Order of worship — January 10, 2021
You are welcome to use this liturgy in your online worship services and distribute it to your congregation. It is free for..
More Stories from this Author
2nd Sunday of Christmas — January 3, 2021
John 1:(1-9), 10-18 Christmas 2B If John’s majestic prologue is a summary of the whole Gospel, verse 12 is its synopsis of..
Order of worship — January 3, 2021
You are welcome to use this liturgy in your online worship services and distribute it to your congregation. It is free for..
Christmas Eve prayer
A Christmas Eve prayer based on Luke 2:1-14 and John 1:1-14 by Roger Gench.
December 27, 2020 — 1st Sunday of Christmas
Galatians 4:4-7 Christmas 1B The year 2020 has been a chaotic one by any measure! And as we have grappled with formidable..
Meditation for Christmas Eve/Christmas Day
You are welcome to use this liturgy in your online worship services and distribute it to your congregation. It is free for..
Order of worship — December 27, 2020
You are welcome to use this liturgy in your online worship services and distribute it to your congregation. It is free for..
4th Sunday of Advent — December 20, 2020
Luke 1:26-38 Advent 4B I’ve never had much interest in British royalty and know next to nothing about them. But in our..
A prayer of thanksgiving for the COVID-19 vaccines
Merciful God, hear our prayers for a world that continues to grapple with a relentless virus, and our gratitude for the light..
Order of worship — December 20, 2020
You are welcome to use this liturgy in your online worship services and distribute it to your congregation. It is free for..
3rd Sunday of Advent — December 13, 2020
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11; Luke 1:46b-55 Advent 3B Isaiah 61 provides an inspiring vision for profoundly disorienting, destabilizing times — such as the..
Order of worship — December 13, 2020
You are welcome to use this liturgy in your online worship services and distribute it to your congregation. It is free for..
2nd Sunday of Advent — December 6, 2020
Isaiah 40:1-11 Advent 2B One of the watershed moments of Old Testament history was the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of..
You can help the Outlook on #GivingTuesday
Friends, Ever since the founding of #GivingTuesday in 2012, nonprofits, small businesses, schools and faith-based organizations all over the world have mobilized..
Order of worship — Dec. 6, 2020
You are welcome to use this liturgy in your online worship services and distribute it to your congregation. It is free for..
1st Sunday of Advent — November 29, 2020
Isaiah 64:1-9; Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:24-37 Advent 1B I grew up in the Midwest in the 1950s and..
Thanksgiving 2020: Give thanks for those who have helped us weather this pandemic
Scarcity, rather than abundance, may strike many as the keynote of Thanksgiving 2020, given the absence of family and friends who are..
Order of worship — Nov. 29, 2020
You are welcome to use this liturgy in your online worship services and distribute it to your congregation. It is free for..
Introductions: A letter from Roger Gench
Dear Outlook reader, To introduce myself: In June of 2019, I retired from 17 years of service as the senior pastor of..
Preaching in Hitler’s Shadow: Sermons of Resistance in the Third Reich
edited by Dean G. Stroud Eerdmanns, Grand Rapids, Mich. 203 pages REVIEWED BY ROGER J. GENCH This book, a collection of sermons..
Ethics of Hope
Robust Liberalism: H. Richard Niebuhr and the Ethics of American Public Life
by Timothy Beach-Verhey
Baylor University Press, 320 pages
reviewed by ROGER J. GENCH
In this fine book on public theology, Timothy Beach-Verhey seeks to find a way for American Christians to contribute to public discourse without seeking to dominate it (as in the past) or to accommodate to its assumptions (our current temptation).
Thinking With The Church: Essays in Historical Theology
Thinking With The Church: Essays in Historical Theology- by B. A. Gerrish Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2010.
reviewed by Roger J. Gench
A tale of two documents: An overview of PC(USA) Middle East reports
In July, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will receive two documents of great relevance to Christians and Jews and to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Middle East. They are already drawing fire from both Jewish and Palestinian groups.
On God and politics
John Adams warned against the forming of political parties. He feared the divisiveness would tear the nation apart — with good reason.