IN WHICH: Joel introduces something new
Just a brief intro before I post the next sermon - during this season of Lent, I'm trying something different. For the first time ever, I'm taking advantage of a pattern in the lectionary readings and launching into a sermon series I've titled "Close Encounters of the Christ Kind." As we journey together through Lent, the Scriptures present us with a number of "close encounters" between Jesus and various individuals - Satan in the wilderness, Nicodemus in the moonlight, the woman at the well, the blind man at Siloam, and Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha, at Lazarus' grave. In each of these "close encounters," Jesus not only does some truly amazing things, but also shows the depth of God's love for each and every one of us.
In addition to the idea of doing a sermon series in the first place, I'll be attempting a different approach to the sermon itself throughout this series. This idea actually started as a seed planted in my head last year on the first Sunday of Lent - in fact, the first sermon in this series is a re-worked version of that original sermon, which I first preached at First Presbyterian Church in Greenfield, PA. It was a sermon that I particularly enjoyed crafting - even moreso than I usually do - because it took its shape as a complete narrative of its own, simply letting the story re-tell itself and transport us into the wilderness with Jesus as he is tempted. The Matthean and Lucan accounts of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness are nearly identical, but recount the temptations in a slightly different order. So as I reworked the sermon, I had to change a few things around.
The thing is, thinking about how much I enjoyed writing that sermon and the different approach it takes to exploring the passage, I thought to myself: since each of the following four Gospel readings leading up to Palm Sunday are also these kind of "close encounter" stories - what if I were to give the same treatment, more or less, to those stories as well? How do these encounters change for us as we jump into the shoes of the characters themselves, trying to go through their own experiences and to put ourselves into their situations? What would we see differently? What would we understand better for having had this encounter ourselves?
So... with that introduction now made, I invite you to join me in this journey together as we share in these "Close Encounters of the Christ Kind."
In addition to the idea of doing a sermon series in the first place, I'll be attempting a different approach to the sermon itself throughout this series. This idea actually started as a seed planted in my head last year on the first Sunday of Lent - in fact, the first sermon in this series is a re-worked version of that original sermon, which I first preached at First Presbyterian Church in Greenfield, PA. It was a sermon that I particularly enjoyed crafting - even moreso than I usually do - because it took its shape as a complete narrative of its own, simply letting the story re-tell itself and transport us into the wilderness with Jesus as he is tempted. The Matthean and Lucan accounts of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness are nearly identical, but recount the temptations in a slightly different order. So as I reworked the sermon, I had to change a few things around.
The thing is, thinking about how much I enjoyed writing that sermon and the different approach it takes to exploring the passage, I thought to myself: since each of the following four Gospel readings leading up to Palm Sunday are also these kind of "close encounter" stories - what if I were to give the same treatment, more or less, to those stories as well? How do these encounters change for us as we jump into the shoes of the characters themselves, trying to go through their own experiences and to put ourselves into their situations? What would we see differently? What would we understand better for having had this encounter ourselves?
So... with that introduction now made, I invite you to join me in this journey together as we share in these "Close Encounters of the Christ Kind."
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