Posts by Street Psalms
PROPER 4 (9) – Year B
Mark 2:23-3:6
One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain.
2:24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?”
2:25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food?
Read MoreTrinity Sunday – Year B
John 3:1-17
Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews.
3:2 He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.”
3:3 Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”
Read MorePentecost Sunday – Year B
Acts 2:1-21
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.
2:2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
2:3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.
Read MoreSeventh Sunday after Easter – Year B
John 17:6-19
“I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.
17:7 Now they know that everything you have given me is from you;
17:8 for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.
Read MoreSixth Sunday after Easter – Year B
John 15:9-17
15:9 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.
15:10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.
15:11 I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
Read MoreFifth Sunday after Easter – Year B
John 15:1-8
15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower.
15:2 He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.
15:3 You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you.
Read MoreFourth Sunday after Easter – Year B
John 10:11-18
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
10:12 The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away–and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
10:13 The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep.
Read MoreThird Sunday after Easter – Year B
Luke 24:36b-48
While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
24:37 They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost.
24:38 He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?
Read MorePalm Sunday – Year B
John 12:12-16
The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.
12:13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord– the King of Israel!”
12:14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written:
Read MoreFifth Sunday in Lent – Year B
John 12:20-33
Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks.
12:21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
12:22 Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.
Read MoreFourth Sunday in Lent – Year B
John 3:14-21
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
3:15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
Read MoreThird Sunday in Lent – Year B
John 2:13-22
The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
2:14 In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables.
2:15 Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.
Read MoreSecond Sunday in Lent – Year B
Mark 8:31-38
Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
8:32 He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
8:33 But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
Read MoreAsh Wednesday & 1st Sunday in Lent – Year B
Mark 1:9-15
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
1:10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him.
1:11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
Read MoreTransfiguration Sunday – Year B
Mark 9:2-9
9:2 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them,
9:3 and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them.
9:4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus.
Read MoreFifth Sunday after the Epiphany – Year B
Mark 1:29-39
As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.
1:30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once.
1:31 He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
Read MoreFourth Sunday after the Epiphany – Year B
Mark 1:21-28
They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught.
1:22 They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
1:23 Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit…
Read MoreThird Sunday after the Epiphany – Year B
Mark 1:14-20
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God,
1:15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”
1:16 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea–for they were fishermen.
Read MoreSecond Sunday after the Epiphany – Year B
John 1:43-51
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”
1:44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
1:45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.”
Read MoreBaptism of the Lord – First Sunday after the Epiphany – Year B
Mark 1:4-11
John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
1:5 And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
Read MoreFirst Sunday after Christmas – Year B
Luke 2:22-40
When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord
2:23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”)
Read MoreFourth Sunday of Advent – Year B
Luke 1:26-38
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,
1:27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
1:28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”
Read MoreIssue 026
“Reflection on Fellowship” by Bart Campolo
For the British social psychologist Liam Hudson, IQ as a measurement for achievement is a lot like height in basketball; past a certain threshold, it doesn’t much matter.
Read MoreThird Sunday of Advent – Year B
John 1:6-8, 19-28
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
1:7 He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.
1:8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.
Read MoreFirst Sunday of Advent – Year B
Mark 13:24-37
“But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light,
13:25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
13:26 Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory.
Read MoreChrist the King Sunday – Year A
Matthew 25:31-46
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.
25:32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats,
25:33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.
Read MoreProper 28 (33) – Year A
Matthew 25:14-30
“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them;
25:15 to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.
Read MoreIssue 025
“Reflection on Wholeheartedness” by Dan Cardinali
Almost a year ago, I stepped down from leading national, Washington, D.C.-based organizations after almost two decades of being a CEO.
Read MoreProper 27 (32) – Year A
Matthew 25:1-13
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.
25:2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.
25:3 When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them;
25:4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.
Read MoreProper 26 (31) – Year A
Matthew 23:1-12
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,
23:2 “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat;
23:3 therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach.
Read MoreProper 25 (30) – Year A
Matthew 22:34-46
When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together,
22:35 and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him.
22:36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
Read MoreProper 24 (29) – Year A
Matthew 22:15-22
Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said.
22:16 So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality.
Read MoreIssue 024
“Joy as the Secret to Wholehearted Living” by Richard Beck
As a volunteer chaplain, I lead a weekly Bible study for incarcerated men at the French-Robertson maximum-security unit north of my hometown in Abilene, Texas.
Read MoreProper 23 (28) – Year A
Matthew 22:1-14
Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying:
22:2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.
22:3 He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come.
Read MoreProper 22 (27) – Year A
Matthew 21:33-46
“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country.
21:34 When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce.
Read MoreProper 21 (26) – Year A
Matthew 21:23-32
When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”
21:24 Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things.
Read MoreProper 20 (25) – Year A
Matthew 20:1-16
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.
20:2 After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard.
Read MoreProper 19 (24) – Year A
Matthew 18:21-35
Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?”
18:22 Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.
Read MoreProper 18 (23) – Year A
Matthew 18:15-20
“If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one.
18:16 But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses.
Read MoreProper 17 (22) – Year A
Matthew 16:21-28
From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
16:22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.”
Read MoreProper 16 (21) – Year A
Matthew 16:13-20
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
16:14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
Read MoreProper 15 (20) – Year A
Matthew 15: (10-20), 21-28
Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand:
15:11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.”
15:12 Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?”
Read MoreProper 14 (19) – Year A
Matthew 14:22-33
Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.
14:23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,
14:24 but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them.
Read MoreHoly Saturday – Year A
Matthew 27:57-66
When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus.
27:58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.
27:59 So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth
Read MoreSixth Sunday after Epiphany – Year A
Matthew 5:21-37
“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’
5:22 But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire.
Read More26th Sunday After Pentecost (Christ the King) – November 21st – Year B
John 18:33-37
Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
25th Sunday After Pentecost – November 14th – Year B
Mark 13:1-8
As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!”
24th Sunday After Pentecost – November 7th – Year B
Mark 12:38-44
As he taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces,
12:39 and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets!
Read More23rd Sunday After Pentecost – October 31st – Year B
Mark 12:28-34
One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?”
22nd Sunday After Pentecost – October 24th – Year B
Mark 10:46-52
They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside.
19th Sunday After Pentecost – October 3rd – Year B
Mark 10:2-16
Some Pharisees came, and to test him they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”
10:3 He answered them, “What did Moses command you?”
Read More18th Sunday After Pentecost – September 26th – Year B
Mark 9:38-50
John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.”
17th Sunday After Pentecost – September 19th – Year B
Mark 9:30-37
They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.”
16th Sunday After Pentecost – September 12th – Year B
Mark 8:27-38
Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”
15th Sunday After Pentecost – September 5th – Year B
Mark 7:24-37
From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice,
14th Sunday After Pentecost – August 29nd – Year B
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them.
13th Sunday After Pentecost – August 22nd – Year B
John 6:56-69
Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.
11th Sunday After Pentecost – August 8th – Year B
John 6:35, 41-51
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
10th Sunday After Pentecost – August 1st – Year B
John 6:24-35
So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
6th Sunday After Pentecost – July 4th – Year B
Mark 6:1-13
He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him.
4th Sunday After Pentecost – June 20th – Year B
Mark 4:35-41
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.”
3rd Sunday After Pentecost – June 13th – Year B
Mark 4:26-34
He also said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground,
Pentecost Sunday – May 23rd – Year B
John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf.
7th Sunday after Easter – May 16th – Year B
John 17:6-19
“I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.
6th Sunday after Easter – May 9th – Year B
John 15:9-17
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.
5th Sunday after Easter – May 2nd – Year B
John 15:1-8
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower …
2nd Sunday after Easter – April 11th – Year B
John 20:19-31
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” …
Transformational Urban Leadership
Our Context The communities of Nairobi, Kenya are periodically devastated by socioeconomic and political divisions. Every five years, the general election cycle escalates violence, further amplifying the conflict in our…
Read MoreBill “Bix” Bischel
Father Bill Bischel (Bix) enjoyed a kind of radical freedom seldom experienced by most faith leaders. Bix is a bit of a legend in Tacoma and the Pacific Northwest as…
Read MoreCenter for Transforming Mission
Nairobi, Kenya This month, we are featuring Gideon Ochieng – Street Psalms Senior Fellow and Founding Director of the Center for Transforming Mission in Nairobi, Kenya. Gideon’s focus as a Street Psalms Senior…
Read MoreIn Our Shoes
One of the turning points in the Civil Rights movement was the brutal murder of Emmett Till and his mother’s insistence on an open casket funeral. She demanded that the…
Read MoreParachutes Ministries
Anchorage, Alaska This month, we are taking you to Anchorage, Alaska, to feature the work of Street Psalm Senior Fellow, Joel Kiekintveld. Joel’s particular focus as Street Psalms Senior Fellow is…
Read MoreSeeds of Peace
It was awkward at first. As the room filled, each participant looked for and sat with their own group. The imams sat together while the pastors gathered in their own…
Read MoreChurch At The Park
Church at the Park The sign reads “Church at the Park”, but a nondescript driveway along a road full of other nondescript driveways is all we see. Where is the church? Where…
Read MoreA City Of Their Own Making
Manila, Philippines Written By: Nic Hughes, Director of Strategy & Operations It is hard to miss Jesus in Manila. There are pictures of him (and his mother Mary) on nearly…
Read MoreChesterton Orthodoxy
In one of my favorite Ted Talks, Educational Technology Specialist Sugata Mitra discusses his experiments with “Hole in the Wall” computers. These are computer kiosks left in Indian slums, among children with no prior contact with PCs. Mitra found that children, by pooling their knowledge and resources, learned how to operate the computers.
Read MoreWhat It Means to be Eastered
“Let him easter in us, be a dayspring to the dimness of us.” These are the words that English Jesuit Priest and Poet Gerard Manley Hopkins uses in the last…
Read MoreMoment of Blessing – Occasion of Assault
We come together this day to reclaim this space of assault as a place of life.
Read MoreMemorial Liturgy
This is a holy place. This is a place of gratitude. This is a place to say goodbye. This is a place to return and remember.
Read MoreMoment of Blessing – Occasion of Homicide
We come together this day to reclaim this space of homicide as a place of life.
Read MoreLectio Divina – Personal Reading
Lectio Divina, or “sacred reading,” is an ancient way of prayerfully receiving the Word of God.
Read MoreLectio Divina – Group Reading
A group practice of Lectio Divina, or “sacred reading,” is an ancient way of prayerfully receiving the Word of God in community.
Read MoreMeal From Below: Eucharist Liturgy
Jesus, we come to the table having tasted the reality of your goodness and the mystery of your abundant love.
Read More