Sunstrike Files

January 18, 2026 – Second Sunday after Epiphany

Revised Common Lectionary Readings:

Isaiah 49:1-7
Psalm 40:1-11
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
John 1:29-42

Our main job as ministers of the Gospel is to point to Jesus. Everything that we do – preaching, texts, song selection, Bible Study, outreach, etc. – is in service of that obligation. Liturgy is literally “work of the people.” Though it can be a bit hard to define, I look at it in terms of its purpose: “work of the people in coming to Jesus.”

The “order of worship” – particularly in a traditional service or mass – is typically what people mean when they say “liturgy.” It gets to the point, though I think that definition is unfair in the context of a contemporary service. If it is a worship service, it is liturgical. Yes, even that service by St. Mega Man with the lasers and the fog machine that blows during the offering is liturgical. Dismissing the formal structures of traditional liturgy does not make what replaces it any less “liturgical.” It just means it is a different “context” of liturgy.

I liken the “traditional vs. contemporary” designation much like “classical vs. jazz” music. They are two dialects of the same language with all sorts of mixture, interactions, and crossover in between. (Yes, they do borrow from each other.) This is not even getting into the cultural innovations that shape and influence them. Worship and liturgy are alive with the Breath of the God who inspires both.

More thoughts at the link below:

January 6, 2026 - The Feast of the Epiphany

According to the Revised Common Lectionary, the readings for this celebration are:

Isaiah 60:1-6
Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14
Ephesians 3:1-12
Matthew 2:1-12

Even if you had not gotten to the Matthew reading yet, Isaiah and Psalm 72 should have you screaming “We Three Kings.” One thing I love about this song is that it embodies liturgy as “the work of the people.” Our faith is divinely inspired (otherwise it would not be faith). God uses a number of ways to shape it such as Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience.

If we relied solely on Scripture, we would never sing that song.

Before you get too upset, I promise I am not committing libel against one of my favorite Epiphany carols.

Get the rest of my thoughts and performance suggestions in the comments:

Hey Everybody! Welcome to the Sunstrike Files!

My name is Kareem Powell and - as you can guess - I'm the guy behind this. So... What is the Sunstrike Files all about?

Like many musicians around the world, my livelihood has been put "on hold" due in large part to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Being the caregiver to my 77-year-old mother, playing out publicly in crowds is just too risky... particularly as we near the winter months where more activities are going indoors and the infections are surging.

THAT SAID... The world is still a beautiful place, even if we can't go out and see it. There are billions of people out there creating amazing art, whether you are talking music, photography, painting, etc. I'm fortunate enough to know more than a few and decided "Well... We're still creating art. Our stories still need to be told. Why not just have a site dedicated to doing just that?"

And so... "USA Election Eve", I bought the domain name and set up the media channels. While everyone is watching tonight's insanity, I'll be working to put these different parts together and start lining up friends to start bragging about.

Now... As awesome as Facebook and other forms of social media are, the ONLY way we're going to reliably keep in touch is if you sign up for The Sunstrike Files mailing list. There's a signup form here on the page as well as on the website.

And who knows... Are you doing anything cool? Drop me a line. It's time to get some art out there.

Peace out!