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Progressive Christian

2025-08-25T09:14:54-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Humility and Protest – Pentecost 12 – August 31, 2025

Last updated on: August 25, 2025 at 9:14 am By Bruce Epperly

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The Adventurous Lectionary – Pentecost 12 – August 31, 2025 Jeremiah 2:4-13; Psalm 81:1,10-16; Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16.; Luke14:1, 7-14 As summer ends, those of us who live in the Washington DC area wonder what the future will bring. Troops and ICE agents patrol the city streets, putting at risk law-abiding citizens as well as undocumented residents. Leaders talk glibly about slavery not being all that bad and erasing the bad news of America’s original sin. Universities, the press, and churches... Read more

2025-08-17T09:46:53-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Limitation and Possibility – Lectionary Commentary – Aug. 24

Last updated on: August 17, 2025 at 9:46 am By Bruce Epperly

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The Adventurous Lectionary – Pentecost 11 – August 24, 2025 Jeremiah 1:4-10 Psalm 71:1-6 Hebrews 12:18-29 Luke 13:10-17 God makes a way when we perceive no way forward. When we think small, God thinks big. We can expect great things from God and expect great things from ourselves. This week, we ponder God’s providential love that breaks through every barrier and challenges the limitations we – and others – place on our abilities and God’s gifts. God is willing to... Read more

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going beyond limitations

Jeremiah

Pentecost lectionary

possibilities

2025-08-10T14:31:29-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Adventurous Lectionary – Pentecost 10 – Aug. 17, 2025

Last updated on: August 10, 2025 at 2:31 pm By Bruce Epperly

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The Adventurous Lectionary – The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost – August 17, 2025 Isaiah 5:1-7 Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19 Hebrews 11:29-12:2 Luke 12:49-56 Most preachers might hope to be on holiday this week. There is little comfort in the words. Division, persecution, destruction, and punishment are the watchwords. Jesus comes not to comfort but to challenge and agitate. God’s message divides as well as unites, and our interpretations of God’s word can further exacerbate the divisions that threaten to dissolve the... Read more

2025-08-03T13:34:24-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Adventurous Lectionary – Pentecost 9- August 10, 2025

Last updated on: August 3, 2025 at 1:34 pm By Bruce Epperly

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The Adventurous Lectionary – The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost – August 10, 2025 Isaiah 1:1, 10-20; Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23; Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16; Luke 12:22-30 Today’s passages challenge the church to become countercultural and to choose values different from our society. To be a place of adventure rather than backward looking. To put justice and healing at the heart of our relationship. Now is the time for change, the scriptures proclaim. Now is the time to get our spiritual and ethical... Read more

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divine justice

Pentecost season

spirituality and justice

2025-07-27T12:14:21-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Adventurous Lectionary – Pentecost 8 – August 3, 2025

Last updated on: July 27, 2025 at 12:14 pm By Bruce Epperly

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The Adventurous Lectionary – The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost – August 3, 2025 Hosea 11:1-11 Psalm 107:1-9, 43 Colossians 3:1-11 Luke 12:13-21 This Sunday we encounter the possibility of prophetic healing, the call to moral stature, and the challenges of wealth in the spiritual life. We also catch a glimpse of divine intimacy: the Infinite is the intimate, and suffers with us and bears the burden of our waywardness. A Spirituality of Intimacy and Challenge There are at least... Read more

2025-07-20T17:48:07-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Divine Generosity and Challenge – Lectionary for July 27

Last updated on: July 20, 2025 at 5:48 pm By Bruce Epperly

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The Adventurous Lectionary – Seventh Sunday after Pentecost – July 27, 2025 Hosea 1:2-10 Psalm 85 Colossians 2:6-19 Luke 11:1-19 Today’s readings are challenging, and the adventurous preacher may not want to preach the Hosea passage, especially if children are present. Though their ultimate message describes divine generosity and recovery, they are wrapped in difficult language, indeed R-rated language, especially the words from Hosea and Psalm 85, both of which describe God’s behavior in problematic imagery for those who believe... Read more

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bad theology

challenging scriptures

divine generosity

justice

lectionary commentary

2025-07-14T07:43:00-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A Famine on Hearing God’s Word! Lectionary for July 20

Last updated on: July 14, 2025 at 7:43 am By Bruce Epperly

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The Adventurous Lectionary – The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost – July 20, 2025 Amos 8:1-12, Psalm 52, Colossians 1:15-28, Luke 10:38-42 This week’s lectionary is a gold mine of theological, spiritual, and homiletical riches. There are almost too many possibilities for the adventurous preacher, and the integration of the varied and yet interconnected themes will take all the imagination of the preacher. Will you combine three messages into one, choose one theme, or preach these on three successive Sundays? This... Read more

2025-07-07T05:01:06-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A Biased God! – Lectionary Commentary for July 13

Last updated on: July 7, 2025 at 5:01 am By Bruce Epperly

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The Adventurous Lectionary – The Fifth Sunday After Pentecost – July 13, 2025 Amos 7:7-17 Psalm 82 Colossians 1:1-14 Luke 10:25-37 Today’s readings are timely. As I reflect on the readings for July 13, the House is racing to vote on a bill ironically called, “The Big Beautiful Bill,” a bill that puts the health of vulnerable US Americans at risks, explodes spending on concentration camps, decrease foreign aid that will save millions of lives, and continues tax policies that... Read more

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justice

spirituality and politics

world loyalty

2025-07-04T09:49:01-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

July Fourth and Turning to the Better Angels of Our Nature

Last updated on: July 4, 2025 at 9:49 am By Bruce Epperly

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THE FOURTH OF JULY AND TURNING TO THE BETTER ANGELS OF OUR NATURE “I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will... Read more

2025-07-03T07:17:43-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Prophetic Patriotism

Last updated on: July 3, 2025 at 7:17 am By Bruce Epperly

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Prophetic Patriotism The United States is always a nation in the making. It is a nation of aspiration, and sometimes desperation at how far we have fallen from our values. The founding parents spoke of “all men created equal” and endowed with certain rights – life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness – but their circle of rights did not include enslaved and indigenous peoples and women. Still, a nation in the making, many of us seek the more perfect... Read more

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July 4th

patriotism

prophetic spirituality

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