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A third way of preaching the psalms is to preach the theology and faith practices of the various psalm genres–the laments (prayer for help), the hymns, the songs of thanksgiving, the instructional psalms (wisdom psalms), (...)

I often tell preachers, “If you can crack open a psalm, you’ll always have something to preach, because the lectionary assigns a psalm for every Sunday.” If you do not make a regular practice of (...)

The song of the angels in Luke 2:14, traditionally known as the Gloria, speaks of the heavens and the earth, God and human beings. While the Greek text does not state the word for “heavens” (...)

At first glance, the lectionary’s juxtaposition of this text—God’s promise to David of a permanent dynastic kingdom—with Luke 1:26–38 might suggest it is only useful as a prooftext, in a supporting role to the Gospel (...)

Ezekiel 37 is probably the most well-known passage from this prophetic book. Inevitably, when I tell people of faith that I am writing about Ezekiel, they mention the valley of dry bones. So, the imagery (...)

In difficult times, many of us look for sources and symbols of hope. Sometimes we find them in nature, the arts, humor, or comforting memories. Often, we turn our attention to individuals who seem to (...)

For the Christmas Eve preacher, it may feel challenging to find anything new to say about this familiar story from Luke 2. What might possibly have been missed in the centuries throughout which this story (...)

When clergy invite me to speak at their church, I ask them what they are wanting for their people. I’ve been struck lately by how many say some version of this: “My people are doing (...)

A “zealous” God. Isaiah 9:2-7 (1-6 in the Hebrew) paints a picture of God’s zealousness, which results in the zealousness of God’s people. We take our lead from the final sentence of this reading, “The (...)

On the surface, Proverbs 9:1-6 reads as positive instruction for those seeking to live an ethical life, one that leaves aside “naivety” (Hebrew peta’im) and is grounded instead in “understanding” or “insight” (binah; verse 6).  (...)