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The Psalms enrich preaching during Holy Week and Easter, even if few preachers base an entire sermon on a psalm.1 Jesus prayed the Psalms from the cross, and the Gospels quote the Psalms to tell (...)

This scene, whether in Matthean or Lukan form, appears frequently in the lectionary. What to do with such a familiar passage? The passage is susceptible to unhelpful readings. Sermons that urge parishioners to “quote scripture (...)

Does your preaching actually make a difference? Matt Skinner reflects on the Second Sunday of Christmas and John 1—the light shining in darkness that cannot be overcome. Even when it feels like the deck is (...)

Are you really the one who is coming? Karoline Lewis reflects on the Third Sunday of Advent and the profound question John the Baptist asks Jesus—a question that echoes through our own Advent journey. Standing (...)

This psalm is a prayer of penitence, confession, remorse, owning mistakes made, and seeking a fresh start of new life with a restored soul upon receiving God’s forgiveness.1  Psalm 51 is traditionally attributed to David, (...)

This text for Ash Wednesday skips from verse 2 down to verse 12. A smart preacher will read all of Joel to get a sense of the gravity, the trauma, and the fear that the (...)

I have stood looking onto the horizon at sunset in Sedona, Arizona. I saw what looked like “clouds on fire,” the shimmer of the sunset on the edge of cumulus clouds that blurred the boundary (...)

One of the brightest jewels in the Psalter is Psalm 27.1 It’s situated on the third Sunday of Epiphany but could be read and pondered with great profit and joy any Sunday, or at any (...)

Church leadership is hard. Pastors balance several competing demands. They direct people with purpose and vision without creating a cult of personality. They honor past leadership while guiding a congregation into the future. They bring (...)

After the birth narrative, Matthew’s story of Jesus skips to the adult Jesus coming to the Judean desert to be baptized by John the Baptizer. When John the Baptizer is handed over and eventually executed, (...)