September 15, 2024 - The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary Readings

Gracious Lord, forgive the sins of the preacher, that only your Word might be proclaimed and only your Truth be heard. Amen.

            Whoever said “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is both a fool and a liar. The fact of the matter is that bruises fade, but memories remain. How many of us still carry wounds and insecurities from a comment we overheard or something that was said in the heat of the moment? Broken bones heal, but broken confidence or trust is much harder to recover. To be clear, violence is never to be tolerated, whether physical, emotional, or verbal. But to deny the power of words is not only foolish, it is bad theology.

September 8, 2024 - The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary Readings

Thank you, gracious God, for the gift of your love which is making all things well and all things new. Amen.

            We love a good motivational speech, don’t we? Part of what makes a movie powerful is a rousing speech given in a moment of crisis. Braveheart, Remember the Titans, Dead Poets Society, and Independence Day are all memorable movies, even decades later, because of their stirring speeches. Or think about how JFK’s Moonshot, MLK’s Dream, or Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman” are addresses that galvanized a nation around audacious goals. When our backs are against the wall, a mighty speech can give us courage, clarity, and hope.

September 1, 2024 - The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary Readings

Gracious Lord, may your grace always shine through us ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            “Do or do not, there is no try,” so says the wise and sage Yoda from Star Wars. In a nutshell, if we had to summarize the entire letter of James, that would be it: do or do not, there is no try. Through the month of September, the epistle readings will take us through this letter. It would be well worth your time this week to read through James – it’s found towards the back of the New Testament, right after the book of Hebrews. It’s five chapters long, so it’s easy to get through in one sitting.