How many words does it take to make the Word of God come alive for your congregation? I’ve discovered my sermons are getting shorter through the pandemic – maybe it’s to accommodate reduced attention spans in online worship, but I find using fewer words of mine does a better job of helping people hear God’s Word. And this week, God’s Word has lots to offer!
Are you tackling the Ten Commandments, wrestling with the parable of the wicked tenants, or pressing on toward the goal in the Revised Common Lectionary? Here’s some help! If you follow the Narrative Lectionary, these thoughts on exodus and covenant words might spark your holy imagination. Do you have a meaningful liturgy for World Communion Sunday to share, or do you need a Call to Worship? Maybe these Worship Words will be just what you need.
Whichever words the Spirit is giving you, know that you have company in the writing and wrestling. So take what you need, share what you can, and let’s help each other along the way. Add your ideas and questions in the comments!
Rev. Jo Anne Taylor is an Evangelical Covenant Church pastor serving in the United Methodist Church. She blogs at pastorsings.com and she likes to sing (just not in close proximity to others at this time).
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.
RevGalBlogPals 
I’m preaching on Philippians: “What Lies Ahead.” Thinking of a line from an old Star Trek movie. Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy are in prison on a remote planet. The Federation and the Klingons are talking peace. Captain Kirk’s son was brutally murdered by a Klingon, and he doesn’t trust them a bit. He asks McCoy, “Bones, are you afraid of the future?” (The movie was a bit of an allegory on the Berlin Wall coming down, the fall of the Soviet Union, and the end of the Cold War.) Anyway, that line has stuck with me through the years: are you afraid of the future? Paul was not. But right now, in this time of pandemic and a big election coming up, who’s not at least a little bit afraid of the future?
LikeLike
Addressing fear – what an important message we all need to hear right now. Actually, fear of the future has been around forever, hasn’t it? That’s why we hear “fear not” and “be not afraid” so often in scripture. Blessing on your preaching!
LikeLike