Palm Sunday Quotations for Preaching and Reflection
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Preaching Ash Wednesday: 8 suggestions for preaching repentance and (avoidable) death
On this Ash Wednesday, not only is there our usual grief and fear about death, there is also anger and resentment. Not to mention shame and guilt from those who may realize too late they’ve contributed to the demise of others. We must acknowledge our unusual circumstances this year and invite people to grieve, confess, and make amends.
Recovering from 2020: Your Free, At-Home Christmas Retreat
“This retreat will not completely fill your tank, assuage your exhaustion, or provide a clear path of hope for the future. But it will, I pray, provide a theological and spiritual framework to what you have endured, witnessed, and felt this past year. By God's grace we will minister in 2021 with an open heart, confident that God will continue to provide all we need to preach, minister, and lead. This, too, shall pass. And in the meantime, people need Good News.”
Three Christmas Sermon Themes for a Pandemic Christmas
It probably feels hard to keep the “merry” in “Merry Christmas” this year. We will miss so many of the usual Christmas traditions. While it is right to grieve, it is also right to find unexpected blessings in our stripped-down celebrations of the Incarnation this year. We can focus more clearly on the “why:” why did God choose to live among us?
Ten Christmas Preaching Do's and Don'ts for 2020
It’s been quite a year. And yet, Jesus came for a time such as this. Consider these ten dos and don’ts as you prepare to preach this Christmas.
Advent Sermon Inspiration: Quotes and Reflections
We’ve prepared this selection of quotes for your use as you prepare your Advent sermons. May you find wisdom and inspiration to nourish your own spirit as you prepare to receive God’s word for your listeners.
Suggestions for Online Memorial Services Based on First-Hand Experience
Unimaginable just a few months ago, many preachers now find themselves in the position of holding online memorial services. As we wade into this unfamiliar territory, Sr. Miriam Elizabeth Bledsoe and Rev. Jim Said share their experience and suggestions based on the online service they held for Sr. Bledsoe’s mother, who passed in mid-March.
How to Craft an Online Memorial Service
In the absence of traditional funerals and memorial services, how can we help those in mourning grieve well? What kinds of meaningful rituals and ceremonies can we create in the absence of in-person gatherings?
Self-Guided Easter Retreat for Preachers
As you come down from the monumental work of offering not only Holy Week services, but Holy Week services in a format brand new to most, Backstory Preaching offers this self-guided, at-home retreat to renew your spirit. Download it free and allow God to minister to you as a beloved child of God who happens to lead other beloved children.
Preaching and the Cornavirus/COVID-19
None of us has lived through anything similar to this before. Certainly none of us has preached into circumstances like these. But Jesus lived with the same kind of daily uncertainty that we’re living in. So as preachers in this new reality, we can follow the model of Jesus, who’s gone before us in crisis.
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I participated in the Lectio study today with a complicated and double-speak Gospel (John 17:6-19) and WOW! I received so much great insight and am headed in a direction I feel really good about. Thank you to all my colleagues! If you are wondering if this is worth it, wonder no more. It is.
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