Isaiah 9:1-4 & Matthew 4:12-23 (and a little of 1 Cor 1:10-18) - Honestly, I am tired of a certain kind of winning that pits one group of humans against another group of humans. That's bad news. The good news of Jesus eschews that sort of domination and instead, seeks to heal, exorcise, and forgive.

Isaiah 49:1-7; Psalm 40:1-11; 1 Cor 1:1-9; John 1:29-42 - Looking back, do you recognize any moments when you were SO close to finishing or succeeding, but you were exhausted, maybe burnt out, ready to quit? But you pushed through and finished strong! This is me about every night at 9pm in putting my kids down... The lectionary passages this week are all about pushing through and finishing strong!

Isaiah 42:1-9; Acts 10:34-43; Matthew 3:13-17 - A lot of times, we are searching for the "what?". What's the meaning of life? What is my purpose? What is the correct way to life? What am I doing? This week, the lectionary readings assume you already know the "what". Instead, they move to focus on the "why" behind these questions.

Jer 31:7-14; Psa 147:12-20; Eph 1:3-14; John 1:10-18 - Can you remember a time that might have been a little TOO good? The lectionary passages this week describe God heaping up grace upon grace for those who will turn from Caesar's injustice and idolatry and follow the True God. Not even King James text editors can squash this good news that God piles up many different flavors of grace!

Isaiah 63:7-9 & Matthew 2:13-23 - As we sit around with families during this time of year, we hear a lot of old stories repeated. But are any of them still relevant to our lives? If we have wisdom and gentleness to really listen and learn from them, of course! Isaiah and Matthew this week insist that the old stories of God's people are still relevant for their audiences, and for us!

Isaiah 7:10-16 & Matthew 1:18-25 - There's never a perfect time to have a baby. But there are worse times than others. Major international conflict, pandemics or even just bad politicians make having a baby more difficult and more dangerous. God steps into two such times, announcing the births of two babies, both of whom remind us that God is with us!

Isaiah 35:1-10; Psalm 146:5-10; Matthew 11:2-11 - Wilderness times in the life are difficult (and pretty common!). What do we do as we wait for salvation and redemption?

Isaiah 11:1-10; Psa 72:1-7, 18-19; Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 3:1-12 - This Advent, we return to many of the old promises and prophesies to hear Good news that leads to endurance and encouragement.

Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44 - It's Advent, Thank God! How do the lectionary passages this week help us know how God would like us to prepare?

Jer 23:1-6; Col 1:11-20; Luke 23:33-43 - Bad shepherds and good shepherds. We can feel the difference, right? Those who harm some sheep, and divide the folk, might be kind to us, but we know, deep down, that they are not trustworthy shepherds. On this Christ the King Sunday, we see what kind of King Jesus is, and what kind of shepherding he models for us.