Avarice, greed, concupiscence and so forth are all based on the mathematical truism that the more you get, the more you have. The remark of Jesus that it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35) is based on the human truth that the more you give away,… Continue reading
A photographer for a national magazine was assigned to take photos of an immense forest fire in the United States. Smoke at the scene hampered him, so he asked his home office to hire a plane. Arrangements were made, and he was told to go at once to a nearby… Continue reading
For most people the word “evangelism” conjures up images of tent revivals, pleading evangelists, threats of hell, promises of heaven, and “getting saved.” Evangelism is all some churches and Christians want to talk about while in other churches it is one of the most uncomfortable topics imaginable. One of the… Continue reading
I can remember times when I chose to “bark and oink” instead of being open to bigger truths and being willing to embrace necessary newness. Continue reading
Ancient Near Eastern kings were responsible for bringing justice and peace to their people. Israelite rulers were mandated by God to secure justice and peace for their realms. Every messianic passage in the Hebrew Scriptures presents the longed-for king bringing justice and peace. In the Lord’s Prayer, we find the… Continue reading
Wrath is not as cut and dry a concept as many of us have been taught. We see in the Hebrew Scriptures the priority and abiding nature of God’s loving kindness over God’s limited wrath. As Jesus teaches in Luke 15, God seeks the lost sheep and the lost coin until She finds them. And if we continue our rejection of love, goodness, and shalom, God gives us a free rein to continue our folly. But we see in Paul that even when God gives us over to our sin and consigns us to disobedience, Her mysterious plan finds a way to have mercy on each of us. Continue reading
(Please read this psalm, printed at the end of the blog entry, before reading the sermon.) In the movie How the West Was Won, there is a memorable scene. A groom rides from the prairie camp to thank God for his bride. While praying he hears a gunshot and returns… Continue reading
All three of the Synoptic Gospels contain the story of the man who came to Jesus asking what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus reminded the man that he already knew the commandments of Judaism: “Do not kill. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not bear… Continue reading
[The following is my version of a story other ministers have used over the past decades. I have no idea of the identity of the story’s original author. What follows is the version I crafted and told many years ago. I find it helpful and hopeful, especially in a time… Continue reading
(14 minutes) In a church I pastored years ago, there was a sweet older lady who was simple in her faith, steadfast in her devotional life, and obsessively regimented in her daily routines. During one of our class discussions on the nature and priority of love, she said, “I just… Continue reading
