Common Lectionary

Here's the post that I had written earlier:

Last Sunday’s sermon focusing on all four lectionary Scripture readings for that day has generated a lot of conversation and interest on how we read the Bible and how Scripture connects with Scripture.

One person says, “It challenges my reading of Scripture.” Another says, “It makes me more interested to read on my own to see if I can find the connections.” Another appreciated “how the Scripture readings for each week are an integral part of the sermon.” I’m only sorry I’m not preaching on all four lectionary texts again this Sunday!

Instead, I plan to focus directly on our parent-child dedication in the larger context of our Christian commitment. Thanks to Linda Matties for giving me the recent article on dedication services in the Mennonite Historian.

Apr 18, 2008 at 11:31 PM

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Simply Jesus?

Part of my interest in this project is the opportunity to work with a young adult who would contribute ideas and also serve as a sounding board. Some of the other writers have chosen young adult family members or others who are close by, but I thought it would be more helpful for me to connect with a young adult from central Canada or USA. So on the recommendation of the co-editors, I’m delighted to be working with Peter Sensenig as my writing partner. Peter is currently completing a Master of Divinity at Palmer Seminary as well as serving as a pastoral intern at Oxford Circle Mennonite Church in Philadelphia. We’ve never met in person, but we’ve both skimmed each other’s blogs and email back and forth. . . . he’s a little faster at replying than I am though, and right now I think it’s my turn to send him something, so I’d better get going!!

Apr 12, 2008 at 8:38 PM

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Revisiting the Psalms

• look for something specific as you read – you could look for all the names/descriptions of God like I did, or every reference to prayer, or try to determine a key verse in each psalm
• read out loud – enjoy the psalms as poetry 
• use a bookmark so if you only make it part way through, just start reading again from that same point on 
• if you usually start from the beginning, you could start from psalm 150 and work backwards
• read one section of the psalms at a time—the 150 psalms are actually divided into 5 shorter books: psalms 1-41; 42-72; 73-89; 90-106; 107-150
• follow the lectionary readings in the bulletin each week – the three-year cycle doesn’t include every verse of every psalm, but whenever there’s part of a psalm listed you could read the entire psalm, and if you check off each psalm as you read it, you can fill in the gaps on your own and read the others 

As you can tell, I see reading the Psalms, reading Scripture, as a long-term spiritual discipline—the goal isn’t really to get through a certain number of verses in a certain time, but to live with the text and allow God to work through it. I find the psalms especially deepen my relationship with God and offer comfort in difficult times.

Apr 4, 2008 at 7:16 AM

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