Looking Into the Lectionary — Worship resources for 12/5

December 5, 2021 2nd Sunday of Advent Luke 3:1-6 COMMENTARY Denver Moore was a speaker, a writer and a New York Times bestselling author who lived out his later years in Fort Worth, Texas. His most quoted words are his book “Same Kind of Different as Me:” “Just tell ‘em I'm a nobody that's tryin’ to tell everybody 'bout Somebody that can save anybody.” I moved into his city of Fort Worth about seven months ago and quickly learned that Moore remains a kind of a local legend around here. Even though he passed away in 2012, his story permeates the streets, and his life lingers in their collective memory. Moore lived a hard life. He grew up as a sharecropper, worked on a plantation and lived most of his days in a small town in the South before he decided one night to jump a freight train and ended up in Fort Worth without a job, without a home and without much hope. Now, Moore was a man of faith, and we could make a strong theological argument against his own declaration that he was a “nobody” — but that’s not the point I want to address today. He felt like he was a nobody. He internalized that status. He lived with that belief that sprung from his lived experience in this world. In reading through the lectionary passage this week from Luke, this quote came to my mind as I thought about John. You can find the rest of the commentary on our website. Thanks to this week’s guest writer! Brian Christopher Coulter is pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Fort Worth, Texas. An order of worship for December 5, 2021. This liturgy is free to use. The Uniform Lesson for December 5, 2021, by Richard Boyce. Second Sunday of Advent — Weekly Christian ed lesson by Joelle Brummit-Yale Forgiveness and peace — Weekly Christian ed lesson by Joelle Brummit-Yale IN CASE YOU MISSED IT... Grace in the waiting Rebecca Gresham-Kesner discusses how to embrace the waiting of advent as a pastor and what it can look like to have grace for yourself in the waiting. See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love Andrew Acton reviews Valerie Kaur's debut memoir that is full of love, compassion and justice. Offensive grace: when it’s not “fair” "It is simple to be a champion of grace when we are the recipient, but we often find ourselves resisting grace when someone else is on the receiving end." — Julie Raffety A vital congregation changes hearts and lives The vitality of a congregation grows as the mindset of its members is influenced toward new values, assumptions and beliefs regarding living as a child of God, says Ronald Anderson. Centuries of Dishonor As we observe Native American Heritage Month, it is important to recognize that Native Americans have been on the frontlines of social reform in the United States since Europeans arrived in the 1400s.

Copyright © 2021 Presbyterian Outlook, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: 1 N. 5th St., Suite 500 Richmond, VA 23219