Both the Revised Common Lectionary and the Narrative Lectionary meet up on June 9 at Pentecost - it's the debut of summer! I always find Summer the perfect time to shake things up and try something else. So to jump start your creative minds, here is an optional summer sermon series on The Gospel According to … Continue reading The Gospel According to Dr. Seuss?

Church #45. Meet Julie Blum. She is the solo pastor at Maple Leaf Lutheran Church in Seattle, Washington. Maple Leaf is an urban congregation that worships about 85 on a given Sunday. Blum said, “What I love about this church is how they partner with the community to make Seattle a better place!” With an … Continue reading The Pinterest Pastor

Welcome to Lent! We all love food and feasting around the table as a family. So while you do, use this Lenten Devotional, Feast on This: Table Talk for Families starting Ash Wednesday, March 6, through Easter Monday, April 22. It’s simple to do and takes 5 minutes - read the daily devotional, ask the … Continue reading Feast on This – Lent Devotional

Church #44. Meet Lent. It starts with Ash Wednesday, March 6. For Epiphany, St. John's Lutheran Church, where I serve as the associate pastor of faith formation, and around 100 churches took part in a project called "Why Jesus?" Looking into the Narrative Lectionary stories and thinking about Why Jesus?, St John's decided to address … Continue reading Five (sort of) New Things for Lent

Church #43.  Meet Pastor Jo Gast. She is the pastor-mission developer at Augustana Lutheran Church in Grand Forks, ND. With an average worship attendance of 80 people on a given Sunday, Augustana will celebrate 125 years of ministry in 2022. Located on the fringes of downtown Grand Forks and a mile away from the university, … Continue reading More Than Just Books

Baptism of Our Lord Sunday is January 13. John proclaims the kingdom of heaven has come near. What is the kingdom of heaven? It is God at work in human affairs. God entering into relationship with humanity. Here, as a parent to a beloved child. Baptism, for Lutherans, is where our relationship with God begins. … Continue reading Baptism Dove Art

You have heard it before. Little kids ask the question of “Why?” all the time. Right? We used to call my youngest son, Jacob, Mr. Question. Everything asked of him or just out of curiosity was with answered with the question, “Why?” “Why do I have to go to sleep?” or “Why are butterflies so … Continue reading Why Jesus? The Epiphany Project

On my way home about 2 years ago, I stopped by a Target to pick up some dinner. As I waited in line to check out, I talked with the woman in front of me. My kids would tell you that talking to random strangers is a past time of mine. I find it fascinating … Continue reading A Modern Day Prophetess

Church #42. Meet Pastor John Van Haneghan. He is the solo pastor at Fairbanks Lutheran Church in Fairbanks, Alaska. With an averaging worship attendance of 100 people on a given Sunday, this church's mission is "We welcome. We worship. We serve. " With his first call in upstate New York, Van Haneghan started his puppet … Continue reading For the Love of Puppets

For the first Sunday in Advent (using the Narrative Lectionary), we hear the words from the prophet Habakkuk: "How long shall I cry out to you, O God!"  Meaning? How long are we going to have to wait for God to answer the cries and the hurts of the people? Just as the people of … Continue reading A Storytelling Advent Wreath