John 3:1-17 Dear Partner in Preaching, I find it slightly ironic that this Sunday focuses on, in my humble opinion :), one the worst possible theme for a sermon – the Trinity – and yet features some of the more interesting stories from the New Testament. As for the theme, Trinity Sunday is the only Sunday oriented to church doctrine, and I’ve always found the prospect of offering a sermon on the Trinity not just daunting but downright dicey. Which surprises me a bit, because I’m a huge proponent of using our sermons to teach our folks about our shared faith. But the Trinity? Goodness, who really understands it? And how does a...

Matthew 16:13-20 Dear Partner in Preaching, How do we keep faith in the time of COVID? And struggle for racial equity? And weather economic crisis? And stay hopeful (or even just sane) amid such a toxic political culture? (And all this during an election year!) Just now it feels like so much threatens to tear us apart. As those in positions of leadership sometime feel the pressures of the day more keenly, I know you wrestle with these questions – and bear the mental strain of trying to answer them – regularly. These questions have pushed me to read this passage a little differently this year. The larger story and scene that...

John 20:19-31 Dear Partner in Preaching, Well, we made it. We made it through a very different Holy Week and Easter, normally one of the busiest times of the year, a time when our churches typically have more people in and out than during any other eight-day stretch, yet this year stood nearly empty. We made it. And now we’re wondering when things will get back to normal. At least I am. In Minnesota, we’re two weeks into a five-week shelter-in-place situation and I keep finding myself thinking ahead to when this is over and we can get back to normal. Wondering if maybe we’ll be able to gather for worship sometime in May,...

Mark 4:35-41 Dear Partner in Preaching, What moves us from fear to faith? Hold that question for a moment; we’ll come back to it. For now, though, notice with me how similar what we perceive as very distinct responses actually are. Or at least their roots. Think about it. Both fear and faith make sense only in relation to something that is unknown, challenging, difficult, or threatening. I mean, it’s just those kinds of things that make us afraid. And, when you stop to think about it, it’s just those same kinds of things that summon faith to face them. Indeed, in the face of things that are unknown, challenging, difficult, or...

John 20:19-31 Dear Partner in Preaching, Have you ever noticed how long it takes John to get around to telling us what he’s up to? John the Fourth Evangelist, that is. Twenty-some chapters and finally he comes clean. Sort of. So here’s what I mean. There are two elements of this week’s very familiar story – one of the few in Scripture that is read in each cycle of our lectionary – that grabbed my attention. The first is what I’d call the culmination and climax of the “plot dynamic” of John; that is, how John arranges the scenes of the story he tells together and to what end. In short, after introducing us to Jesus...