Pericope Studies
These are presentations I have made to our pastor's pericope group. I am pleased to share them with you. You will probably get more out of them if you know a few things first:
1) I am a Lutheran pastor writing for an audience of Lutheran pastors preparing to preach.
2) I enthusiastically embrace higher criticism and liberal theology as tools for faith faithfully seeking understanding.
3) By no means is all the content to be taken seriously at face value, especially the "suggested" sermon titles.
4) My intention is to provoke thought so that the reader will be better able to hear the Word and sense the Spirit's moving to the greator glory of God. Listen to the Holy Spirit, not to me.
incl, 1 Kings 3.5-12; Psalm 119.129-136; Romans 8.26-39; Matthew 13.31-33, 44-52
incl, Acts 2.14a, 36-41; Ps 116. 1-4, 12-19; 1 Pet 1.17-23; Lk 24.13-35
Sermon for this Sunday
incl, Is 42.1-9; Ps 29; Acts 10.34-43; Mt 3.13-17
incl Amos 6.1a, 407; Psalm 146; 1 Timothy 6.6-19; Luke 16.19-31
incl 1 Kings 19.15-16, 19-21; Psalm 16; Galatians 5.1, 13-25; Luke 9.51-62
incl Acts 16.9-15; Ps 67; Rev 21.10, 22-22.5; Jn 14.23-29 (Jn 5.1-9 not included)
An examinaton of 6 doctrines of atonement as they appear in several of this year's Holy Week lessons. At the end, we looked at how atonement was present in several typical pastoral care situations and how that might influence our pastoral care. This is more interactive than most of my presentations, and it misses something in the written form, though the table on atonement theories might still be useful.
incl, Is 6.1-13; Ps 138; 1Cor 15.1-11; Lk 5.1-11
incl, Is 9.2-7; Ps 96; Tit 2.11-14; Lk 2.1-20
incl, Is 50.4-9a; Ps 116.1-9; Jas 3.1-12; Mk 8.27-38
incl Jer 31.31-34; Ps 51.1-12; Heb 5.5-10; Jn 12.20-33
incl Num 21.4-9; Eph 2.1-10; Jn 3.14-21
incl 1Sam 3.1-20; Ps 139.1-6, 13-18; 1Cor 6.12-20; Jn 1.43-51
incl, Zeph 3.14-20; Is 12.2-6; Phil 4.4-7; Lk 3.7-18
incl, Eze 2.8-3.11; Ps 119.33-40; Eph 2.4-10; Mt 9.9-13
Other Bible Topics
A comparison of the "traditional" stations and the newer "scriptural" stations developed by Pope John Paul II. There are also links to resources, including one in Spanish and another for children.
What Jesus Says about Himself -- or Not!
The outline and handout for a mid-week Lent program I gave in West Haven in 2004. As the title says, it is about Jesus' claims about his identity and in some cases the lack thereof.
These are some of the links I have found useful in a Bible study of the Beatitudes at Emanuel Lutheran Church in Hartford, CT.
This is a paper I wrote when in seminary. It is a detailed exegesis of Ezekiel 8, a systematic examination of the concept of prophetic ecstasy as proposed by two twentieth century theologians, and a look at Ezekiel 8 as an example of such prophetic ecstasy.
Religion Links
(For non-Lutherans, a "synod" is our judiciary unit, comparable to a diocese or presbytery.)
