9-8-2024 - Genesis 2:4-7, 15-17,3:1-8 ...  

"You know the familiar tale, some of you know it very, very well by now—but when Genesis was first translated and subsequently interpreted, it came to take on lots of different meanings – with some of those meanings probably not what the original authors had in mind. We know this because early scribes and interpreters did not have as strong of a grasp on the language as we do today... On this God’s Work, Our Hands Sunday, the verse that needs the most attention is the one that has been unfortunately so badly mistranslated that it has resulted in the countless suffering of women for thousands of years: Genesis 3:16..." 

Commentary Provided by Wilda Gafney, author of Womanist Midrash: A Reintroduction to the Women of the Torah and the Throne

Thanks for listening! May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13) For more information about Keith visit www.authorkeithlong.com or St. Luke Lutheran Church visit www.stlukecg.org

9-13-2026 - Genesis 6:5-22; 8:6-12; 9:8-17 ... "A few years ago it may have felt like we were doing our best at surviving, maybe I’m biased, but I think those days are behind us. Sure, I know the storms will still knock on our door, but St. Luke, we are gonna sur-thrive! (yes, I just made up that word.)  We are image-bearers of Christ’s love, doves one and all, called, gathered, and sent out of this ark every Sunday—sur-thriving in, with, and through the Spirit out into a world that is hungry and looking for you to take flight; so go and come back and let us set free any and all who are fearful."

Resources Used: Genesis for Normal People: A Guide to the Most Controversial, Misunderstood, and Abused Book of the Bible by Peter Enns & Jared Byas

www.workingpreacher.org 

Thanks for listening! May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13) For more information about Keith visit www.authorkeithlong.com or St. Luke Lutheran Church visit www.stlukecg.org

July 2025 - Isaiah 66:10-14 - Matthew 9:18-26...

"From Eve and Asherah to the mother of our Lord and Mary Magdalene and all the effeminate who’ve endured the sting of feeling less worthy than their masculine counterparts, if God’s Church was only meant to be male-controlled—than we are not only severely limiting ourselves but limiting God. I believe it is time for a resurrection of faith in the Divine Feminine."

Special thanks for the scholarship of Julie Faith Parker’s book “Eve Isn’t Evil” and Merlin Stone’s book “When God Was a Woman.” 

Thanks for listening! May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13) For more information about Keith visit www.authorkeithlong.com or St. Luke Lutheran Church visit www.stlukecg.org

September 6, 2026 - Romans 13:8-14...

"By the time we get to his command to “Wake from sleep” and to “throw off the works of darkness” our spiritual muscles are ripped without our knowing. We are poised to get our spiritual affairs in order and get into right relationship with God because the Holy Spirit has been helping us with putting on Christ and his armor of Light. All we need to do to activate ourselves is to remember those 7 words: Throw off darkness and put on light."

Thanks for listening! May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13) For more information about Keith visit www.authorkeithlong.com or St. Luke Lutheran Church visit www.stlukecg.org

August 30, 2026 - Romans 12:9-21...

"Upon closer inspection, this is not about killing others with kindness, praise the Lord. No, the mark of a true Christian is harnessing an attitude of universal embrace of humankind. A true Christian can ditch the hidden agendas and cast aside cleverly disguised vengeance, too. True Christians clothe themselves with kindness through and through for everybody, even those who are against them or their mission. Our kindness is not a secret weapon to shame others but our God-given balm to heal the world and to bless them with life abundant. Kindness is our calling card to help everyone to live."

Thanks for listening! May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13) For more information about Keith visit www.authorkeithlong.com or St. Luke Lutheran Church visit www.stlukecg.org

August 23, 2026 - Romans 12:1-8...

I think there are lots of Christians in this country who think its their job to make Jesus known but the way they go about it does not reflect they actually know him very well... In a country that feels like its lost its way, let’s be leaders of a pivotal moment. For in the words of Marcus Borg from Days of Awe and Wonder: How to Be a Christian in the 21st Century,   

 “Every age should think of itself as “the axial age,” the pivotal time…Ours is a time of awe and wonder of a magnitude not known before.”

It’s not good enough to worship unless we become worship. Don’t just read the words of God, but become them. Now is the time to live like Jesus, not just talk about him..." 

Thanks for listening! May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13) For more information about Keith visit www.authorkeithlong.com or St. Luke Lutheran Church visit www.stlukecg.org

August 10, 2025 - 

"When push came to shove, the early Church hierarchy felt threatened by these writings. So, they ignored, rejected, and labeled them heretical and dangerous and that was supposed to be the end of it. If Christians today want to grapple with these Gnostic thoughts moving forward, then they must confront layers of thought and beliefs that are very different than what we’ve been taught. Layers like Jesus being less as the savior for our sins and more as the developer of our souls; Heretical? I guess. Dangerous? Not really. I think the Gnostics loved Jesus, but just differently." 

Thanks for listening! May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13) For more information about Keith visit www.authorkeithlong.com or St. Luke Lutheran Church visit www.stlukecg.org

August 3, 2025 -  

"The first version of Mary’s Gospel was found on a garbage heap in Egypt in 1896, likely having been discarded by someone who accidentally dug it up from its hiding place. Scholars are unanimous in dating Mary’s Gospel to the second century; with Egypt likely where it was composed since all copies were found there. Authorship, like the other 4 NT Gospels is unknown, but clearly whoever wrote these words down was unapologetically a fan of feminist theology in tabbing Mary the title character. To say that differs from conventional Christianity is an understatement. For the Gnostics one is not delivered from their sins by believing the right things about Jesus, but set free through an ongoing process of inner knowing. In fact, the Gnostics went so far as to claim that to know oneself was the same thing as to know God. It was as if Mary said to the first Pope: “You have heard the Word, but I have seen it (in a vision.)” For a deeper dive, see my book "Growing Spirit Wise: A Heretic's Guide to Resurrection and Eternal Life" at www.authorkeithlong.com

Thanks for listening! May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13) For more information about Keith visit www.authorkeithlong.com or St. Luke Lutheran Church visit www.stlukecg.org

July 19, 2026 - 2nd Corinthians 5:10, 12-20 .... 

"Maybe it feels like I am glorifying Ozzy or condoning his behavior, but that’s not the intent. I’m trying to convey how crazy the love of Christ truly is, and how even people like Ozzy can serve as ministers of reconciliation. I could be wrong, but just as Ozzy emphatically encouraged his audiences to go crazy, I wonder: Would it kill us as a Church to go a little more Crazy, too? Crazy for justice, crazy for kindness, and crazy for God’s Crazy love and forgiveness?"

Thanks for listening! May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13) For more information about Keith visit www.authorkeithlong.com or St. Luke Lutheran Church visit www.stlukecg.org

July 5, 2026 - 2nd Corinthians 4:1-11 .... 

"What makes us Christian? Is it the things we say we believe or is it the actual things we say? Are we Jesus-followers because of the things we do or the things we do like Jesus did?"

Thanks for listening! May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13) For more information about Keith visit www.authorkeithlong.com or St. Luke Lutheran Church visit www.stlukecg.org