textweek

"Taking Faith Home" bulletin insert

Taking Faith Home, Advent 2, Greg Priebbenow, formingfaith.com. A free intergenerational take-home insert for integrating lectionary readings with at-home prayers, family time, table grace, devotions, ritual and suggestions for service. Take a look!

Disclosing New Worlds

Disclosing New Worlds is a lectionary blog by Lawrence Moore of Windermere Centre, United Reformed Church in the UK. Take a look at this relatively new resource from the UK!

Mark 1:1-8: Repentance & Forgiveness

If you've never read the Repentance & Forgiveness article by David R. Blumenthal from Cross Currents, this is a good week to do so! It's been online for a number of years, and is helpful for many when talking about John the Baptist in the season of Advent.

"Teshuvá is the key concept in the rabbinic view of sin, repentance, and forgiveness. The tradition is not of one mind on the steps one must take to repent of one's sins. However, almost all agree that repentance requires five elements: recognition of one's sins as sins (hakarát ha-chét'), remorse (charatá), desisting from sin (azivát ha-chét'), restitution where possible (peira'ón), and confession (vidúi)."

World AIDS Day

Don't miss Daniel Clendenin's article, "Close to His Heart: Tenderness," at The Journey with Jesus, especially if you are looking for material about World AIDS Day.

New Resource: Tributaries of Faith

I received an e-mail last week from Jill K. Warner at Faith United Chruch of Christ about Tributaries of Faith. From her website:

Tributaries of Faith is a ministry dedicated to the revitalization of main-line worship through creative use of the arts, most especially music. After listening to the needs of colleagues across the country, we have set certain priorities in our time commitments.

We unapologetically offer resources containing, and artists committed to:

• Inclusive, welcoming language.
• Theology which celebrates God's Grace and the sacredness of humanity and the earth as God's good creations, all the while acknowledging the very real struggle of the human existence.
• A multiplicity of artistic genres from a variety of cultures.

Check out the Lectionary Ideas page for music suggestions, original hymns, etc, written with the small to midsize progressive congregation in mind.

Mark 1:1-8 - Historical commentary

Michael A. Turton has put together a Historical Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, "a complete verse-by-verse commentary on the Gospel of Mark, focusing on the historicity of people, places, events, and sayings in the world of the Gospel of Mark." In this week's commentary on Mark 1:1-8, Turton includes translational and historical insights by Ehrman, Robert Grant, Burton Mack, Robert Kraft, and others, about issues such as the meaning and historical background of the term "Son of God" and "gospel," the Elijah figure, etc. Interesting background reading!