Living the Lectionary

John 3:1-17 The truth of “God so loved the world…” is diminished if we add conditional clauses that limit the ability of the wind of the ...

Romans 8:12-17 I will admit I’m in hock to the flesh and cannot conceive a payment plan that will get me out of debt anytime soon. Based ...

Psalm 29 Hills skipping and mountains bucking are not that pleasant when one is in close proximity. In the same way we prefer our forests...

Isaiah 6:1-8 The call story of the prophet Isaiah is filled with fanciful details that defy explanation. The hem of the Lord “high and ...

This Sunday we will celebrate the rite of confirmation at Calvary. The Spirit poured out on our young women and men invites them...

John 16:1-15 The Spirit as Advocate contends for us to prove the world’s ways will not be the way for us. That is because the Spirit conv...

Romans 8:22-27 When inward groaning anticipates the cry of new birth the joy anticipated is the hope that endures. Even in our weakness...

Psalm 104:24-35 Psalm 104:20 is the basis of the “Come Holy Spirit” prayer of the Cursillo movement. “Come, Holy Spirit, fill the heart...

Acts 2:1-21 It is a lay lector’s nightmare lesson and even those who wear the collar tread lightly in the linguistic territory of “Phry...

Seraphina and I forded Big Fossil Creek yesterday which was a big deal for both of us. We’ve been riding along the Richland Hills side of t...

John 17:6-19 If you’ve read the other Gospels you might agree that John’s Jesus is less than human, or if you won’t go that far at leas...

1 John 5:9-13 To have the Son of God means the Son of God has you. Human testimony would have the Son by tradition or dogma or piety wi...

Like a Tree Planted by the River by Donald Simpson Psalm 1 We know the counsel of the wicked is nothing but trouble and lingering i...

Acts 1:15-26 If the church had continued the practice of casting lots for leaders you can bet it wouldn’t have taken long for someone t...

The lectionary might designate this Sunday Easter 6b but everyone else knows it is Mother’s Day, which, by the way, has the third highest ch...

John 15:9-17 It is significant that this “status update” from servant to friend occurs in the Gospel of John. After all Jesus’ status was u...

1 John 5:1-6 The way faith conquers the world is not made manifest in the way the world appears to conquer faith. Despite the apparent mi...

Psalm 98:1-9 A new song of marvelous things means before there was this song there were times less praiseworthy. Singing the rejoicing re...

Acts 10:44-48 Acts chapter ten begins with God telling Peter that shellfish is now in season and he is free to eat whatever he wants. To ...

I want to rewrite my rather convoluted concluding sentence of yesterday’s blog to read “If those connected to the true vine are hardly aware...