I want to begin this morning by asking you to think about someone you know and admire. What about them makes you feel this way? I imagine that what draws many of us to others are qualities we see in their character. Perhaps it’s kindness; or generosity; integrity; or a …
Praise the LORD! Praise is how this psalm begins; praise is how this psalm ends; and praise is the content of everything in between its beginning and end. Your Bibles may note that this exclamation, “Praise the LORD!,” is the origin of our common word for rejoicing “Hallelujah!” which is …
Last week we considered Jesus’ third post-resurrection appearance to his fishermen disciples, noting similarities between one of his final appearances to them after he had died and risen from death with one of his very first appearances to them when he initially called these fishermen to be his disciples. At …
The emblem of a fish—sometimes referred to as “ichthus” or “icthys,” an English transliteration of the Greek word for fish[1]—has been associated with Christianity since as far back as the 2nd century A.D. According to St. Augustine, a believer and theologian who lived in the 4th to 5th century AD,[2] …
Because of our high view of Scripture, of our accepting the testimony of the Old and New Testaments to being the Word that God spoke first to his prophets and then to his apostles, we may sometimes forget that this Holy Bible isn’t just a Word from God, a Word …
God’s Chosen people. The elect. Those who are chosen, singled out by God. These are but some of the ways that those who identify with, love, and follow the God who has made us in his image are referred to in both the Old and New Testaments. These words—chosen, elect, …
According to the Internet Movie Database, Mel Gibson’s 2004 movie, The Passion of the Christ, “Depicts the final twelve hours in the life of Jesus of Nazareth, on the day of his crucifixion in Jerusalem.”[1] It’s remarkable that Mr. Gibson was able to come up with over two hours of …
Just prior to riding into Jerusalem as the rightful King that he was, Luke records how Jesus, ever the one to spend time with those despised by society, invited himself to the home of one of those looked-down-upon “tax collectors and sinners,” namely Zacchaeus, “a chief tax collector [who] …
“Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.”[1] This simple, factual description with which our passage opens seems straightforward enough yet knowing the events that have preceded and will follow this day, these nineteen words take on tremendous import: …
I was talking with a friend recently who does counseling in a secular context. She told me how challenging it is to introduce spiritual themes in the workplace. Given our society’s insistence on the separation of church and state, she’s encouraged to address her clients physiological and psychological problems but …
