DSCN6877As ever, our texts this week, offer many opportunities to speak into the life of our world and the communities we serve.

Discussions on the Narrative Lectionary Text can be found here, and on the Revised Common Lectionary Readings here.

How about you? Where are you going with the word of life? Where are you finding good news for your context?

We’d love it if you shared here how you’re gathering for worship this week and what you plan on sharing. And, if you’re struggling to bring it all together, let’s see if we can help one another. Bringing the word to life together.

Liz Crumlish is a Church of Scotland Minister currently working on a National Renewal Project in Scotland.  A Board Member of RevGalBlogPals, one of the instigators of Spill the Beans and contributor to There’s a Woman in the Pulpit, Liz blogs at journalling

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21 thoughts on “11th Hour Preacher Party: The offer of life”

  1. Friday night/Early Sat morning for me right now…trying to get a jump on my usual late late Sat night writing. I’m thinking of combining the Corinthians reading with the Gospel, based on Ismael Ruiz-Millán’s writing in the Christian Century “Sunday’s Coming” commentary…what it looks like to be a “prophet in action” in today’s world. I’m preaching for a second pt congregation to add to my current pt church so I don’t know how “pressing” I want to be. Then again, maybe both churches need to hear it (they’re both under 30 people and trying to avoid dying).

    My husband said we have too many sweets in the house right now, so I have random candy and candy bars to share 🙂

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  3. NL here, thinking about Nicodemus. i have [just] started writing, but i am wondering about changing tack. So often this becomes about what we have to do, but i wonder what this passage tells us about Jesus. something i read this week, extended the reading to include the last few verses of chapter 2, so this is an example of how Jesus knows what motivates people..
    i will keep writing and muddling ideas.

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  4. calling it done for the night. only one service tomorrow, so i can stay with the early service for morning tea. Jesus is clear, this whole thing is about God’s love for the world
    Friday was Australia Day, early in the service i will speak about the 4 people honoured as Australian of the year – junior, senior, local hero and Australian of the year. – 2 scientists, a maths teacher and a [female] soccer player. then we will sing an Australian hymn.
    the kettle will go on shortly help yourself, and there are just a few pieces of coconut cake left.

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  5. We’re exploring the Lord’s Prayer at the moment (a new translation for public worship has just been adopted by pretty much all French denominations) and have been given the bread petition. So I’m musing on our need for both physical and spiritual bread. Toying with the idea of asking a friend to bring his bread machine so we can fill the place with the smell of baking bread ! I should have bread to share, but actually what i have is a ton of winter fruit: oranges and kiwis – help yourselves !

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  6. Just checking in here, and sitting down to write. I realize that my sermon writing process is completely intuitive, so I have no idea where I am going, but I did get the Mark text printed in our bulletin as a chiasm. Got the translation from Abingdon’s Creative Preaching Journal 2015. E. Mark Davis, I think is the author (it’s attributed in the bulletin, of course, but I can’t remember exactly.) I’ve got coffee to share, and tofu. Sigh. Probably need to go to the store.

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  7. Helped by the lectionary blog from Tuesday and David Lose (In the Meantime) I’m named some of the ways evil is still so very present in our world (shootings in nearby SC, victims of abuse in USA Gymnastics and atrocities in modern history), showed how Jesus responded to the brokenness before him, confronting it and restoring life, and reclaimed our affirmation of baptism to empower us to do likewise.

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  8. Almost three in the afternoon here, and not a word on paper. Trying to wrap my mind around the Mark passage, and thinking about Smeagol/Gollum in “The Lord of the Rings”: how the desire for the ring possessed him, moved him to murder, twisted and transformed him, to the point where “we forgot the taste of bread… the sound of trees… the softness of the wind. We even forgot our own name. My Precious.” We may not be able to relate to demonic possession, but surely many of us have had the experience of being so moved by “unclean spirits” – desire, hatred, anger, addiction, etc. – that we lost control, maybe even behaved in such a way that we no longer recognized ourselves. That’s all I’ve got, for now….

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    1. I said something like that in my part on what it means to be possessed — and that Gollum quote is great. Storing it away for next time.

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  9. Luanne, I’ve never heard that Smeagol/Gollum quote before (or maybe just never noticed it). It’s such a fitting example. I’m saving it for future use–thank you!

    I’m in week 3 of a series on questions submitted by people a couple months ago. This week is “why do we gather as a church.” I’m working with Mark 12, which I originally chose for a different topic but am finding it works for this question. There’s the religious leaders aggressively asking questions, which is kind of the potential worst of church (people sniping about stuff/testing others to keep them out). And then in Mark, there’s the scribe who asks the genuine question about which commandment is first. And that’s the potential best of church–a gathering where you can genuinely ask, and learn to love God and neighbor.

    Time to buckle down and finish before evening worship…

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  10. We hosted a 2 day presbytery meeting complete with the retirement of the presbyter of our mid-council. It all went well…but whew am I tired.

    Mark for me and of course it is a text I’ve never preached. On Thursday I was wrestling with power/authority. One and the same? Different? Them I pondered the healing and what did that mean? A bit of an off the wall the idea came…could I use the musical, Wicked, to frame the sermon? I decided to go for it. I have the sermon title: Defying Gravity…Everyone Deserves a Chance to Fly. Now to find the words.

    Onward…

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  11. Made it! As usual these days, I am trying to combine both the lectionary gospel and a text from our Salt and Light Study — the theme this week is right relationships. We have a major rift in our congregation which was ripped open again last week, and I am concluding by saying in a most general way that when we (generic we) do not know how to seek reconciliation, we need to seek help. Will the people I hope will hear it do so? I guess that part isn’t up to me.

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  12. I am preaching this week using next week’s Mark text: Healing Simon’s Mother-in-Law. Per our series, I am to talk about touch (Jesus took her by the hand), and I remembered there was something someone wrote about touch at church when they had been alone for months. I love my Kindle App. I thought it was in There’s a Woman in the Pulpit and sure enough found the essay by Deborah Lewis about Ash Wednesday. So my first week in the pulpit as a Commissioned Pastor, I will begin my sermon by reading from There’s a Woman in the Pulpit. Totally fitting, I believe. –Wendy

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  13. I haven’t had time to say much, but this has been such a crazy busy insane week and I am grateful to have at least been able to come here and read what you all are saying about the texts this week. I finally have my sermon ready, or as ready as it’s going to be. Tomorrow is our annual meeting….and my sermon is posted here

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