Lectionary Mixtape

It's the end everybody. Year A is concluding and we're moving on to the wonders of Year B. This is also the last episode for Ben and Dan. We want to thank everyone for your support, prayers, and all that good stuff. We had a lot of fun working on this for a little over a year now. For our final episode we are talking a lot about feeding sheep with justice. Dan talks a lot about Prince... like eight times. Plus Jesus shows up in disguise like in the hit show, Undercover Boss. Mixtape tracks brought to you by whoever wrote the Charles in Charge Theme song and Chika. Plus we've got a capstone mixtape selection. These are brought to you by The Spinners and Prince.

Oh geez! The parable of the talents... just invest what God gave you and God want throw you into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Some story, huh? It just inspires joy, right? (That was sarcasm in case that wasn't clear) So what do we make of this "do it or else" parable? How does Zephaniah make use of his glory day in the hot lectionary sun? How does Paul get to talk out of both sides of his mouth and tell us that we need to keep awake while also telling us that we belong to God's light? Mixtape tracks brought to you by Pink Floyd and Lykke Li.

Got enough oil? We're talking about the parable of the wedding guests who didn't bring enough oil and some of them got locked out of a party that they were invited to. A nice, simple thing. Mixtape tracks brought to you by Aha and Regina Spektor.

FOR ALL THE SAINTS!!! All Saints feels strange this year when we know that 225,000 saints have died and left their pilgrimage on earth. Let's talk about that. And the connection between saints are on the other side of their pilgrimage and those who are still journeying. Mixtape tracks brought to you by Lianne La Havas and The Afters

This is the remix!!!! Hey. Reformation can get kind of weird, but Ben and Dan are talking about what makes a reformation and reformation. Jeremiah's got us asking about what needs to be torn down in our churches and our world for a reformation to take place. Jesus' got us asking about what we really need to be freed from for a reformation to take place. And we're asking how COVID-19 and the continued call for racial justice is reformation moment for our churches. Mixtape tracks brought to you by Weezer (but originally Toto) and Mexrissey (originally Morrissey).

Ben and Daniel need to confess something. We spend a lot of time talking about Cyrus of Persia... but we neither of us chose a Miley Cyrus track for the mixtape. Shame, shame, and more shame. Anyway, God does what God wants and that goes for saving actions too. Also, what's the deal with taxes? Is Jesus an anarchist or a civil servant? Woof. Good luck. Mixtape tracks brought to you by Sufjan Stevens and The Backstreet Boys.

Strange and troubling dinner parties! God is eating death itself and Jesus tells a parable about a dinner party where wearing the wrong kind of robe puts you in a very bad place. So it is pretty important to figure out what the robe symbolizes, huh? Mixtape tracks brought to you by Laura Marling and Third Eye Blind.

God sings the worst love song ever about rotten grapes and God is going to find a way to make a good thing grow! Mixtape tracks brought to you by LeAnn Rimes and LCD Soundsystem.

Do you wish you were a baller? Perhaps a little bit taller? Or that you had a rabbit in a hat with a bat? Maybe we should accept who we are rather than constantly strive for a "better" version of ourselves. God empowers us by allowing us to take responsibility for our own actions (and not simply inheriting the consequences of those who came before us). Jesus (and us by extension) are not really glass half-full or half-empty people... we're more glass all-empty people. Also we might confront the questions of whether or not we are really being the church or are we just saying we are and then never showing up. Mixtape tracks brought to you by Skee-Lo and Bonnie Tyler.

Happy (Biblical) Labor Day! Jesus teaches us that what is "fair" isn't necessarily what is good. Jonah is acting like a big baby and it is waaaay too relatable. Also in other news, all the earth is God's treasured possession- Ninevah, "wages," our lives, our enemies' lives, etc. So that changes some things ,right? Mixtape tracks brought to you by Beck and Styx.

Forgiveness. We've got a problem with it. Is it because we overcomplicate it or because we oversimplify it? It gets kind of funky when you start to throw in some considerations in power dynamics, repentance, and the like. Mixtape tracks brought to you by Jewel and The Postal Service

We're back you cool babies! And what a doozie to come back to. Jesus lays out the blueprint for excommunication! Fun! We're spending some time talking about the tough decisions when a "toxic" person in your life/your church refuses to make things right and the pain of having to cut them out. How do we draw lines when we have to and keep our selves and our communities safe? Mixtape tracks brought to you by Rio Diamond and FKA Twigs.

This is the one where the disciples are suddenly guests on Scooby Doo. What does God's voice sound like? How near is God? How to tell the difference between your Savior and a spooky spooky ghost. Mixtape tracks brought to you by Adam Lambert and Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong.

People all over the world, join hands! It's God's big blowout sale! Everything must go! God has too much blessing, so it's all being given out without price... and there are leftovers too! Plus we've got a little bit of an antisemitism lesson. Children's sermon ideas inspired by Office Space and an imaginary dinner party. Mixtape tracks brought to you by The O Jays and Michael Jackson.

We've got (another) new format! Thank you for your patience. I think this one is here stay. Solomon's impostor syndrome! All the small things that God loves, values, and makes wonderful! Mixtape tracks brought to you by Gogol Bordello and Blink 182.

Hey! We are landing on a new format! Thanks for your patience while Ben and Daniel were working out what this show would look like. So here it is! Jazz Odyssey: We look at the texts as a whole. Talk about themes, textual notes, etc. Kidz Bop: Children's sermon ideas! Turn it to 11: Ben and Daniel share their strongest focus for the preaching moment. Mixtape: Same as it ever was. We make a musical offering related to the themes of the text.

Creation in birthing pangs! Weeds all mixed up in our nice wheat! God is God! What does it look like to possess a spirit of fear versus possessing a spirit of faith? Are you the wheat or the weeds? And why is that the wrong question to ask? Also, you just need to let some folks go sometime. We can all change, but sometimes it isn't our fight. Mixtape tracks brought to you by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and The Anabaptist Bestiary Project

Rain is pretty great huh? It makes things grow, which we can make into food, which keeps us alive. Isaiah reminds us that God's Word isn't something that we can control, but is a gift that does some pretty great life-making things. When faced with the tough decision of living in the "Spirit" or living in the "flesh" it is actually pretty easy. The decision was already made for us. You love it. I love it. The Parable of the Sower. God just throws around seed with a care in the world. God isn't stingy with who gets to experience the grace of God... that is as refreshing as a rainstorm on a hot day. Mixtape tracks brought to you by Pearl Jam and Emily Wells.

Ben and Dan are trying out a different format for the show this week. Rather than go through the texts one-by-one, we are talking about them together and more thematically. Let us know what you think of the format. Thank you for your patience. We're going to try a couple of different things to see what works best. This week we are exploring what being a "prisoner of hope" looks like and hope changes our lives and the world. We've got a double-dose of farm wisdom. And how dare Jesus! He spends a month of Gospel lections telling us how horrible being a disciple will be (family conflict, beatings, imprisonment, death, etc.) and now he has the audacity to say, "My yoke is easy, my burden is light." What's his deal? Mixtape tracks brought to you by Katy Perry and Prince.

Jeremiah's prophesy says that things are going to be difficult and frankly, not great. Hananiah says everything is going to be peachy keen in two shakes of a lamb's tail. How does this story relate to today's struggle for racial justice? Romans tells us that everyone is a tool... a tool for God's righteousness or a tool for sin's power. Try using "Everyone is a tool" for your sermon title! Matthew tells us that God blesses acts of kindness as small as offering a cup of water. This is the starting point, not the ending point of discipleship. Mixtape tracks are full of misters. Mixtape tracks brought to you by Electric Light Orchestra and Matt Costa.