Notes on the Lectionary with Deacon Lincoln Anderson. Visit the series page at AnglicanCompass.com/NotesOnTheLectionary “And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it…
What Were You Discussing on the Way? Gospel Reading for Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost, Mark 9:30-37
Notes on the Lectionary with Deacon Lincoln Anderson. Visit the series page at AnglicanCompass.com/NotesOnTheLectionary But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him. And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they kept silent, for on the…
Help My Unbelief! Gospel Reading for the 16th Sunday after Pentecost, Mark 9:14-29
Notes on the Lectionary with Deacon Lincoln Anderson. Visit the series page at AnglicanCompass.com/NotesOnTheLectionary And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:23–24, ESV) There are some stories that I am immensely…
What is “Notes on the Lectionary”?
Visit the series page at AnglicanCompass.com/NotesOnTheLectionary We want to create an icebreaker for someone who is reading the Lectionary and wants to engage with what the Church has appointed for a particular Sunday. This is whether you never intend to preach, are just starting out preaching, or have been preaching for a while. From now…
Be Opened! Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Mark 7:31-37
Notes on the Lectionary with Deacon Lincoln Anderson. Visit the series page at AnglicanCompass.com/NotesOnTheLectionary Gospel Reading for the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Mark 7:31-37 “And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, ‘Ephphatha,’ that is, ‘Be opened.’ And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.” (Mark 7:34–35…
Unwashed Hands and Traditions of Men: Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Mark 7:1-23
Notes on the Lectionary with Deacon Lincoln Anderson. Visit the series page at AnglicanCompass.com/NotesOnTheLectionary Gospel Reading for the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Mark 7:1-23 “And he said to them, ‘Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his…
Mother’s Day Sermons: Yes or No?
Mother’s Day sermons, at least in certain circles, can be a bit controversial. After all, Mother’s Day is not a liturgical holiday, an official part of the Church calendar. So, should you preach Mother’s Day sermons? Absolutely. The Bible stresses the vital role of women in the transmission of the faith. Not only is motherhood vital in…
The “Perfect” Christmas Eve Sermon??
Christmas Eve is rough on preachers; at least for this one. The atmosphere for a truly great sermon is all there: scenery, families, music, lighting, Scripture, attendance, joy, and a holy hope in every heart and on every face. But my Christmas Eve sermons (33 and counting) are never equal to this setting. They always seem weak and…
Reading the Bible with the Caroline Divines: 4 Homiletical Takeaways
In the shadows cast by the early English reformers (such as Cramner and Hooker) on the one side, and the giants of Anglican theology since the 18th century on the other, sits the rich trove of Anglican theologians and devotional writers known collectively as the Caroline Divines. “Caroline” (derived from the Latin version of the…
5 Essential Elements of a Funeral Sermon
It’s been an exhausting week. You spent much of it at the hospital, praying for a dying Christian, giving comfort to a grieving family. You missed time with your own family to be a pastor to the parish. You sat with a beloved parishioner’s children as they argued over how they wanted the funeral and…
Preaching Pentecost: The Person and Work of the Spirit
Pentecost is, for many of us and our congregations, the Sunday (or season) in which we turn our attention to the person and work of the Holy Spirit. The reality, however, for many of the people in our pews, is that the Spirit is often conceived of as more like the Force from Star Wars…
Should You Preach a Mother’s Day Sermon? (UPDATED for COVID–19)
For reasons that only the Google gods know, the blog post I wrote last year on preaching a Mother’s Day sermon was a hit. However, it was written before the days of the new “abnormal,” and now needs to be updated. But the question is still valid. “Should you preach a Mother’s Day sermon?” In…
