Last week we noted a sharp contrast between Israel’s first king, Saul, and its second and newly anointed king, David. Whereas Saul could have reigned successfully—by which I mean in accordance with God’s will—he chose instead to disobey the LORD at certain key points in his life. And it was …
As schools from the elementary through the graduate level are wrapping up their academic year, I thought I would begin this morning with a “true or false” quiz. So here goes: True or false? Those who believe in and follow God are guaranteed to have financially prosperous lives and to …
As a society this Memorial Day weekend we remember those who have given their lives in active military fighting for the freedoms of our nation; as a church, we additionally celebrate this Trinity Sunday the freedom the Triune God has offered us to be free from sin that we might …
Well, I thought I could let John go but I just couldn’t so I’ve spent another week learning from him who learned from and has passed along to us what he received from Jesus. Appropriately enough this Pentecost Sunday what John is specifically passing along in this morning’s passage is …
Years ago when I was working summers to help offset college expenses, I worked in a purchasing department with about a half dozen buyers and two other administrative assistants. I got to know the buyers fairly well since part of my job was to go around asking if there was …
Throughout the history of the western world, philosophers and theologians alike have gone out of their way to offer proofs for God’s existence. By definition a proof is “evidence or argument establishing or helping to establish a fact or the truth of a statement.” Thomas Aquinas, a theologian who lived …
In the musical My Fair Lady, the main character Eliza Doolittle sings about her frustration when loving words from her various suitors aren’t followed up by loving deeds. “Words! Words! Words!,” she exclaims to one of them, Freddy. “I’m so sick of words! I get words all day through; First …
This morning and for the next few weeks we’re going to continue considering and highlighting parts of the Apostle John’s first epistle. If we had to provide a news-bite of why John wrote this letter, it might be this: that all might know and become what they should be—what God …
As last week we considered the Apostle Paul’s testimony concerning his encounter with the risen Christ during a time when Paul was actively persecuting Jesus’ followers, so we find here, in the opening lines of the Apostle John’s letter, his testimony concerning Jesus Christ. But an important difference between these …
By his own admission Paul the apostle was one who was “abnormally”—or in some translations “untimely”—born. As a Pharisee, Paul was an expert in the 39 books that comprise the Hebrew Scriptures or our Old Testament. He knew God’s Word inside and out. So as an expert in Jewish law, …
