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“Thus says the king of Assyria.” “Thus says the Lord.” When an empire shouts at the city gates, whose word do you trust? Rolf Jacobson, Kathryn Schifferdecker, and Cameron Howard close out the prophets series with Isaiah 36 and 37, where the Rabshakeh, the great Assyrian general, wages psychological warfare outside Jerusalem’s walls in 701 BC. Then they turn to Isaiah 2 and its vision of swords beaten into plowshares, making the case for preaching this as a Christ the King Sunday. Mentioned in this episode: Celebrate Working Preacher's 19th anniversary! This fall, Working Preacher is celebrating 19 years as a lectionary resource. Thank you for giving generously to ensure the site's future as a source for Narrative Lectionary resources, including this podcast. Support Working Preacher

Shall I offer burnt offerings? Thousands of rams? My firstborn? Micah builds his questions to the absurd before landing on what God actually asks: do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God. In this episode of I Love to Tell the Story, Rolf Jacobson, Kathryn Schifferdecker, and Cameron Howard explore the prophet Micah for Sunday, November 15, 2026, as the Narrative Lectionary continues its series on the prophets. With the northern kingdom fallen to Assyria, Micah dares to say Jerusalem itself is the “high place” and looks instead to little Bethlehem for a ruler from ancient days. Mentioned in this episode: Celebrate Working Preacher's 19th anniversary! This fall, Working Preacher is celebrating 19 years as a lectionary resource. Thank you for giving generously to ensure the site's future as a source for Narrative Lectionary resources, including this podcast. Support Working Preacher

A powerful general. A captive servant girl. A cranky prophet and a muddy river. In 2 Kings 5, the healing of Naaman turns every expectation upside down. Rolf Jacobson, Kathryn Schifferdecker, and Cameron Howard continue the prophets series in the fall Narrative Lectionary with the story of Naaman, the Aramean commander healed by the prophet Elisha. They explore how God works through the overlooked and powerless, and why Naaman’s confession that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel was such a startling claim for its time. Mentioned in this episode: Celebrate Working Preacher's 19th anniversary! This fall, Working Preacher is celebrating 19 years as a lectionary resource. Thank you for giving generously to ensure the site's future as a source for Narrative Lectionary resources, including this podcast. Support Working Preacher

God tells a young King Solomon, “Ask what I should give you.” He asks for wisdom, and then he’s handed one of the hardest cases in the Bible. In this episode of I Love to Tell the Story, Rolf Jacobson, Kathryn Schifferdecker, and Cameron Howard explore 1 Kings 3 for All Saints Sunday, November 1, 2026: Solomon’s prayer for wisdom and the famous story of two women and the disputed child. Mentioned in this episode: Celebrate Working Preacher's 19th anniversary! This fall, Working Preacher is celebrating 19 years as a lectionary resource. Thank you for giving generously to ensure the site's future as a source for Narrative Lectionary resources, including this podcast. Support Working Preacher

Joshua gathers the people, retells everything God has done, and asks them to choose. They say yes. Then Joshua tells them they can't do it. In this final episode of the covenant and commandments sub-series, Rolf Jacobson, Kathryn Schifferdecker, and Cameron Howard explore Joshua 24:1-15 (with optional verses 16-24), the covenant renewal at Shechem, for Sunday, October 18, 2026. They trace how the covenant must be renewed in every generation and why God's faithfulness, not Israel's, is what holds the story together. Mentioned in this episode: Celebrate Working Preacher's 19th anniversary! This fall, Working Preacher is celebrating 19 years as a lectionary resource. Thank you for giving generously to ensure the site's future as a source for Narrative Lectionary resources, including this podcast. Support Working Preacher

A king who takes what he wants. A prophet brave enough to say, "You are the man." This week on I Love to Tell the Story, Rolf Jacobson, Kathryn Schifferdecker, and Cameron Howard dig into the story of David and Bathsheba from 2 Samuel 11 and 12 for October 25, 2026. Mentioned in this episode: Celebrate Working Preacher's 19th anniversary! This fall, Working Preacher is celebrating 19 years as a lectionary resource. Thank you for giving generously to ensure the site's future as a source for Narrative Lectionary resources, including this podcast. Support Working Preacher

Why does Exodus 19 come before Exodus 20? Rolf Jacobson, Kathryn Schifferdecker, and Cameron Howard turn to Exodus 19:3-7 and 20:1-17 for the Narrative Lectionary on October 11, 2026. At Mount Sinai, God names Israel a priestly kingdom and a holy nation before a single commandment is given. The covenant comes first, and the law shows how to live it out. Find episodes and links at workingpreacher.org/narrative. Mentioned in this episode: Celebrate Working Preacher's 19th anniversary! This fall, Working Preacher is celebrating 19 years as a lectionary resource. Thank you for giving generously to ensure the site's future as a source for Narrative Lectionary resources, including this podcast. Support Working Preacher

Why would God tell Moses to stop praying and start moving? Rolf Jacobson, Kathryn Schifferdecker, and Cameron Howard dig into Exodus 14 for the Narrative Lectionary on October 4, 2026. They explore the "Back to Egypt committee" that lives in every congregation, wrestle with the violence against the Egyptians, and trace how the parting of the waters echoes God's work in creation. At the sea, the place of chaos and death, God makes a way into new life. Find episodes and links at workingpreacher.org/narrative. Mentioned in this episode: Celebrate Working Preacher's 19th anniversary! This fall, Working Preacher is celebrating 19 years as a lectionary resource. Thank you for giving generously to ensure the site's future as a source for Narrative Lectionary resources, including this podcast. Support Working Preacher

Joseph goes from trusted overseer to prisoner in a single chapter, and somehow God is at work in both. In this episode of I Love to Tell the Story, hosts Rolf Jacobson, Kathryn Schifferdecker, and Cameron Howard dig into Genesis 39, the account of Joseph in Potiphar's house. Accompanying commentary by Dennis OlsonOverview to Narrative Lectionary Year 1 readings featuring Rolf Jacobson, Kathryn Schifferdecker, and Kristofer Phan Coffman Mentioned in this episode: Celebrate Working Preacher's 19th anniversary! This fall, Working Preacher is celebrating 19 years as a lectionary resource. Thank you for giving generously to ensure the site's future as a source for Narrative Lectionary resources, including this podcast. Support Working Preacher

What does it mean to leave everything behind on nothing but a promise? This week Rolf Jacobson, Catherine Schifferdecker, and Cameron Howard turn to Genesis 12:1-9, the call of Abram, one of the most consequential moments in the entire Bible. After last week's flood story closed out the primeval history, the camera "zooms in" on one ordinary, childless couple from Mesopotamia, and the plot of the rest of the Old Testament begins. In this episode: * Why Abram, of all people? The hosts dig into the mystery the rabbis themselves wrestled with * The three (or four) promises: land, descendants, blessing, and a great name * What it meant in a kinship-based society to leave your country, your kindred, and your father's house * Sarai's infertility, and a pastoral care note on the language we use to preach it * The real danger and vulnerability behind Abram and Sarai's journey, read through the lens of migration * How God's faithfulness, even more than Abram's, drives this story forward Mentioned in this episode: Celebrate Working Preacher's 19th anniversary! This fall, Working Preacher is celebrating 19 years as a lectionary resource. Thank you for giving generously to ensure the site's future as a source for Narrative Lectionary resources, including this podcast. Support Working Preacher

Welcome to a new year of the Narrative Lectionary. This year we're in the Gospel of Matthew, and we're kicking things off with a six week sub series on covenant and commandment, starting with the genesis flood narrative. Rolf Jacobson and Cameron Howard dig into one of the most uncomfortable stories in Scripture, the one we somehow turned into nursery decor. Why do we put a story about God wiping out nearly all life on earth on baby blankets and crib mobiles? Rolf and Cameron talk through the tension in Genesis 6 through 9, the idea that divine judgment fits the crime, and what it means that in a monotheistic tradition, God has to wrestle with God's own justice and mercy internally, with no "good god versus bad god" to divide the blame. They also unpack the covenant itself in Genesis 9, why it's easy to overlook the Noahic covenant when we jump straight to Abraham or Sinai, and why this first covenant, made with "every living creature," might be the best place to start a year of preaching on God's care for the whole earth, not just humanity. Overview to Narrative Lectionary Year 1 Readings - Featuring Rolf Jacobson, Kathryn Schifferdecker, and Kristofer Phan Coffman (airdate: Sept. 2022)Commentary on Genesis 6:5-22; 8:6-12; 9:8-17 by Dennis Olson Mentioned in this episode: Celebrate Working Preacher's 19th anniversary! This fall, Working Preacher is celebrating 19 years as a lectionary resource. Thank you for giving generously to ensure the site's future as a source for Narrative Lectionary resources, including this podcast. Support Working Preacher

What does it mean to follow Jesus not as first-generation believers, but as the second, third, or fourth generation of the church? In this episode of I Love to Tell the Story, host Kathryn Schifferdecker welcomes Dr. Edward Piller, New Testament scholar and minister at Evesham Baptist Church in Worcestershire, England, for a rich conversation on the Narrative Lectionary's five-week summer series in 1 and 2 Timothy. Dr. Piller brings pastoral wisdom and scholarly insight to bear on these often-overlooked letters, exploring what it means for a church community to inherit a living faith and pass it on. Together, Kathryn and Edward walk through all five weeks of the lectionary series, offering preachers a road map for each passage: * Week 1, 1 Timothy 1:12-17: Salvation as ongoing, daily experience, not a one-time event * Week 2, 1 Timothy 6:6-19: The call to pursue righteousness and "take hold of the life that really is life" * Week 3, 2 Timothy 1:1-14: Rekindling the gift of God, for individuals and for congregations * Week 4, 2 Timothy 2:8-15: The faithfulness of God even when we are faithless ("I hold and I am held") * Week 5, 2 Timothy 3 - 4: Scripture as living, breathing, dynamic word, and the final sign-off of a life well-lived in faith Dr. Piller also reflects on preaching the epistles with personal vulnerability, the challenge of wealth and comfort in second-generation Christianity, and what it looks like to receive and pass on a living tradition. Mentioned in this episode: Celebrate Working Preacher's 19th anniversary! This fall, Working Preacher is celebrating 19 years as a lectionary resource. Thank you for giving generously to ensure the site's future as a source for Narrative Lectionary resources, including this podcast. Support Working Preacher

What happens when a story of radical loyalty meets a story of dangerous courage? In this special summer series introduction, hosts Rolf Jacobson and Kathryn Schifferdecker open the books of Ruth and Esther, the only two biblical books named for women, and explore why these compact, powerful narratives deserve a place at the center of your preaching and teaching. Mentioned in this episode: Celebrate Working Preacher's 19th anniversary! This fall, Working Preacher is celebrating 19 years as a lectionary resource. Thank you for giving generously to ensure the site's future as a source for Narrative Lectionary resources, including this podcast. Support Working Preacher

It's the final episode of the Narrative Lectionary year, and what a way to close: the arrival of the Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2) paired with Paul's call to rejoice from prison (Philippians 4:4-7). Rolf, Kathryn, and Karoline reflect on what makes this day so significant, and why it's not just a day on the calendar but a way of life. In this episode: * Why Acts 2 isn't the Spirit's first appearance in Luke-Acts, and what makes Pentecost different * The Jewish Festival of Weeks (Shavuot/Pentecost) and why diaspora Jews from across the empire were gathered in Jerusalem * How Acts 1:8 functions as a "theme verse" for the entire book, and how Pentecost begins to fulfill it * The surprising pastoral comfort of Philippians 4 alongside the drama of Acts: "The Lord is near" * A word of encouragement for congregations who feel like Pentecost is someone else's story Mentioned in this episode: Celebrate Working Preacher's 19th anniversary! This fall, Working Preacher is celebrating 19 years as a lectionary resource. Thank you for giving generously to ensure the site's future as a source for Narrative Lectionary resources, including this podcast. Support Working Preacher

What does it mean to have "the mind of Christ"? In this episode of I Love to Tell the Story, hosts Rolf Jacobson and Kathryn Schifferdecker are joined by scholar Karoline Lewis to explore one of the most beloved and theologically rich passages in all of Paul's letters: the Christ hymn of Philippians 2:1-13. The conversation opens with Paul's appeal to a divided congregation: since there is encouragement in Christ, consolation from love, and sharing (koinonia) in the Spirit, the Philippians are called to unity and genuine humility. Ralph unpacks an important Greek grammatical point: the opening "if" is actually a second-class conditional, best translated as "since." The condition isn't in doubt; Paul is building on a foundation he and his readers already share. From there, the hosts dig into the Christ hymn itself, examining how the incarnation functions as Paul's paradigm for Christian community. It isn't the resurrection or even primarily the crucifixion that Paul holds up here, but the incarnation: the moment God chose to enter human life not as a pharaoh or emperor, but as a servant. Caroline highlights how the call to "have the same mind" is an active, directional verb, pointing the community toward a specific vision of what it means to follow Jesus. The episode closes with a reminder not to stop at the cross: the hymn ends in exaltation, with the bold counter-imperial declaration that Jesus Christ is Lord, not Caesar. Whether you're preparing a sermon, leading a Bible study, or just wrestling with what Christian community looks like in an age of personal branding, this episode offers deep resources for reflection. Mentioned in this episode: Celebrate Working Preacher's 19th anniversary! This fall, Working Preacher is celebrating 19 years as a lectionary resource. Thank you for giving generously to ensure the site's future as a source for Narrative Lectionary resources, including this podcast. Support Working Preacher