When I was in seminary I took a course that was just “Preaching the Gospel of John” because while John is my favorite gospel writer, by a wide margin, he’s also the one that confuses me the most and the thought of needing to preach him intimidated me. Because like…John will say all of these words and…it’s not even like they’re words I don’t know! T…

Today we find ourselves in John chapter 6. We will stay in John’s gospel for the rest of the summer except for the Feast of Mary Mother of Our Lord in a few weeks. After that, we will get back to Mark’s gospel which is the focal gospel for this liturgical year... The post Tenth Sunday after Pentecost appeared first on Wicker Park Lutheran Church.…

Wicker Park Lutheran Church Rev. Jason S. Glombicki July 21, 2024 Today, we celebrate the feast of Saint Mary Magdalene. She is probably one of the most misunderstood saints and biblical characters. Part of the confusion stems from the fact that she has been reinvented and rebranded century after century. For some centuries she was seen as the embo…

With today’s gospel, we’re wrapping up a largely chronological study of Mark. We’re not done exploring Mark yet, but we’re going to take a break until September. Next week we’ll celebrate the feast of Mary Magdalene followed by a 5-week series on John’s “bread of life” discourse. So, it’s sort of odd that this eight-week series on Mark ends with a …

Today is the halfway point of our 8-week study on Mark’s gospel. We’re picking up where we concluded last week directly after Jesus shared two final parables – one about spreading seeds and another about an out-of-control mustard weed... The post Fifth Sunday after Pentecost appeared first on Wicker Park Lutheran Church.…

Today we continue our 8-week study on Mark’s gospel. Last week, we heard about two different reactions to Jesus’ message both from his family and the scribes. Between last week and today’s readings, Jesus began to tell parables about the kingdom or reign of God. So far, he’s told the famous parable about a Sower spreading seed onto different types …

If I had to pick a favorite genre of Bible stories “Jesus gets tired of people’s nonsense and responds with scripture and snark” would be right at the top of the list. And perhaps that is because it’s one of my go to techniques when I’m tired of people’s nonsense. And perhaps that’s one of my go to techniques because Jesus modeled it for me. Who ca…

This is the day of Pentecost – my very favorite day of the church year. But the story of Pentecost is bigger than just one day. This story has been unfolding for a very long time... The post Pentecost Sunday appeared first on Wicker Park Lutheran Church.By WPLC

This week Jesus says, “As my father has loved me, so I have loved you. And this is my commandment: that you love one another as I have loved you..." The post Sixth Sunday of Easter appeared first on Wicker Park Lutheran Church.By WPLC

Today’s gospel reading is from John. As a gospel, John is deceptively difficult to read. It’s complex, filled with deep theology, and possesses a high Christology. It’s a gospel where the shorter readings in our lectionary often make it more confusing. In today’s gospel, we heard the circularity in the text that is emblematic of John... The post Fi…