Posts

Summary: With this biblical passage, the Letter to Titus refers to the life (and future manifestation) of Jesus in language describing an epiphany, a revealing of the Divine. The Revised Common Lectionary assigns this passage for Christmas Eve.

I wrote this biblical commentary for those preparing to preach or teach on the passage. Read the commentary at Working Preacher.

Bible commentary: preachers & teachers

Summary: This article is more academic than most of the other things I’ve written that are accessible on the Web. It offers a basic overview of the Apostle Paul’s letters, especially some of the theological convictions that inform what he wrote. To read Paul’s letters properly is to understand that Paul wrote as a pastor seeking to offer care to communities and to understand Paul’s enduring Jewish faith–a faith not replaced but transformed by his experience of Jesus Christ.

Read the full article from the journal Word & World. It was originally published in the Fall 2010 issue.

Journal articles

Summary: Children’s sermons are tougher than they look. How can preachers do a better job of using these to speak authentically to the young people in their congregations?

This video was prepared for those who preach or teach. Watch it at Working Preacher.

Videos on preaching

Summary: In this biblical passage, set during the Jewish festival of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit fills Jesus’ followers. Peter attempts to make sense of this remarkable event by appealing to the Prophet Joel and emphasizing the Spirit as a Spirit of prophecy. The lectionary assigns this passage for the Day of Pentecost.

I wrote this biblical commentary for those preparing to preach or teach on the passage. Read the commentary at Working Preacher.

Bible commentary: preachers & teachers workingpreacher.org commentary

Summary: The structure of a sermon matters for how people understand it. Here I suggest ways for preachers to vary the organization of their sermons, not just to keep things fresh, but to embody the movement and rhetoric of a biblical text.

This video was prepared for those who preach or teach. Watch it at Working Preacher.

Videos on preaching

Summary: This is the story of Jesus’ passion, as told in the Gospel according to Luke. The lectionary assigns this passage for Palm Sunday (also known as Passion Sunday.

I wrote this biblical commentary for those preparing to preach or teach on the passage. Read the commentary at Working Preacher.

Bible commentary: preachers & teachers workingpreacher.org commentary

Summary: Everyone knows what the preacher is going to talk about on Easter morning. How can a sermon take people into a gospel text in creative and engaging ways on this important day?

This video was prepared for those who preach or teach. Watch it at Working Preacher.

Videos on preaching

Summary: In this biblical passage, Mary of Bethany anoints Jesus with costly perfume. It’s a gift of lavish, extravagant devotion that sets a foreboding yet fitting context for Jesus’ impending death.

I wrote this biblical commentary for those preparing to preach or teach on the passage. Read the commentary at Working Preacher.

Bible commentary: preachers & teachers workingpreacher.org commentary

Summary: In this biblical passage, Jesus responds to those who complain about him keeping close company with “sinners” by telling the Parable of the Prodigal Son (and His Brother and Father). The parable describes a wayward son who is warmly welcomed home, as well as another son who never left home but remains wayward in his own way.

I wrote this biblical commentary for those preparing to preach or teach on the passage. Read the commentary at Working Preacher.

 

 

 

Bible commentary: preachers & teachers workingpreacher.org commentary

Summary: In this biblical passage, Jesus responds to the mention of lives lost as results of a massacre and a random accident by telling a parable about an unfruitful fig tree and imploring people to repent. The parable holds out the hope of grace in the midst of existence’s all-too-vivid precariousness.

I wrote this biblical commentary for those preparing to preach or teach on the passage. Read the commentary at Working Preacher.

 

Bible commentary: preachers & teachers workingpreacher.org commentary