Encountering the text: Pulpit Resource has spent some time in Romans already this summer, and I hope that none of its readers—nor the congregations they serve—will be… read more

Encountering the text: My colleague Ellen Davis has said that one of the functions of Israel’s Passover narrative is to guard against any sentimentalizing of God’s… read more

Jesus, returning to his hometown synagogue in Luke 4, unrolls an Isaiah scroll and preaches. We believe that the synagogue was born during Israel’s exile. What do you do… read more

Encountering the text: Because the RCL’s First Lesson gives us a series of readings this fall from the Exodus, let’s do a sermon series from the wonderfully crafted… read more

Encountering the text: Paul writes as someone who has awoken to a new reality, the reality of Christ and his resurrection. Now Paul must rethink everything he thought he knew. One … read more

Encountering the text: The parables of the mustard seed (13:31-32) and the leaven (13:33) go nicely together, making a similar point. Here, deep in summer, these parables about… read more