[RCL] Jeremiah 18:1-11; Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17; Philemon 1-21; Luke 14:25-33 What does it mean to be family? What do we mean when we say we are part of a church family or God’s family? What about when the interests of our family conflict with other things that pull on us, demand our time and energy…

[RCL]: Jeremiah 18:1-11; Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17; Philemon 1-21; Luke 14:25-33 Imagine you are scrolling through your favorite social media site or looking at an article and you see an advertisement for a job. It catches your eye with its savvy fonts and colors, so you glance at it and read: Full-time, meaningful work you can…

It’s not every day that we read an entire book of the Bible in church. Well, today is no different, but we do come awfully close to reading an entire book from the New Testament. The book we read, almost in entirety, is Philemon. You may have never heard of it. It only makes an…

Somebody once made the remark, “Friends are God’s way of apologizing to us for our families.” One might ask, How shall we see our way through such a curmudgeonly statement into something edifying? However irritating the attitude, there is a grain of truth in this grouchy remark. Today’s gospel reading is tough, but a tough…