Lectionary Planning Throuhg March 7, 2010

Jan 31, 2010 – You Want To Be Great? - 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 – Probably my favorite sermon from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is “The Drum Major Instinct.” I couldn't help but think of it when I read the last line of today's scripture, “...but the greats of these is love.” In his sermon, Dr. King asks the question, “So you wanna be great?” Both in the verse and in his sermon there is a very clear message on the biblical version of “greatness.” With the opening of the International Civil Rights Museum in downtown Greensboro the day after this message is delivered, it only seems fitting to look at love, in part, through the lens of civil rights.

Feb 7, 2010 – The Trust That Transforms - Luke 5:1-11 -Trust changes everything. Trust transforms everything – our lives, our souls, the way we go about our lives, the way we trust each other…and yes even our church…um, check that, even God’s church. So, let us answer God’s call. Let’s prepare to be astonished. Let’s stop living life on the shoreline and answer God’s call.

Feb 14, 2010 – Your Unveiling - Exodus 34:29-35 - Transforming ourselves toward God is an ongoing struggle, taken up daily. When we do not struggle in prayer and reflection to claim our real identity, the world is denied the particular shape of God's love that can take place only in us. We also deny ourselves the chance to bathe in the love of God as we slowly peal off the layers of veils to discover who we really are.

Feb 21, 2010 – Spiritual Intelligence – Proverbs 9:1-9 - In today’s reading the virtues of wisdom and understanding are praised. Many of us are aware of our IQ or the measurement of our intelligence. Many of us even know our Myers-Briggs score or measurement of our personality. But very few of us even consider our Spiritual Intelligence, let alone try to expand it. As we begin Lent, I'd like to challenge us to spend time nurturing our Spiritual Intelligence.

Feb 28, 2010 – Foxes in the Hen House – Luke 13:31-35 – These five short verse actually have a lot to say about the state of The Church today. More specifically, they give us a clear message about what leadership and power in The Church looks like...safe to say, it isn't self-serving, controlling, or abusive. As long as foxes roam in and about The Church, Jesus calls us to lovingly confront them and insist that such behavior is not OK in the hen house. The Church is to be a servant community where it is love and grace that dominate.

March 7, 2010 – God: The Gardner – Luke 13:1-9 - Contrary to some popular interpretations, I think that in this parable, the vineyard owner represents the worldly perspectives, the human condition, the cause and effect curiosity, the part of us that want so badly to make sense of things in the world that make no sense to us - the part that wants that so badly that we are willing to be audacious enough to put words into God’s mouth. I think that because of our human condition, it can be sometimes easy to miss the point that in this parable, it is the gardener that represents God and we each individually are the fig tree.