Posted on Sun 22 March 2015 in misc •
Do others see Jesus, the one who draws all people to himself, when they look at us, disciples of Jesus?
There is a story in Philip Yancey’s book What’s So Amazing About Grace? that tells about a friend of his who works in the church in Chicago. He …
Continue readingPosted on Fri 13 March 2015 in misc •
Snakes! “Why did it have to be snakes?” says Indiana Jones in the movie. And maybe you’re asking, too, do we really need to talk about snakes in worship? Is it part of the essential Gospel message, or can’t we just hear the Good News today without mentioning …
Continue readingPosted on Sun 08 March 2015 in misc •
I am always tickled by those Gospel lessons that seem like maybe they’re from a different Bible than the one we were given in Sunday School. You know, those Gospel lessons which, after finishing, we respond to by saying, “The Gospel of the Lord, Praise to you, O Christ …
Continue readingPosted on Sat 28 February 2015 in misc •
Here’s another promise. God made a promise to a man long ago named Abram. Along with Christians around the world, during these weeks of Lent, we hear readings of God’s covenants, or promises, with God’s people. And God’s promise to Abram was so big that it …
Continue readingPosted on Sat 21 February 2015 in misc •
There is a common theme that runs through these very different scripture passages we’ve read today. From the familiar story of God’s promise to Noah after the flood to 1 Peter’s description of the theological benefit of baptism to the Gospel of Mark’s short but important …
Continue readingPosted on Wed 18 February 2015 in misc •
I couldn’t do it last year. In every previous year that I had helped lead some kind of Lenten worship or Bible study, it had always been the same theme: the Journey of Lent. So last year, tired of journeying, and worrying that it was becoming a cliche, I …
Continue readingPosted on Sun 15 February 2015 in misc •
What does this mean?
If you happened to grow up in a Lutheran congregation, you may know this question well. It’s a question that is used as a teaching tool in Martin Luther’s Small Catechism — a small book originally intended to be used by parents to talk about …
Continue readingPosted on Sun 08 February 2015 in misc •
Even here in this first chapter of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus has kicked his ministry into high gear. Jesus has already confronted a demon right of the bat in a synagogue. And now he hits closer to home.
In fact, Jesus moves right from the synagogue to a home …
Continue readingPosted on Sat 31 January 2015 in misc •
In each of the four Gospels, Jesus has a different ‘first day on the job.’ What Jesus does on his first day on the job is symbolic, and it says a lot about that Gospel and what it’s trying to tell us.
In Matthew, on his first day working …
Continue readingPosted on Sat 24 January 2015 in misc •
When I was a kid, there was one word that could strike fear in my heart like no other. It was a word that, once said, let you know that Mom or Dad really meant business.
Immediately.
Not, quick, or hurry, or even now. Those are everyday words. But when …
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