Tag Archives: Church

Pentecost 20 C: Welcome to the Church’s Golden Age!

Posted on October 18, 2022 by John

The readings for the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost are Old Testament & Psalm, Option I Old Testament      Joel 2:23–32 Psalm                    Psalm 65 or Old Testament & Psalm, Option II Old Testament      Sirach 35:12–17 or Jeremiah 14:7–10, 19–22 … Continue reading →

Posted in Church, Church and Social Movements, Featured, John's Posts, Pandemic Blog, Reflections on Sunday Readings, Social Political Issues | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pentecost 16 C: The Group Mind of the Church

Posted on September 21, 2022 by John

Instead of my normal practice of reflecting on one or more readings from the Revised Common Lectionary, this week, and since we will be welcoming new members to St. Luke Lutheran Church in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, I have chosen to … Continue reading →

Posted in Faith, Featured, John's Posts, Pandemic Blog, Reflections on Sunday Readings | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Christmas 1C: All That and More

Posted on December 21, 2021 by John

The Readings for the First Sunday of Christmas are Old Testament      1 Samuel 2:18–20, 26 Psalm                    Psalm 148 New Testament     Colossians 3:12–17 Gospel                   Luke 2:41–52 The Gospel lesson for the first Sunday after Christmas takes us … Continue reading →

Posted in Church, Featured, John's Posts, Pandemic Blog, Reflections on Sunday Readings | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Pentecost 8B: Tucker Carlson, Vaccines, and the Gathering God

Posted on July 13, 2021 by John

The readings for the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost are: Old Testament      Jeremiah 23:1–6 Psalm                    Psalm 23 New Testament     Ephesians 2:11–22 Gospel                   Mark 6:30–34, 53–56 Well, the latest, is that Tucker Carlson has told his loyal followers … Continue reading →

Posted in Border Collies, Farm Diary, Featured, John's Posts, Pandemic Blog, Reflections on Sunday Readings, Sheep, Social Political Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Easter 2 B: Resurrection Oneness

Posted on April 7, 2021 by John

Readings for the Second Sunday of Easter are First Reading         Acts 4:32–35 Psalm                    Psalm 133 New Testament     1 John 1:1–2:2 Gospel                   John 20:19–31 Throughout all my years of ministry if I had a choice of things … Continue reading →

Posted in Church, Featured, John's Posts, Pandemic Blog, Reflections on Sunday Readings, Social Political Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pentecost 2: Sheep into the Midst of Wolves

Posted on June 8, 2020 by John

Gospel for Proper 6 (Pentecost 2) Series A Matthew 9:35–10:8 (10:9–23)   This is the year of Matthew in the Revised Common Lectionary. But this is the Sunday we get our first real introduction to what it means to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Church, Church and Social Movements, Featured, John's Posts, Pandemic Blog, Reflections on Sunday Readings, Social Political Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Heatherhope Believes In A Dynamic Church

Posted on May 6, 2017 by John

Easter morning listening to the radio. National Public Radio represents the best of broadcast journalism. But I heard exactly two references to the great Christian Festival Day of Easter. One was an offhand comment, just before the segment with “puzzle … Continue reading →

Posted in Church, Church and Social Movements, Featured, John's Posts, Social Political Issues | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Evangelism as Deprogramming

Posted on March 17, 2015 by John

    Last night was a night of inspiration. Six motivated laypeople and I were discussing what good doctrine might teach us about current practices in our congregations, and the conversation turned to evangelism. We returned to two ideas we … Continue reading →

Posted in Church, Faith, Featured, John's Posts | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Woman at the Well

Posted on April 1, 2014 by John

The famous dialog between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well is part of a series of beautifully crafted dialogs in the Fourth Gospel. Several themes appear repeatedly in this series.   Spiritual knowing or seeing is one theme. … Continue reading →

Posted in Church, Faith, Featured, John's Posts, Reflections on Sunday Readings | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Writing Circle

Posted on September 19, 2012 by John

Writing can be frightening! It’s also pretty scary to live out the love of Jesus Christ. Writing can be challenging! Thinking about faith–daring to question and even to doubt–is also hard stuff. But being part of a circle of people … Continue reading →

Posted in Faith, John's Posts, Spirituality, Writing Circle | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment