Looking for material for a midweek Lenten series that is engaging for congregation members but easy for worship leaders to produce? Here is a collection of Lenten dialogue sermons on the gospel of Matthew that is conversational in tone, engaging and accessible for people in the pew, easy to stage, theologically thoughtful, biblically insightful, focused on themes and messages found in the gospel of Matthew, and tested in the parish. Roger Timm invites his readers into the Lenten season of study and reflection with this poignant collection of dialogues. Acting Out Matthew’s Message presents a relevant discussion on the themes found throughout the first gospel narrative, inviting the reader to reflect upon the truths hidden within Matthew’s parables while recognizing the careful balance between Old Testament law and the new message of Jesus. Timm’s simple approach throughout his fifteen dialogues has been designed to awaken the minds and hearts of an audience, presenting simple scenarios with theological significance and offering a fresh perspective on the message of the cross.

The Rev. Dr. Roger E. Timm retired November 30, 2011, after serving eleven years as pastor of Ascension Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Riverside, Illinois. From January 1993 to November 2000 he was pastor of St. James Lutheran Church, Naperville, Illinois. Timm served as College Pastor and Associate Professor of Religion at Carthage College, Kenosha, Wisconsin, from 1989 to 1992, and as Assistant Chaplain and Assistant Professor of Religion at Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pennsylvania, from 1980 to 1988. He was pastor of University Lutheran Chapel, Los Angeles, offering Lutheran campus ministry for UCLA, from 1975 to 1980, and assistant professor of philosophy at Concordia College, Bronxville, New York, in 1973 and 1974. Timm’s first pastorate was as pastor of St. John-Concordia Lutheran Church in the south Bronx, New York, from 1970-1973. He received his M.Div. degree from Concordia Seminary and an M.A. in philosophy from Washington University, both in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1970. Timm received a Ph.D. in religious studies from Union Theological Seminary and Columbia University, New York, in 1975. Married in 1967, Pastor Timm and his wife Marilyn have two adult daughters and two grandchildren.