Tripp Fuller

In an episode in which Daniel is stood up by his co-host, the Periscope faithful help guide the discussion toward helpful insights and useful thoughts for preaching. The episode finds its thread in the recurring role of God as one who transforms the shame and weight of death of the world into glory and freedom and life.

Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17 We talk a little “euphemism,” a little irony, and a whole lot of restoration and removal of shame.

Psalm 127 A beautiful song of rest, but also a difficult song that might create expectations that God sometimes doesn’t meet. We read it as a song of Ruth, celebrating what God does not just for persons but for the people.

Hebrews 9:24-28 A continuation of Jesus as “better” than his predecessors sees him as a once-for-all offering that meets the needs of people who die once but for whom death is not the final word.

Mark 12:38-44 Continuing the theme of scribes, Jesus issues stern warnings that might just hold up a mirror to us as twenty-first century Christians. Read alongside the story of the widow’s mite, the condemnation of the scribes takes on even greater poignancy.

Book referenced: Gary Anderson, Sin: A History

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

It is time to prepare your sermon. There are assigned Bible passages.

What do you do?

#LectioCast

Hebrews 9:11-14 The human Jesus enters the Tabernacle not made with hands and is himself the sacrifice in God’s presence (not on the cross).

Mark 12:28-34 This story is weird because things go so well for the scribe. What’s still lacking, if anything?

Ruth 1:1-18 “Running on Empty”: JRDK recounts a sermon he heard 20 years ago. The text turns from disaster to faithfulness. It shows a covenant commitment between women that is richer than romance and sex.

Psalm 146 There’s deliverance with the arrival of God—it ties nicely with the Ruth story (and maybe even Hebrews!). Scott issues an invitation to look for those who don’t have the voice, support, and structure around us in our church and society. Do we make ourselves a cause of feasting for our neighbors?

E. Scott Jones is pastor at First Central Congregational United Church of Christ. He has Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Oklahoma and lectures in the Philosophy Department at Creighton University. If you listen carefully, you might hear him drop a little Process Theology. But don’t hold it against him.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

This is the week where things that were off kilter get better and God is celebrated for it: Job gets his stuff back, the psalmist is answered, the suffering obedient Son is exalted eternally to God’s side, and Jesus gets a follower with sight enough to follow him to the cross. Scott Jones makes his third visit, drops some Process philosophy wisdom, and helps us navigate tricky texts and stories of God’s surprising faithfulness.

Job 42:1-6, 10-17 Scott helps us take apart the folktale of Job and the Biblical version. Process philosophy makes an appearance to help us understand the Biblical God and God’s relationship to the world.

Psalm 34:1-8, (19-22)

We wrestle with how to give faithful God-infused accounts of our lives so that we, too, can join in praise. And we tell stories where we’ve seen it.

Hebrews 7:23-28 Jesus as better high priest. Scott tries to back Daniel into a corner with the exalted depiction of Jesus—how does it fit the lowly, suffering, humble human Jesus we’ve seen the past two weeks?

Mark 10:46-52 Learning to see the blind man as part of Mark’s story: a disciple who is willing to follow Jesus on the way to the cross.

Footnotes: David Moffitt taught me everything I know about Hebrews.

E. Scott Jones is pastor at First Central Congregational United Church of Christ. He has Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Oklahoma and lectures in the Philosophy Department at Creighton University. If you listen carefully, you might hear him drop a little Process Theology. But don’t hold it against him.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

 Mark 10:35-45 A funny story, showing us what it looks like to deny that Jesus has to die on the cross. There is glory to be had, but how are we to have it? And, you get to find out what Daniel’s favorite verse is in the whole Bible!

Job 38:1-7, (34-41) Wrestling with the callenge of God not answering. Discovering that we’re not the center of the universe. Creation is wild, but God still tends to it. We have to hold these readings all together. And you don’t want to miss out on two awesome potential sermon illustrations!

Psalm 104:1-9, 24, 35c Praise the Lord! Awesome!

Hebrews 5:1-10 Jesus gets to ride his human Jesus hobbyhorse! There is a real transition and development in the life of Jesus from dead to raised. We get perspective that ties together Job and Mark: the life of the children of God isn’t set apart by ease and reward here on earth.

E. Scott Jones is pastor at First Central Congregational United Church of Christ. He has Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Oklahoma and lectures in the Philosophy Department at Creighton University. If you listen carefully, you might hear him drop a little Process Theology. But don’t hold it against him.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

E. Scott Jones joins the program, and he loves to preach on Job! This is a good thing, inasmuch as Job 23, Ps 22, and Heb 4 are all Job-like stories. And it might just be that the failure of Mark’s rich man is a failure to embrace the Job narrative himself.

Job 23 Spoiler alert: God doesn’t listen like Job hopes God will. In fact, the whole book is couched to undo the world that we wish were: where the good guys are blessed and the bad guys get theirs.

Psalm 22 Daniel wants to hold onto the earthy, gritty reality of what god-forsakenness looks like. Israel’s story of the past reminds God how God is supposed to act in the present. The core testimony is that God answers, so how do we deal with the “but”? And you may or may not get a Mountain Goats blast…

Hebrews 4:12-16 Trying to figure out the most famous verse of Hebrews. Scott points out that our high priest has been Job and the singer of Ps 22.

Mark 10:17-31 Reentering the story of the rich man. Scott encourages us to turn the tables on ourselves: You are the man! The story has the power to lay bare what we do not yet accept about the ministry of Jesus.

Footnotes: “Animal Mask,” by the Mountain Goats

E. Scott Jones is pastor at First Central Congregational United Church of Christ. He has Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Oklahoma and lectures in the Philosophy Department at Creighton University. If you listen carefully, you might hear him drop a little Process Theology. But don’t hold it against him.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, blogger, and New Testament professor who lives in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of a pair of books, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is off to the printers. He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com  (jrdkirk.com). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.