And, we’re off! Thanks, everybody, for giving our renewed Lectionary.pro format a try. Please continue to offer your comments and suggestions. Just like the original Lectionary Lab, we want to be helpful to working preachers. (“Jesus and Nicodemus”, from the Seventh-Day Adventist Bible Discussion page) RCL Readings: • Genesis 12:1–4a; Psalm 121; Romans 4:1–5, 13–17; John 3:1–17 Text Summaries • Genesis 12: 1-4a God calls Abram to leave home, security, and everything familiar, and to trust a promise he cannot yet see fulfilled. The promise is bigger than Abram’s private future: through him, God intends blessing for all families of the earth. Abram’s obedience is strikingly simple — “So Abram went” — and that trustful response becomes the model of covenant faith. In Lent, this text frames discipleship as movement: leaving old certainties, walking by promise, and trusting God’s future over present control. • Psalm 121 This psalm is a confession of trust for travelers, pilgrims, and anyone feeling exposed. Help does not come from the hills themselves, but from the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth. The psalm repeats God’s “keeping” care: God watches over going out and coming in, by day and by night, now and forever. Rather than denying danger, it places vulnerability inside God’s faithful attention. In a Lenten key, it teaches believers to pray honestly about risk while resting in the God who does not slumber. • Romans 4:1–5, 13–17 Paul presents Abraham as the prototype of faith: righteousness comes through trusting God’s promise, not through human achievement or law-keeping. If inheritance depended on performance, promise would collapse; instead, it rests on grace so that it can include all who share Abraham’s faith. God is described as the One “who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist,” grounding Christian hope in God’s creative power. During Lent, this text shifts the center from religious scorekeeping to grace-shaped trust and hope. • John 3:1–17 Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night, sincere yet confused, and Jesus tells him that entry into God’s kingdom requires birth “from above” — a Spirit-given new beginning, not mere religious competence. Jesus draws on Israel’s wilderness story (the lifted serpent) to show that healing and life come through looking in faith to what God provides. The passage climaxes in God’s love for the world: the Son is given not to condemn but to save. For Lent, this gospel invites people out of spiritual nighttime into rebirth, faith, and the light of God’s saving mercy. Major Themes 1. Faith before sight, or perhaps through sight (looking) when our focus is on God 2. Promise grounded in grace 3. New birth, new life in Christ 4. God’s keeping care in uncertain journeys 5. Salvation as gift, not achievement Preaching Arc The Call → The Keeper → The Promise → The New Birth 1. The Call (Genesis 12): God calls us forward before we have full clarity. 2. The Keeper (Psalm 121): We are sustained on the road by God’s watchful care. 3. The Promise (Romans 4): Righteousness and the future are received by faith, not earned by performance. 4. The New Birth (John 3): God doesn’t just improve us; God makes us new in Christ. From uncertain beginnings to Spirit-born life, faith walks forward on promise, kept by grace. A Sermon Outline “Called Before We’re Ready” Core Claim: God calls us forward by grace, keeps us on the road, and gives new life through Christ. 1. Opening: the discomfort of being called into the unknown 2. Genesis 12: Abram’s yes before clarity 3. Psalm 121: God keeps us while we travel 4. Romans 4: promise by grace, received by faith 5. John 3: new birth is God’s work, not self-improvement Application: one step of trust this week Closing: we go because God is faithful One-sentence takeaway: In Christ, we are called, kept, and made new — so we can take the next faithful step even without full certainty. An Illustration: Does anybody remember the Dunkin’ Donuts commercial that featured a bleary-eyed baker rising early every morning, saying, “Time to make the donuts?” Believe it or not, that’s a basic illustration of faith in something intangible. A baker starts work at 2:00 a.m. There is no smell of fresh bread yet, no customers, no visible result — just measured ingredients, kneading, waiting, and trust in the process. Hours later, what was unseen becomes nourishment (of a sort) for many. Preaching Bridge: “Faith is often bakery work: done in the dark, trusted before dawn.” (Image from the Upper Room, Discipleship Study Guide) Narrative Lectionary Text: John 13:1-17 Text Summary At the supper before his passion, Jesus rises, takes a towel, and washes the disciples’ feet. Peter resists, then overcorrects, and Jesus teaches that receiving him means accepting this upside-down pattern of love. Jesus, their Lord and Teacher, performs a servant’s task and commands them to do likewise. Greatness in his kingdom is expressed through humble, embodied service. Themes Present 1. Servant leadership — authority in Jesus is expressed through self-giving care. 2. Love made concrete — love is not sentiment; it takes the form of action. 3. Receiving before doing — discipleship starts with letting Christ minister to us. 4. Humility over status — the gospel dismantles rank-driven identity. 5. Imitation of Christ — “as I have done for you” is the shape of Christian community. Preaching Arc Identity → Humility → Command → Community 1. Identity: Jesus knows who he is and where he is going. 2. Humility: Secure in that identity, he kneels to wash feet. 3. Command: “As I have done for you, you also should do.” 4. Community: The church becomes recognizable by practical, mutual, humble love. Because Christ stoops to serve us, we are formed into a people who serve one another. A Sermon Outline “The Towel and the Basin” Core Claim Jesus redefines greatness through humble service, and discipleship means receiving his love and then embodying it toward others. Big Movement Status → Surrender → Service → Witness Outline (7–8 min) 1. Opening: Our instinct for rank • We naturally measure importance by visibility and control. • Jesus gives a different picture at the table. 2. John 13: The shock of the scene • Jesus knows who he is and where he is going. • Precisely from that security, he kneels and washes feet. • True authority is not threatened by service. 3. Peter’s resistance: Why this feels hard • Peter resists being served. • Discipleship begins with receiving grace, not performing for God. • We cannot give what we refuse to receive. 4. “As I have done for you” • Jesus moves from act to command. • Foot washing as pattern: embodied, practical, inconvenient love. 5. What this means for a small (or any) congregation • Hidden service is central ministry, not secondary work. • Church health is measured by how we treat one another in ordinary moments. • The towel may look like meals, rides, prayer, repair, listening, forgiveness. Application for the week • Receive: where do I need to let Christ serve and cleanse me? • Serve: one concrete act of humble care. • Repair: one relationship step that lowers pride and raises love. Closing • Jesus is most recognizable when kneeling with a towel. • The church is most faithful when it does the same. One-Sentence Takeaway In Christ’s kingdom, greatness looks like a towel and basin: we receive his love, then kneel to serve. An Illustration: “The CEO with a Mop” A story gets told in leadership circles about a company after a major event: everyone leaves, trash is everywhere, and the cleaning crew is short-handed. One employee comes in early and sees the CEO quietly pushing a mop and picking up cups. No announcement. No photo. No speech. Just service. That moment reshaped the office culture more than any memo did. People said, “If he can do that, none of us are above serving.” John 13 is deeper than leadership technique, but the point lands: Jesus, knowing exactly who he is, takes the towel. Real authority is not threatened by humility. Preaching bridge: In Christ’s kingdom, the towel is not beneath us. The towel is how love becomes visible. This is a public episode. 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