Colloquy: A Weekly Sermon Discussion Group
Tuesday Evenings from 6:00–6:55 PM
Located in the Ministry Center
Each Sunday, on the Lord’s Day, we hear the Word of God in the reading of Scripture. Each Sunday, after this reading, we hear the Word of God proclaimed in the form of a sermon.
What is a sermon? What is its purpose? According to the Book of Order:
A sermon, based on the Scripture(s) read in worship, proclaims the good news of the risen Lord and presents the gift and calling of the gospel. Through the sermon, we encounter Jesus Christ in God’s Word, are equipped to follow him more faithfully, and are inspired to proclaim the gospel to others through our words and deeds (W-3.0305).
While it is the responsibility of Ministers of Word and Sacrament to select the Scriptures to be read in our public worship (W-3.0301) and also—ordinarily—their responsibility to deliver the sermon (W-3.0305), as your pastor, I want to invite you into my weekly process.
What goes into preparing and delivering a sermon? According to the Book of Order:
The Word proclaimed shall be based on the Word written in Scripture. Preaching requires diligence and discernment in the study of Scripture, listening for the voice of God through the discipline of daily prayer, theological reflection on the message of the gospel, sensitivity to the context of the congregation, attentiveness to what the Spirit is saying to the church, awareness of events in the world, and consistent and personal obedience to Jesus Christ.
I invite you to join me each Tuesday to engage in the process of deciding what Scriptures to preach, the study of those Scriptures, and the discerning of God’s Word to God’s people to be proclaimed based on those Scriptures. In other words, I want you to have a say in what we proclaim on Sunday mornings as the United Presbyterian Church of Millstone.
I am calling this weekly meeting a “colloquy.” A colloquy is a fancy word for a gathering to discuss theological questions. In Ignatian spiritual practice, a colloquy is also a prayerful conversation between you and God. A colloquy can also be a meeting where decisions or judgments are made. My hope is that our weekly meetings will embody all three senses of this word. My hope is that in these meetings, we will gather together, first, to discuss the past Sunday’s sermon, the Scriptures upon which it was based, and how the Word of God that we heard on Sunday informs our daily walk with Jesus. Second, we will also read and discuss the Scriptures for the upcoming Sunday’s sermon, raising questions about the text, its theology, history, and place in Scripture. Having considered the text in its Biblical context, we will then consider it within the context of our world and our shared lives.
I believe that God is doing a new thing in our midst (Isaiah 43:19), and I believe that you can help me to discern where God is leading us and what God’s Word is God’s people at the United Presbyterian Church of Millstone. So, please, join me on Tuesday evenings at the Ministry Center as we gather to read, to listen, to discuss, and to prepare our weekly proclamation.