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Christ the King Sunday — November 25, 2018

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2 Samuel 23:1-7; Revelation 1:4b-8; John 18:33-37 The language of “king” perplexes and confounds. For some, it creates a stumbling block to seeing God. Male. Dominating. Subjugating. Hierarchical. These are adjectives akin to anathema in our postmodern, #MeToo, pluralistic culture, right? Hard as I try, that scene from “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” keeps playing in my head: “I am your king.” “Well, I didn’t vote for you.” “You don’t vote for kings.” We, too, question kingship: Who made you king? Who gives you authority? How will that authority be enforced? Over what do you have authority, anyway? I didn’t vote for you. Given our tendency to chafe at such regal expressions of power, what do we do with Christ the King Sunday? How do we wrestle with such authority in our cultural season of anti-institutionalism and conspiracy theories? How do we talk about obedience, or fear of the Lord, or reign of God, or the King of kings? The three texts appointed for this … [Read more...]

Healing the Wounds of Privilege (webinar)

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90-minute Outlook webinar Tuesday, January 15 at 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT Presented by Amy Julia Becker Live webinar with on-demand video replay — $29.95 (1-6 participants from the same church/ministry) Purchase the Webinar The social divisions in contemporary culture – divisions of race/ethnicity, socioeconomic class, ability, gender, sexuality  and more – threaten to tear apart communities.  These divisions perpetuate injustice and provoke violence, shame, defensiveness and fear. This web of social problem has spiritual roots, and Christians have an opportunity to apply the spiritual tools of our faith tradition to bring a message and actions of healing and hope in a world often overcome by fear and hurt.  As a white woman who grew up in a small southern town, as an affluent woman who now lives in the northeast and as the mother of a child with Down syndrome, Amy Julia Becker will share personal stories as well as biblical and theological reflection to invite participants to … [Read more...]

26th Sunday after Pentecost — November 18, 2018             

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1 Samuel 1:4-20; Hebrews 10:11-14 (15-18) 19-25; Mark 13:1-8 Ordinary 33B Proper 28 Occasionally, when the Outlook staff emails one another we begin with “Today’s sign of the End Times,” and follow it with an unexpected and strange request, response or article. This churchy humor helps us weather the ups and downs of being on the receiving end of many public comments and frequent scrutiny, some of it kind, some of it not so kind, some of it down right odd. But when I come to chapter 13 of Mark’s Gospel, I realize that our “signs of the End Times” are not Jesus’ signs of the End Times. Jesus’ signs do not call forth eye rolls, laughter, a chuckle or stress relief. Jesus’ talk of the End Times arrests us and causes us to question expectations and events roiling all around us. Jesus tells his disciples who marvel at the beautiful, imposing Temple (that same Temple and scribal system he has been railing against) that even an institution and edifice that big and that … [Read more...]

God with us when we seek God (Horizons 4)

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“God’s Promise: I Am With You” Lesson 4: 1 Chronicles 28:1-21; 1 Kings 11:1-13, 29-30 “Sinners in the hands of an angry God” was a sermon preached by Jonathan Edwards in 1741. Edwards’ most famous sermon describes the torments of hell for those who do not repent and accept Jesus Christ. This theme has not been the tone of the churches of which I have been a part. Instead, God’s love and forgiveness was emphasized. In doing so, I wonder if we portrayed God as someone who dispenses grace like candy without our having to pay any price. In every meaningful relationship, there are sacrifices to be made and standards to be kept. When Solomon is named as King David’s successor, David says to Solomon: “And you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve him with single mind and a willing heart; for the Lord searches every mind, and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will abandon you forever” (1 Chronicles … [Read more...]

God and Israel’s risky covenant (Dec. 9, 2018)

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UNIFORM LESSON FOR December 9, 2018 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Joshua 24:1-3, 13-15, 21-24  It is unlikely that most of us will get a chance to conclude our lives with a long speech detailing our last thoughts and counsel. However, Joshua gets to do precisely this in Joshua 23-24 when he says farewell to the Israelites with a series of concluding remarks and advice. Detailing the long history between God and Israel, Joshua repeatedly asks the people to affirm and reaffirm their commitment to God. When the Israelites agree, he marks the recommitment with a final covenant ceremony. Joshua 24:1-3 — Israel’s idolatrous past Joshua begins his speech with a reminder of Israel’s less-than-pristine heritage. The history of God and Israel, according to Joshua, goes back to their ancestor, Abraham, and Abraham’s father, Terah. Terah, according to Joshua, worshipped other gods. However, polytheism was likely the norm in his culture. The purpose of this information is not to … [Read more...]

Love and obey God (Dec. 2, 2018)

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UNIFORM LESSON FOR December 2, 2018 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Deuteronomy 6:1-9 This week we begin a series that will take us throughout the Bible. God’s people are poised on the east bank of the Jordan. Moses is delivering a hortatory sermon before we cross into the Promised Land. This part of the sermon serves as the “white hot center” for Jewish faith — and thanks to Jesus’ teaching, for Christians as well (Mark 12:29-30). Much is at stake — not only for us, but for our children and our children’s children. Let us hear and obey. Deuteronomy 6:1-3 — Hear, observe, love Even in English, it’s clear that the primary mode of address in this passage is the imperative. These are not suggestions or possibilities; they are commands, beginning with the most fundamental command “to hear” (from which comes the name of this passage in Hebrew, The Shema). As God spoke a new world into being in Genesis 1, so Moses, as God’s servant, is speaking a new nation into being in … [Read more...]

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