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Preaching in Eastertide – Year B

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I’m a lectionary preacher, but that doesn’t mean I preach the same text every three years. The sermon getting the most hits this week for the Second Sunday in Easter comes from a series I preached on 1 John back in 2015. You can find “Living in the Light” here.

If you are more interested in a sermon from the Gospel of John for this Sunday, here’s the link to “Without A Doubt” originally from 2014, but an updated (and better, in my humble opinion) version of that same message for 2017 is “So You Might Believe”.

This year, I will be preaching a series on the readings from Acts, which replace the Old Testament readings during Eastertide. I developed this series specifically for interim ministry, to help churches in transition “get their acts together” as they move forward into a new season. I will be updating each sermon in the week before I preach it, so the links below will get you to the most recent version of each message.

Whichever lectionary strand you choose, I hope God’s Word is illuminated by what you read here, and your own walk with Jesus is enriched. Blessings on your Eastertide!

Getting Our Acts Together: All Things In Common (Acts 4:32-35 for Easter 2B)

Getting Our Acts Together: Why Do You Wonder? (Acts 3:12-19 for Easter 3B)

Getting Our Acts Together: Cornerstone (Acts 4:5-12 for Easter 4B)

Getting Our Acts Together: Four Questions (Acts 8:26-40 for Easter 5B)

Getting Our Acts Together: Astounded by Grace (Acts 10:44-48 for Easter 6B)

Getting Our Acts Together: Right Here, Right Now (Acts 1:1-11 for Easter 7B/Ascension)

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Four Questions – Sermon on Acts 8:26-40

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Video of this sermon from May 2, 2021

Our readings from the Book of Acts have been skipping all over the place in these weeks after Easter. Instead of a logical, sequential story line, we’ve danced all around the healing of a crippled man at the Beautiful Gate, without ever hearing the story itself. And we won’t get back to Chapter Two, where all the post-resurrection activity began, until the Day of Pentecost at the end of Eastertide.

Today’s reading is literally full of hops, skips, and jumps. At this point, you might be wondering why this whole sermon series is even called “Getting our ACTS Together.” It seems so disorganized and chaotic. Stay with me. Our story is shifting from Peter and John to Philip the Deacon. The ride might get bumpy, so hold on.

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Advent wreath with all candles lit and Christ Candle glowing in the center

Prayer for Christmas Day

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Holy One, 
The pomp is done,
the candles on the Advent wreath are spent. 
Only your Light remains. 
We come to you, as you came to us:
vulnerable and weak, weary and filled with joy. 
Would you,
who squeezed all your infinite self
into a finite human frame for our sakes, 
enlarge our capacity to receive your love?
And loving you more, let us enter your infinite realm,
no longer weak and weary, 
but made one with you, 
infinite Love,
unmeasured grace,
Holy,
One. 
Amen.

Prayer for the Third Monday in Advent

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Stop being afraid. The Lord favors you.
Me, Lord? How can I possibly magnify you? 
How can I make you any bigger than you are?
Nothing is impossible with God.
Well, I wish you’d get to it, Lord. Bring down the mighty and fill the hungry with good things, and fulfill your promise of peace among the nations.

O Leader of the House of Israel,
giver of the Law to Moses on Sinai:
come to rescue us with your mighty power!

And while you’re at it …
comfort those who mourn, 
be present to the lonely,
heal the sick,
provide for the poor,
show mercy, Lord.
Why do you think I have come to you, favored one?
Stop being afraid. You get to it.
Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word. Amen.

Prayer for the Second Monday in Advent

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Holy and Immediate God,
urgently calling us out of ourselves
to turn around and see you,
help us see the urgency of your coming.
In this bleak midwinter – or midsummer –
let ‘the beginning of the Good News’ grow in us.
Guide us as we answer John the Baptizer’s call to
prepare the way of the Lord
in our own hearts,
in our world,
in your will.

Amen.

snow-covered trees

Prayer for the First Monday in Advent

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December 4, 2023

Your advent is upon us, Lord. 
In the fullness of time, you said, you would come to us.
And here you are,
In one whose hope has worn thin,
In one whose “To Do” list never gets done,
In one who doubts but still trusts,
And in one who believes but still wonders.
In the Bread and in the Cup,
Here you are, just as you said you would be:
God with us, in the fullness of time.
Holy One, as you come toward us, may we come toward you.
May your advent be ours, too.
In the fullness of your time,
May our times be in your hands,
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Saturday Prayer 09.30.2023

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There’s a lot on our minds these days, Holy One.
It boils up, spills over.
We want everyone to mind –
mind their own business,
mind their Ps and Qs,
mind their manners.
To be in their “right” mind.
Those aren’t bad things to care about; each has its time and place.
But they aren’t the only ones; not always the most important.
Forgive us for minding way too much about some things, and not nearly enough about others. Remind us of another way to mind.
“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,” Paul wrote. That mind. Let the mind of Christ be in us, we pray. Amen.

Saturday Prayer 09.16.2023

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Holy One,
The crops are coming in,
whether they’ve had enough rain or not,
whether they’ve reached their peak, or gone past it,
it’s time. Harvest is here.

““The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few…”

Lord, the kids are back in school, but not necessarily back in church. And if they suddenly all showed up at once, who would teach them? Who would care for them? Who would share your love with them?

“… the laborers are few…”

Holy One, I repent of all the times I tried to convince someone – anyone – that it wouldn’t be too hard, that it wouldn’t take too much time or energy, that it would be fun. When all along, I knew how much work it would mean, how much planning and preparation would be required to teach and lead your beloved children into a life of faith. Forgive me, Lord, for belittling this important work, for selling it short. Forgive me for trying to make the sacrifice seem small, instead of worthy. Give me a passion for sharing the immeasurable value of raising up children in the way they should go.

“… therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:37-38)

Gracious and Almighty God, I’m asking. Amen.

closeup of a crabapple branch in bloom

Saturday Prayer 09.02.2023

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Lord, remember the time I was picking crabapples for jelly, and there was this squirrel right above me in the tree? The branch had bent under the squirrel’s weight, and the squirrel was hanging upside down to reach the crabapples at the tip of the branch. I heard you say, “Don’t be afraid to go out on a limb – that’s where the fruit is.”

And Lord, remember how, when I was struggling to discern your will, not sure which way to go, you sent a friend to tell me, “Put your hand on the knob. If it’s a door God wants you to go through, it will open. But you have to put your hand on the knob first.”

Holy One, give me courage to go out on a limb for you. Give me strength to put my hand on the doorknob, knowing you are the One who opens doors. Give me grace to move forward into your will, as your own beloved child. Amen.

photo of blue sky dotted with clouds at sunrise above treetops

Saturday Prayer 8.26.2023

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I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans 12:1-2

O Lord, renew my mind and transform me! Let me discern your will –what is good and acceptable, and perfect. Let me not be distracted by the politics or commerce or popular opinion of this world. Keep reminding me that ‘sacrifice’ means ‘sacred.’ Set me apart for your purpose as much as you set me apart from the things that distract me. (Lord, I am so easily distracted.)

Lord, I pray for your Church. Soften our stubborn hearts, and help us to put our whole selves at your disposal, not holding anything back, but being completely transformed into a community of believers who share the mind of your Son Jesus. Help us to show those who don’t know you what it means to belong to the Body of Christ. I ask these things trusting in your goodness. Amen.

photo of three pairs of hands reaching into an empty wooden bowl

Saturday Prayer 8.19.2023

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Confession

Lord, I cringe when someone says,
“You must be so proud ____!”
Am I proud? I thought I was being grateful. I didn’t think I was bragging, but that’s how it came across.

Once more, you remind me how I often assume privilege I didn’t earn.
You remind me how my life of privilege makes others’ lives harder –
not because they have to work harder
or be smarter
or do more
to get the same recognition I get,
but because
when I blithely go about my business without a care in the world,
I’m creating a world that doesn’t care.
And that is not what you call me to do.

You call me to care.
Not from a position of privilege, nor even from solidarity,
but from under the table,
where all of us are hungry
for just a crumb of grace.

Have mercy, Lord. Have mercy. Amen.