Browsing by Sharron R. Blezard
Audacious Announcements and Pregnant Possibilities
Narrative Lectionary Reflection for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year 3, December 18, 2016
The lesson for this Sunday is pregnant with possibility for helping congregations understand the call to be faithful stewards of the good news and to bear Christ to the World following Mary’s faithful example. (Photo: Mary-Constance, Creative Commons)
The Rest of your Story
Lectionary Reflection for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year A, December 18, 2016
There’s a little bit of Joseph in all of us. We are ordinary saints and sinners, trying to do the best we can with what we have. And then God shows up, and our stories are rewritten. (Photo: gacabo, Creative Commons)
Fulfilled and Fulfilling
Narrative Lectionary Reflection, Third Sunday of Advent, Year 3
This is really good news! God was up to something with the restoration of the people from captivity, God was up to something through the incarnation of Jesus to set all humankind free, and God is still up to something by anointing us to continue to proclaim this good news today.
Shalom and Smartphones
Technology provides an abundance of blessings and opportunities, but our cultural dependence on technology is also leading to a variety of problems and challenges, including what is termed “smartphone addiction.” Tom Beutel offers some thoughts on good stewardship of technology. (Photo: Esther Vargas, Creative Commons)
On God’s Hopeful Highway
Third Sunday of Advent, Year A, December 11, 2016
What sort of highway do you want to travel each and every day? Do you want to experience life or hurtle through it? Do you desire to chart your course on God’s hopeful highway, among God’s people? (Photo:
Make Useful Gifts for Giving!
Tired of giving and getting yet another tie, fruitcake, or dust-catching gift? Try making some of these easy and useful gifts! There’s something for all ages and ability levels. (Photo: Muffett, Creative Commons)
Reconnecting to the Natural World
Richard Louv coined the term “nature deficit disorder” to explain the effects of being disconnected from the natural world. In his new book, Vitamin N, he offer 500 actions people can take to improve their quality of life and their communities. How can our congregations encourage more connection with creation? It’s good stewardship of creation […]
An Advent Welcome
Second Sunday of Advent, Year A, December 4, 2016
Life is too short and the gospel too important to let an annual season like Advent get the short shrift or be transformed into a mere prelude to presents. Fling wide the doors of your heart, home, and church to welcome the stranger–and Jesus. (Photo: Simran, Creative Commons)
Return, Rend, & Receive
Second Sunday of Advent, Narrative Lectionary, Year Three, December 4, 2016
Is this week’s lesson an “Advent Killjoy” or an alternative vision for this season? Give your whole self to God, acknowledge your sins, and as Eugene Peterson puts it in The Message, “Change your life, not just your clothes.†Now watch God’s response! (Photo: David Goehring, Creative Commons)
Ready or Not: Here Comes Jesus
Revised Common Lectionary Reflection for the First Sunday of Advent, Year A, November 27, 2016
Advent is a time for God’s faithful and generous people to be “ready†and flexible with time, talent, and treasure, even as we wait and watch for God’s incarnation among us. (Photo: Daniel X. O’Neil,
