I believe that when we are shaped by the written Word of God, we become more and more like the living Word of God, Jesus Christ. That is why preaching and teaching are at the heart of the Church’s life—and why, over time, I want to ensure that we receive a balanced diet of Scripture.
As I plan sermons and sermon series, I think of the Bible in three broad parts. First is the Old Testament—the Bible Jesus read, prayed, and taught. Second are the four Gospels, which tell the story of Jesus’ life among us. Finally, there is the rest of the New Testament, which bears witness to what the early Church believed and how it lived in light of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension. In other words, we read the whole Bible—from beginning to end—through the lens of Jesus.
This school year, we will begin in the Psalms, the prayer book of the Church. Nearly everything we could ever think or feel has already been brought before God in the Psalms. As we pray them, they give us a vocabulary for honest conversation with God.
We will follow the Psalms with our next Stained Glass Windows series, looking into the heart of the Old Testament through Job, Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. After two months in the Old Testament, we will turn to John’s Gospel and explore Jesus’ seven “I am” statements. Then, during Advent, we will consider several key figures in the Christmas story: Joseph, Mary, the angels, and the shepherds.
We will begin 2027 with another series inspired by our stained glass windows, this time focusing on the letters of Paul. During Lent, we will consider Jesus’ words from the cross—a companion and contrast to the words spoken to Jesus on the cross that we heard in the spring of 2026.
We will finish the school year learning to pray by listening—not to the Lord’s Prayer but to the Lord at prayer. We will study the prayers of Jesus recorded in the Gospels and consider how they can teach us to pray with greater power, honesty, and purpose. Then, in the summer of 2027, we will trace the life of David, the “man after God’s own heart.”
The Old Testament, the Gospels, and the rest of the New Testament: the Bible Jesus read, the life Jesus lived, and the life the Church embraced because of Jesus. Through it all, we will seek to be a people shaped by the written Word, so that we may look more and more like the living Word.
