Friday, August 24, 2012

Friday Five: choose your own adventure

so...I hardly ever post twice on my blog in one week, let alone in one day. but then I had the opportunity to make up the Friday Five for today, so....



This summer at RCLPC we've been doing what we're calling a "People's Choice" sermon series--people submitted sermon topics, and the preachers have taken them on. This Sunday I'm preaching my last in this series, about Sabbath. (Why yes, we did blatantly steal this idea from KathrynZJ, who did it last summer...) It's kept people engaged all summer and we've all had a great time. So now it's your turn...

1, 2: What are two texts or topics you wish you could hear a sermon about?
I would like to hear a sermon about Miriam, beyond her role in the whole Moses-in-a-basket adventure. She sticks around for a lot more of the story, but we often forget about her.
I would also like to hear a sermon that takes a creative look at the women who followed Jesus, beyond "and they provided for him out of their resources."

3, 4: What are two texts or topics you wish you could preach a sermon about?
Hmm...well, as a preacher I often get to preach those sermons I wish I could, except there are a few things that I think require more time or depth than a sermon can really give. At RCLPC a sermon can only be about 12 minutes long, and while most of the time that seems fine, it's difficult to address some bigger picture things in that time--for instance, what does it mean to be Church in the 21st century, and how does that affect our involvement in political and civic life? Or how can we nurture God's passion in the life of the church and of individuals, and what does that mean for the ways we think about "church" (especially when it comes to programs and education and mission)? Finding ways to link those big questions with the lectionary and simultaneously break them down into smaller parts that can fit into other sermons because they are way too big for just one is a huge challenge...and then add in the part where people may or may not be there every week or remember enough to make those connections from sermon-to-sermon, and we have ourselves a big ole conundrum!

5: What's your favorite sermon you've ever heard or preached? What makes it your fave?
I can't believe how hard it is to answer questions I made up myself! LOL. Umm....let's see...I think my favorite sermon that I have heard is probably a toss-up between a sermon preached by Otis Moss III at the Proclaiming the Text conference at Montreat in 2009 (it was about re-mixing, starting with Joshua doing a Moses re-mix) and one preached by Anna Carter Florence on the women in the Moses-in-a-basket story at the HerStory Conference in 2008. Both were amazing and have stuck with me for their vibrant imagery, strong good news coupled with challenge, and interesting twists on stories I'd heard or read dozens of times before.

Wanna play? Answer on your blog and leave a link, or play in the comments!

1 comment:

  1. Moses and Miriam rock! thanks for hosting; thanks for playing!

    ReplyDelete