Looking into the lectionary - Does God answer Taylor Swift's prayers?

Luke 20:27–38 Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost November 9, 2025 When the Sadducees confront Jesus with an extreme question about marriage and resurrection in Luke 20:27–38, we glimpse how little has changed in more than two millennia. We can almost imagine a similar moment today — like the man outside my hometown football stadium carrying a banner: “Ask me why you’re going to hell.” The Sadducees — who do not believe in the resurrection — try to trap Jesus with a hypothetical. They ask about a woman who, according to Levitical law, has been married to seven brothers, each in turn after the previous one dies. With resurrection, they argue, which brother will be her rightful husband? They expect Jesus to deny either the law or the resurrection. Instead, he expands everyone’s imagination. A story of resistance and freedom To see why Jesus’ response is so revolutionary — especially for women — consider Catherine of Siena. Born in 1347, Catherine was the 25th child in her family — a number that makes most modern bodies tired just hearing it. At the age of 16, Catherine’s parents tried to insist she marry her brother-in-law following the death of her sister, echoing the very situation described by the Sadducees. ... Read the rest of the commentary by Jeny Carlson at pres-outlook.org. Order of worship — November 9, 2025 by Haley Ballast Jürgen Moltmann: Theologian of hope and transformation by Steffen Lösel Does God answer the prayers of a showgirl? by Hannah Lovaglio  Haunted houses and holy moments by Karie Charlton A free Advent candle liturgy by Shardaé Henry and Shea Watts A litany for Reformation Sunday by Susan Carter Wiggins Want the worship resources for November 2, 2025? You can find them here. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT... Theology is for the birds … and for me Andrew Taylor-Troutman explores a “living theology” shaped by attention — to creation, to one another, and to the holy particularities that make us who we are. National Fund for Sacred Places to award $8.73 million in grants to 30 congregations with historic buildings Irvington Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis, First Presbyterian Church of Albany, New York, and Third Presbyterian Church in Rochester, New York are among the 2025 grantees. — The National Trust for Historic Preservation Christ in the Rubble: Faith, the Bible, and the Genocide in Gaza Munther Isaac draws upon Martin Luther’s theology of the cross to find Christ in the rubble, in solidarity with those who suffer. Robert A. Cathey offers a review. After clergy arrests, religious pushback to ICE expands in Chicago More than 210 mostly Chicago-area clergy, representing a range of liberal and conservative traditions, have signed a letter criticizing ICE titled ‘Jesus is Being Tear Gassed at Broadview.’ — Jack Jenkins Trans Biblical: New Approaches to Interpretation and Embodiment in Scripture In "Trans Biblical," editors Joseph Marchal, Melissa Sellew and Katy Valentine invite readers to see familiar biblical figures – like Jael, Jacob and Mordecai – in new and life-giving ways. Jo Wiersema offers a review.

A Daily Prayer Guide for the PCA Saturday Spotlight: PCA Administrative Committee The Administrative Committee’s year-long prayer guide enables you to pray for every church, presbytery, agency, committee, MTW missionary, and RUF campus ministry of the Presbyterian Church in America. This guide was created from the belief that prayer should play a central and essential role in promoting the peace, purity, and mission of Christ’s church. The prayer guide is available in multiple formats: online, as a weekly email, and through social media platforms. JOIN US IN PRAYING FOR THE WHOLE CHURCH

Prayers for Our Community, Our Nation and Our World

We can offer specific daily prayers for our community, nation and world. Between Monday, October 27 and Sunday, November 2, we'll lay before God the needs listed below.

• Monday, October 27, 2025 - That families read their Bible and attend worship services together.
• Tuesday, October 28, 2025 - That our judges would value the principles reflected in the Old and New Testaments.
• Wednesday, October 29, 2025 - That doctors and nurses communicate compassion and concern to their patients. 
• Thursday, October 30, 2025 - That we respect and honor their parents and raise their children with compassion.
• Friday, October 31, 2025 - That we all recognize that our actions impact others.
• Saturday, November 1, 2025 - That the world unites in care for those affected by the conflict in Ukraine.
• Sunday, November 2, 2025 - That workers be paid a living wage.

The Sligo Presbyterian Church Celebration Service - Sunday, October 19, 2025

Sligo Presbyterian Church: Our Congregation and Community: The Sligo Presbyterian Church Celebration Service ...: During the sermon series  I Believe: Exploring the Apostle's Creed , the congregation of Sligo Presbyterian Church is using  The Apostle...

Sunday's Message - I BELIEVE in...the resurrection of the body

Sligo Presbyterian Church: Our Congregation and Community: Sunday's Message - I BELIEVE in...the resurrection...: During the sermon series  I Believe: Exploring the Apostle's Creed , the congregation of Sligo Presbyterian Church is using  The Apostle...

Creating neuro-affirming worship: a webinar

Study, Learn and Grow: Creating neuro-affirming worship: a webinar: November 5 at 7 p.m. ET! How can congregations move beyond awareness toward genuine belonging for neurodiverse people in worship, learning, ...

Looking into the lectionary - A litany for Reformation Sunday

Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4 Luke 19:1-10 Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost November 2, 2025 In “Last Scraps of Color in Missouri,” poet Karen Craigo writes about her desire for a flash of color amid a cold, wet landscape in late fall. After gazing at a sea of bare trees, she found that if she shifted her gaze from the tops of the forest towards the ground, there were smaller trees with golden leaves nearly glowing. “Some blessings find us when we move to them — they’re waiting only to be seen,” she reflects. In other words, a lot can change when we shift our perspective, sometimes only by a couple degrees. Anger as an act of faith Rachel Wrenn notes in her Working Preacher commentary on Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4 that Habakkuk never addresses the listener — the book is a conversation between God and a prophet. And an angry prophet, at that. His cry is raw: “O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, / and you will not listen?” Violence surrounds the prophet, and God seems unaware or indifferent. Perhaps this thought resonates. What’s remarkable in Habakkuk is not the prophet’s anger, but God’s response. There is no rebuke. No shame. Only generosity. God listens and offers a vision to the prophet (which readers do not see), then tells the prophet – and us – to wait. Who stands by you? When I read the divine invitation to hope in Habakkuk, my mind’s eye goes back to the prophet on the rampart, a solitary shadow on a barren landscape (Habakkuk 2:1). This is our work — to watch for God’s action, to trust in God’s goodness. But as I dwell on the passage this week, I find that this image is incomplete, for Habakkuk is alone on the bulwark. Who taught you to wait for the Lord? A grandfather setting up church chairs? A felt-board-loving Sunday School teacher? A high school friend who invited you to youth group? A stranger who stopped when you were stranded? This year, the 21st Sunday after Pentecost falls right after All Saints’ Day, where Christians remember all those, known and unknown, who have handed down faith. All those who have loved the Lord and worked to love their neighbor. The horizon may look barren, but when we turn our heads, who stands beside us? Who braces us from behind? Who lays a kind hand on our shoulders? In my mind, part of the miracle of Scripture is that it has a marvelous way of shifting our perceptions — of turning our heads from the barren branches touching the sky to the colorful forest floor. ... Read the rest of the commentary by Rose Schrott Taylor at pres-outlook.org. Order of worship — November 2, 2025 by Rose Schrott Taylor  What happens when ministry becomes a security risk? by Harriet Riley Chicago pastors confront escalating violence at ICE detention facility by Harriet Riley God, change and suffering: Some insights from process theology by Monica Coleman Horizons — Jesus is tested, Luke 4:1-13 by Rosalind Banbury A litany for Reformation Sunday by Susan Carter Wiggins Want the worship resources for October 26, 2025? You can find them here. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT... Judge bars ICE from taking some violent actions against religious activists, journalists The suit was primarily brought by journalists who allege they have been targeted by federal agents, but the list of plaintiffs also included the Rev. David Black, a Chicago-area Presbyterian minister. — Jack Jenkins Migrant God: A Christian Vision for Immigrant Justice Isaac Samuel Villegas’s “Migrant God” frames agape as solidarity and portrays God as a migrant, writes Amy Pagliarella. Former colleagues, students and friends remember Dr. Walter Brueggemann Panelists at Columbia Theological Seminary share stories about their friend and mentor, who died June 5 at age 92. — Mike Ferguson Christ in the Rubble: Faith, the Bible, and the Genocide in Gaza Munther Isaac draws upon Martin Luther’s theology of the cross to find Christ in the rubble, in solidarity with those who suffer. Robert A. Cathey offers a review. Gustavo Gutiérrez’s legacy of liberation theology and spiritual solidarity Gustavo Gutiérrez challenged the church to see God among all people, especially the poor — not in theory, but in lived commitment, writes Leo Guardado. You can't do theology alone Theology isn’t solo work — it’s a 2,000-year conversation. Meet past and present voices shaping faith in the October 2025 Presbyterian Outlook. — Amy Plantinga Pauw The Rev. Sandra Moon promoted to vice president at the Presbyterian Foundation Moon, a pastor and lawyer, will work with the Ministry Relations team to help congregations with financial analysis. — Robyn Davis Sekula

Revised Common Lectionary Readings for October 19, 2025

Revised Common Lectionary Readings (Three-Year Cycle)

Revised Common Lectionary Readings for October 19, 2025 By Revised Common Lectionary Readings, Sunday, October 19, 2025 12:00 AM First Reading Jeremiah 31:27-34 27The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of humans and the seed of animals. 28And just as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring evil, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the LORD. 29In those days they shall no longer say: "The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge." 30But all shall die for their own sins; the teeth of everyone who eats sour grapes shall be set on edge. 31The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 32It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt-a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. 33But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more. Psalm Psalm 119:97-104 97Oh, how I love your law! It is my meditation all day long. 98Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is always with me. 99I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your decrees are my meditation. 100I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts. 101I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word. 102I do not turn away from your ordinances, for you have taught me. 103How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 104Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. Second Reading 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5 14But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, 15and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work. 1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: 2proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. 3For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, 4and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. 5As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully. Gospel Luke 18:1-8 1Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. 2He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. 3In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, 'Grant me justice against my opponent.' 4For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, 'Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, 5yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.'" 6And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? 8I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" Read more »

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