Narrative Lectionary (Page 2)
Tents, Temples, and Tabernacles
Last week in the narrative we moved into the era of “kingship” in Israel, where Samuel reluctantly appointed Saul as Israel’s first king. In our story we were coming to the end of Saul’s reign as he had fallen out of favor with God and the people, and Saul anoints the famous David as next king. This week we take a big leap through all of David’s reign, which starts out strong but when it’s all said and done, as…
No King
This week in worship we continue in the Narrative Lectionary, entering into a whole new era for Israel which is the era of the kings, where we’ll get introduced to a young man named David. David is of course a massive figure in the story and in the history of Israel. When we get to this part of the story, it never ceases to amaze me just how relevant it all is. -Pastor Paul
Wherever You Go
“We are rolling right along with the Story of God and God’s People as we enter into week three this Sunday. Last week we looked at Abraham and Isaac, and this Sunday we’ll meet the third part of the Jewish Patriarch, Jacob. It’s a whole heap of a mess of a story, so hopefully we can bring some clarity to it and discern what it is God has for us in this space through it.” -Pastor Paul
This Is Only a Test
“This week we continue in the Narrative Lectionary by moving from God creating all the things, to zooming in on one family, Abraham and Sarah, and God’s call on them to be the father and mother of a great nation. This week’s story is kind of a troubling one, and definitely needs some reimagining from its traditional interpretations. And that’s exactly what we will do!” -Pastor Paul
And So It Begins
“I am excited to be kicking another season in the Narrative Lectionary. This is the lectionary we did last year, which works through the Biblical narrative from Genesis in the Hebrew Bible all the way through the Torah, the the kings, and the Prophets, and then into a Gospel (this year we get John) and ultimately some epistles. As a reminder this lectionary works on a 4-year cycle, one for each Gospel, so we’ll be working through the same narrative,…
We Fall. We Rise.
With Easter being last Sunday that means that this Sunday is our last Sunday in the Gospel of Luke! We’ve been in Luke for four full months, and what a journey it’s been. This week we’ll take a look at the famous “Walk to Emmaus” and how things come full circle. -Pastor Paul SCRIPTURE: Luke 24:13-32 (NRSVUE) 13 Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and talking with each other…
More Idle Tales, Please
… Jesus was crucified because of the culmination of his work defending the defenseless, bringing in those who were cast out, declaring clean those who were labeled unclean, and in so doing, challenging the religious/political systems of the day, or as the powers that be usually interpret it, insurrection. But at his death a curious thing happens. Luke 23:47 says, “When the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, ‘Certainly this man was innocent.’” Kind of a powerful…
The Stones Will Shout Out
I have long said that I believe that Palm Sunday may be the most misunderstood Sunday in the Christian Calendar (with Pentecost right on its tail!). Too often the story stops with the crowds waving palm branches and shouting “Hosanna” (neither of which exist in Luke’s Gospel, by the way!), and don’t get to the part of Jesus weeping over Jerusalem, and then shifting from grief to anger and driving the money changers out of the temple. It’s a wild…
Reimagining Evangelism
Hello, Beloved of PPUMC! I write today with great excitement. Do you know what yesterday was? It was the Twins Home Opener! One of my favorite days of the year! And this Sunday we get one of my all time favorite passages. We will be looking Zacchaeus, who was a wee little man. This story is a mere 10 verses, but it packs a huge punch, and in it will be dealing with the dreaded “E-Word”… “evangelism”. I’m looking forward…