees like Zaccheaus and separate ourselves from community…and how Jesus is there to call us back to the ground generously offering mercy and grace.prayers of the people will address the concern for my colleague and his family.

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  30. Omigosh, I forgot to tell you I was leaving!!! We had the first meeting of our new book group at church. I was excited to have six people attend a discussion of Kate Braestrup's "Here If You Need Me." Celeste and Suzy, thanks for saying hey! We're glad to have you. And suz, prayers for your colleague's family and your congregation and you. What a hard, hard thing.I'm going to try and do some writing now. I am also giving the Charge to the Ordinand at the ordination of one of my advisees tomorrow afternoon, all of which comes after the first session of Confirmation, so it's a busy day tomorrow.

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  31. Margaret, your experience is exactly why I didn't try harder to go to CREDO the first two times I was invited…and why I am excited to be going to the first ever all-ages CREDO. We'll see how it works out. Scheduling that much non-vacation time away is a challenge, for me even more so b/c you're invited so far in advance. Last February November looked like a fine time to be away, but now that I realize how close it is to Advent and Christmas (duh) it seems harder, but I guess there is never a really easy time to be gone. LOL at verger for word verification…SB, I am impressed that you can get people out on a Saturday morning. Great book!

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  33. Songbird, congrats on your successful book group launch! I know i enjoy mine. great book choice.ok, now to find that big box, and then…pracice the draft.I need to bake a cake for stepson #2's birthday. glad it's fall back, actually.

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  34. Greetings all! I missed you last week, but I wasn't preaching (bishop preached) and I had houseguests, so was out doing fun things. :)This week, however, it's All Saints and not at my usual places, but at St. Extra Large as my time with them comes to an end (which is a really good thing). I'm pondering the All Saints Ephesians text and the inheritance the saints are passing on to us.Just getting started now…we had a finance meeting this morning, which actually went rather well, but that means I have very little done, either in my head or on paper, so I'll be here most of the day. đŸ™‚

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  35. Welcome, Suzy and Celeste!Suz, WOW. Best to you as you prepare, and prayers for your sr pastor and fam.SB, wtg with the book group!As for me, I turned off the internet for maybe 20 minutes. Oops. I've done more goofing around than I'd hoped, but I also found, bought, and downloaded (in pdf version) a recent doctoral dissertation on the need for a Protestant reclamation of the doctrine of the Communion of the Saints. It's quite good!I have so much in my head but woefully little on page. Back at it!

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  36. Just wanted to mention that I finally got my Christian Century yesterday–seriously, do I live in Zanzibar?–and I love the story about Carlyle Marney told by Kyle Childress in a column on the Luke 20 passage. It doesn't go where I'm going, but it speaks to me as a pastor and a believer.All of which is to say, I procrastinated, wrote something completely unrelated to the sermon, and now I've written a beginning and am back to procrastinating. đŸ™‚

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  37. Hi all, I'm just getting to the party from our annual "Soup & Pie" Bazaar. It was a big success but my feet hurt and I didn't do half the work of everyone else.I wrote a draft last night that needs some heavy editing, now I need some motivation to do so. I don't want more coffee b/c I had some too late last night and had trouble sleeping.At least we get an extra hour tonight.Maybe some hot tea will help? Sounds like many Saints will be floating around tomorrow. We did it last week and this week we're lifting up our Seminary with a theme from Timothy, "Preach the Word"! Now if I can only do so.

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  38. All three kids are napping and my husband is out running errands. Must. write. now. I totally want to take full advantage of that extra hour of sleep tonight, so I'm somewhat determined to get this done this afternoon. I have a decent outline saved from earlier in the week, but my biggest fear is that it has too much.Time to get to it now. More later if I need a break or if I get finished. (I can hope!)

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  40. Exactly, Songbird. Too often I'm just thankful it happened since it means I get 3 instead of 2 hours of sleep or something ridiculous like that. This year, I'm hoping it means 8 not 7, or 9 not 8. Well, that is if the kids cooperate. That's why their naps are so late today. We're also goign to bring them to the concert and art show at church tonight. It serves a couple of purposes – – keeps them up a little later, keeps me from being away for another church thing another night, hopefully delivers the latter message to the folks who have been a little more demanding of my time than usual lately.

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  41. I'm finally logging in here. I forgot to earlier but that's okay since I wasn't actually working on the sermon anyway. For us, it's All Saints with the Ephesians passage. We read the names of those who died in the last year with toll of handbell. We almost doubled the list in the two weeks. ::sigh::SB-I loved the same article. Now I have to look at it again because I have a vague notion there was something I was going to quote.

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  42. I like looking at my computer clock and saying, "Don't worry, it's actually only 3:45, not 4:45. There's plenty of time…"Took a break from writing to work on a couple of projects with The Boy. This has bought me another 20 minutes. I'm about to print and see if I can piece together what I've got. I know it kills trees, but I am just old school enough to work better off of paper… this is also why I can live without an iPad (or at least what I am telling myself).

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  44. Boy oh boy have my Saturdays been busy. I wrote my sermon last night, posted a draft out on my blog. It is a stewardship sermon, I'm feeling kind of meh' about it. The stewardship committee has slapped together a campaign in the last couple of weeks, basically doing the same program the did last year. I offered to help them out but they didn't take me up on the offer. They asked me to write a newsletter article and preach about stewardship and they'll send a letter and pledge cards. So without a lot of background I am preaching this stewardship sermon. This is my first stewardship sermon, any feedback you all can give me would be greatly appreciated.A stewardship sermon

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  45. I heart fall back.I'm going to go practice a little now. the church was "off line" for awhile. after church, I'll read some sermons.oh, yeah, maybe make a cake.

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  46. I am doing Psalm 145, which is a total copout because it's a sermon I wrote 4 years ago but the week ended up going places that I didn't intend and a new sermon was not in the works for it. At least it's in the lectionary for today. i already argued with the choir director over hymns (he complained because I chose overdone hymns, and I said, "I'm a substitute. how would I know that? YOU pick them." So he did. Which is the way it should be (note to installed pastors: it's really helpful if you pick the hymns–or at least 3 of them because subs have NO IDEA what you know and what you did last week.) I'm rambling. I still have prayers to write (going to try to rock the ipad for that one) and some sort of children's sermon to get through. …..luckily, there was diet coke at Target so I'm well caffeinated!

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  49. Nice try, kathrynzj. Nice try. :)Well, the baby has been up for about an hour and a half. She's fed and should be happy, but she isn't. The way I am facing to type is not looking at her where she is otherwise playing happy, so I'm going to quit typing. It was worth a shot.I have a much better, pared down, but great outline now, and SHOULD be able to finish this thing in no more than an hour when the rest of the night's festivities are over. Should.So, I think I'll quit for the time being and play with my kiddo. Then dinner, then the church arts and music show. Then kiddo bedtime. Then finish the sermon. I think it's all doable AND I should be able to get in bed before midnight, which is really 11:00 p.m. That's what I'm shooting for anyway!!!

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  50. hi everyonelots of prepping at church for an unusual day tomorrow related to stewardship. we are worshipping in the hall instead of sanctuary, which makes lots of logistics… these kind of things always seem like such a good idea in the planning stage and then so much running around in teh implementing stage. so, lots of logistics not much sermon prep yet, but i think I have a pretty good idea where I'm going nad it will have to short anyway, so I'm not worrying too much. just hope some peoples come, as it is also our "friend-raising" day in the UCC. BUT MOSTLY, I'm over here to ask for prayers for my hubby's family. His mother, 1300 miles away, has had a most-likely-terminal stroke and was in the hosp since friday. The local sibs will be making decisions about breathing and feeding tubes this week, and we will likely be traveling there soon, too. So, we are sad and a little anxious over here and a prayer for all of us and especially for Mary that her passing is as comfortable as possible is most appreciated.

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