Winter & Spring 2022 Sermon Series: "Be the Light"
We will continue following the Narrative Lectionary as we move into the Winter and Spring. At Christmas, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, we move from the Hebrew Scriptures (what Christians commonly call the Old Testament) to the New Testament. We will be in the Gospel of John for months, as we move through the season of Epiphany together (Epiphany starts on January 6th—after the 12 days of Christmas!).
If you aren't familiar with the concept of a "lectionary," the Narrative Lectionary is essentially a four-year Bible reading plan that begins in Genesis each September, moves through the Old Testament until Christmas, and then moves through the life of Jesus and the early Church in the Spring season. We are in Year 4 of the Narrative Lectionary, which focuses on the Gospel of John in particular.
One of the gifts of the Narrative Lectionary is that it helps us consider the grand arc of Scripture as a whole. Too often, when we read the Bible, it's as if we "parachute in," read what we want to, and then try to apply it to our own lives, without a deeper awareness of how a particular text fits into the broader narrative of the Bible as a whole. By beginning in Genesis and tracing our way through the Bible, we get to follow the story of God's work in our world from week to week, and gain a better understanding of how all of the pieces of the puzzle fit together!
The other gift of the lectionary is that it forces us to wrestle with texts we might prefer to avoid altogether! Our tendency is to only read Scripture that we like, but if we believe that all of Scripture is inspired, we believe that we should read even the parts that we struggle with, as we try to figure out what it means to be faithful to God's calling in our lives even today.
Epiphany is sometimes known as the season of lights. We will fill our sanctuary with lights as we recognize that each week in worship, Jesus' identity is illuminated more and more, as we grow deeper in our understanding of who he was and is. As we recognize God's divine light in our own lives, the invitation then is to be "light bearers" who carry the light into the world, sharing divine love, acceptance, compassion, and forgiveness. We believe this way of living—following the way of Jesus—can transform not only our lives, but also our families, communities, and world.
We hope you'll join us.
Starts Sunday, January 2, 2022. Join us at 11am for worship!
See the list of lectionary readings for the coming year here.
If you aren't familiar with the concept of a "lectionary," the Narrative Lectionary is essentially a four-year Bible reading plan that begins in Genesis each September, moves through the Old Testament until Christmas, and then moves through the life of Jesus and the early Church in the Spring season. We are in Year 4 of the Narrative Lectionary, which focuses on the Gospel of John in particular.
One of the gifts of the Narrative Lectionary is that it helps us consider the grand arc of Scripture as a whole. Too often, when we read the Bible, it's as if we "parachute in," read what we want to, and then try to apply it to our own lives, without a deeper awareness of how a particular text fits into the broader narrative of the Bible as a whole. By beginning in Genesis and tracing our way through the Bible, we get to follow the story of God's work in our world from week to week, and gain a better understanding of how all of the pieces of the puzzle fit together!
The other gift of the lectionary is that it forces us to wrestle with texts we might prefer to avoid altogether! Our tendency is to only read Scripture that we like, but if we believe that all of Scripture is inspired, we believe that we should read even the parts that we struggle with, as we try to figure out what it means to be faithful to God's calling in our lives even today.
Epiphany is sometimes known as the season of lights. We will fill our sanctuary with lights as we recognize that each week in worship, Jesus' identity is illuminated more and more, as we grow deeper in our understanding of who he was and is. As we recognize God's divine light in our own lives, the invitation then is to be "light bearers" who carry the light into the world, sharing divine love, acceptance, compassion, and forgiveness. We believe this way of living—following the way of Jesus—can transform not only our lives, but also our families, communities, and world.
We hope you'll join us.
Starts Sunday, January 2, 2022. Join us at 11am for worship!
See the list of lectionary readings for the coming year here.
"The invitation is to become light bearers in the world, sharing God's love, acceptance, compassion, and forgiveness." |
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Bonus Podcast: Introduction to the New Testament and John
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In this special podcast episode, our special guest, Rev. Dr. Amanda Miller (Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at Belmont University) walks us through important background information about the New Testament and the Gospels. She and our pastor, Art, talk about the historical context of the New Testament, and especially the ways in which it is embedded in the Roman Empire. They discuss what is included in the New Testament, why there are four Gospels, and the ways in which the Gospel of John is unique.
We hope this will be a helpful conversation for you to listen to as we prepare to spend significant time in the Gospel of John in the months ahead! Dr. Miller is a wonderful conversation partner, and this conversation is wide-ranging, and makes contemporary connections to what it means to be people of faith today. This conversation is well worth your time, and sure to enrich your understanding of the New Testament generally and the Gospel of John in particular! |
Click the image above to head over to our podcast page!
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