Here in Scotland, Schools and colleges are back and the weather is doing its best to convince us that summer is over. While some are relieved to re-establish a routine, others are reluctant to get back into the groove.
This past week it has felt as though a new church session has exploded into life (and into my diary) without any warm up or gradual awakening.
How does that affect your preaching?
Are you finishing up a series, continuing in the Revised Common Lectionary, or preparing to start a new cycle in the Narrative Lectionary? Or maybe you’re in a completely different season. It would be good to hear how the seasons affect your preaching wherever you are in the world. And we’d love to hear what texts you’re tackling this weekend. Tuesday’s RCL post is here.
Often the comments shared here are just the inspiration needed to bring ideas together or even to get things started!
I look forward to hearing of how and what you are preparing to preach this week as we encourage one another in bringing the Word to life.
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.
RevGalBlogPals encourages you to share our blog posts via email or social media. We do not grant permission to cut-and-paste prayers and articles without a link back. For permission to use material in paper publications, please email revgalblogpals at gmail dot com.
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I love following your posts, keep the Good work up Gal’s.
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Thanks!
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no sermon for me tomorrow. we are doing the play : The Bible in an Hour from the book ‘Fire and Bread’, an Iona book. and lots of songs. then a Parish meeting to approve the budget.
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Sounds good, Pearl. Hope it all goes well.
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Good morning (in Ohio) all! Expecting a very small group tomorrow as 1/3 of our maybe 40 summer worshippers are off to a Rise Against Hunger event at a neighboring church. I’m preaching Ephesians on God’s strength and power being found in community, and I think I may have produced the worst, or second-worst, sermon of my life. But last night I helped served a community meal at a church in the city, so I think I may just use the sermon as a vague sort of guide and speak from the heart about the community gathered last night and the different strengths I saw there.
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I encourage you to go for it. It’s terrifying and liberating at the same time.
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Seems sharing the community experience would be effective, Robin
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Late summer here and school is still out so I’m planning a relatively short and simple service on the assumption that turnout will still be low and that any children will be with us throughout. (Our pastor is still on vacation.) The holiday feeling in the air led me to Paul’s journeys, so tomorrow we’ll be wandering around Asia Minor with Paul and company, wondering why all the doors seem closed, then sitting down with Lydia and friends in Phillipi to listen to his message.Doing the sermon in 2 10 minute chunks, interspersed with music and prayers. (The week after next, we’ll read the rest of the chapter.)
I have homemade hummus to share if anyone is feeling snackish.
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Hold on to that holiday feel as long as you can, Alison. Wandering with Paul sounds just right!
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I have two Sundays left in the favourite-hymns Summer Series….this week I can see why I put these particular requests together, and how they fit. What I can’t remember is why I picked the texts I did to go with them (I planned the whole summer back in June)! LOL. So…I’m sitting in a cafe needing to write something before they close in 90 minutes, or at least enough that I can move venue and finish something within another hour after that, before I head to the last event I’m attending at the Edinburgh Book Festival, and then home (arriving home at midnight!).
I have scones with jam and cream, and tea aged in a whisky barrel (so good)…will trade for a memory of why I put these texts with these hymns! Haha.
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Would love some of that tea. You put those texts in because you are awesome!
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We have two more Sundays in our sermon dialogue series. I’m reading up on Joshua, the fifth Sunday in John on bread, and all summer we’ve added the scripture from “Faces of Our Faith” curriculum from “A Sanctified Faith” – each week focusing on another person in scripture who forms and informs our faith. I merely facilitated the conversation at the sermon time, the congregation leads the discussion with their thoughts, questions, confusion, etc.
However, one thing I am wondering about, after 5 Sundays of preaching on eating Jesus, is there any new insight into how to understand this section of John? So far I am only finding the same ole same ole understandings, which are okay, but I’d love some new insight. Jesus in the Gospel of John wasn’t talking about people literally eating him, but about communion. But it sure does come across as a little gross when reading it out loud.
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I find this insightful: Working Preacher
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Terri, no new insight, I’m afraid. But 5 weeks on those texts… Something must need restating… Until we get it.
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Terri – One of my sources mentions how Jesus started this whole section by using a verb for eating that was like taking a civilized bite. Last week and this week and this week, the verb is munch – like how animals eat. I don’t know if it’s helpful to you or not, but I found it to be an interested tidbit of info.
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WOrking with Ephesians and the Armor of God. My sermon title is “Suit Up”. One track I am thinking I will use is to remember that more than once in a theatrical setting the day we got to put on costumes for rehearsal changed how I was able to get into the character. How does putting on the armor of God change us?
ALso thinking I will look at each of the attributes of the armor (Righteousness, Truth, Faith, Salvation, Spirit [which is the WOrd of God]) and ask what they mean to us as people of faith
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Gord – how true – that we can be changed by suiting up!
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Ive been facilitating a church leadership conference today. I’m exhausted and I’ve used up all my “people time”.
I’ve just made some mac n cheese, enough to share and now I’m going to go and hide somewhere quietly while I recharge.😊
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I’m going with the disciples complaining that Jesus’ teaching is difficult, and some of them choosing not to follow him any more. Will highlight some of the other difficult teachings of Jesus, and how we might also be tempted not to follow him any more. This whole Jesus-follower thing is not for the faint of heart!
But, so what? I haven’t figured out the conclusion, or even where the good news is in this Scripture. I guess it’s good news that we aren’t the first or only ones to find these things difficult? Any suggestions are welcome 🙂
I have a half dozen zucchinis that were left to grow too long in the garden and each weigh about as much as a 4-month-old baby! Help yourself!
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It’s the Last Weekend of the Summer here (school starts Monday, hallelujah and hooray). I’ve spent the morning doing Presbytery committee work and now need to get to work on the sermon. I got irritated at the RCL, so I’ve rescued Mark’s Jesus-walking-on-the-water passage (which they skip but include John’s). Now I”m questioning the wisdom of that because there aren’t many resources out there. Something will come to me soon. Right?
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Monica – I did Mark’s feeding of the 10,000 (because I count women and children…) and ran into the same problem! So many of the resources out there are about how John is different than the others, or Matthew is different from the others. It’s hard to find good preaching resources on passages that the lectionary skips! I actually went old-school and pulled out my academic commentaries from grad school. Good luck to you.
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I went old school and pulled out the Greek (!) and quickly found out how rusty (to be generous) my Greek is.
Finding some interesting parallels between the walking on water story and the calming the storm story in Mark. Interesting for a Bible study. Not sure where to go with it for a sermon.
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I will return to the bread this week, having gone off Lectionary last week to preach the rape of Tamar. I’ m trying to work with “Lord, to whom shall we go?” Our leadership is trying to get its arms around our Presiding Bishop’s “The Way of Love” initiative and how to introduce it to the congregation and integrate it with the results of our own Vision and Values work. How do we embrace a way that is demanding? How do we shape and refocus our lives as a way and not just programs and precepts? This is not a single sermon but, perhaps, the first in a long stream. In a month or so, we will move into a new Parish House—the fulfillment of a long held dream and struggle. It will, I hope, be a renewed beginning, not completion!
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It’s a weary Saturday night here in Pennsylvania. I preached at a funeral this morning which was attended by a large part of the congregation. I’m feeling very tired of John and very tired in general. 😉 I have this feeling we may have a low end-of-August attendance that may be further reduced because so many were at church today. We commune every other Sunday so for three of the five “bread” Sundays, we have not had communion. I’ve preached about bread but not about communion twice this month already. So in the words of Winnie-the-Pooh, “wurra, wurra, wurra.” Hoping a great idea presents itself shortly.
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Sounds like you need some of Ephesians’ armor of God to give you strength!
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I did not get anything written yesterday after all, so I’m up early trying to write this morning. Mildly distracted by the news about John McCain, but since that doesn’t affect much here in Scotland, I’m trying to put it out of my mind and focus!! Worship starts in three hours and twelve minutes. 🙂
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