A NEW Children's Sermon for the 5th Sunday after Pentecost!

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Hello my friend!

I published this new children's sermon on "The Good Samaritan" yesterday. I guess I was so relieved to get it up onto my website that I basically forgot to send it out into the world. Well... here you go!

I've written about the Good Samaritan a couple of times previously, once in a "Monday Meditation" that includes some info about how this passage has been interpreted through the ages, and another time in the context of a post on the Heidelberg Catechism. Both those are linked in the preface to this children's sermon.

As I also note in the preface, the story of The Good Samaritan is inherently a political story, as well as being a very practical discussion of loving one's neighbor. It hangs on first-century issues, including hatred among peoples who live in different countries who have different religious backgrounds.

I didn't want to confuse kids by acting like they should know about Jews and Samaritans (not to mention Jewish priests and Levites).

Nor did I want to bog them down with historical explanations. Hey, I really am a historian, but I try to choose when and where to explain things in fine-grained detail.

So what I did was I imagined how Jesus might have told the story if he were living in 21st century America. We have our own share of hatred across political, ethnic, and religious lines. Don't we?

Then I had to adapt the context to be about a kid, which I think is more relatable.

I would love to hear what you think about this one. Please email me, or leave a comment on the blog post.

As I mentioned last week, in the Fall I'm teaching an online course for the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary. If you'd like a chance to learn some classic reformation theology, here it is. You could take it. It's on "The Theology of John Calvin" -- I did my Ph.D. dissertation on Calvin's New Testament interpretation, and taught the Calvin course many times when I was on the faculty.

A whole lot of people shut down at the mere mention of Calvin. His followers have often gone in very rigid ways, emphasizing topics that weren't really central to his thought. Sorry to say, that has often given him a pretty bad rap.

In my own experience, and that of many of my students, actually reading Calvin is a joyful surprise. He was deeply committed to making sense of the whole of the Bible. He listened for and found God's clear voice speaking through both Old Testament and New.

I think you will find he deepens and enriches your understanding of the faith -- and that he can challenge you to grow in important ways.

You can see a bit about it by clicking here for the flyer.

May the Christ who not only loved his neighbors, but by faith makes his neighbors part of his own Body, bring you new life this day and always!

Blessings,

Gary

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P.O. Box 17, Bible School Park, NY 13737
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