Proper 14: Epistle, Romans 10:5-17 Romans 10:5-17 Paul is dealing in this larger section with the plight, and it is a plight, of the Israelites and the gospel of Jesus. It is a plight because they are living under a darkness or spiritual blindness brought upon them by God Himself due to their...
Proper 14: Old Testament, Job 38:4-18 Job 38:4-18 God is so very good and very patient with us. And even when we don’t quite see it, it’s true. Just take a moment and think of all the times that God in His glorious holiness and might could have simply brushed us away as a race and...
Proper 13: Gospel, Matthew 14:13-21 Matthew 14:13-21 All four gospel writers point to the miracle reported by Matthew in the fourteenth chapter of his gospel. Miracles get a lot of attention whenever they are reported and found genuine. The Bible is replete with them, but not in the manner...
Proper 13: Epistle, Romans 9:1-5 Romans 9:1-5 Dear old Dr. Mitchell at the seminary used to remind us over and over that the Lord “yearns for all these fellas and girls” at the grad school and the college there on Glisan Street in East Portland. I remember as a fairly new believer...
Proper 13: OT, Isaiah 55:1-5 About as close as I ever got to a true Carnival Barker was walking up and down the rows of the Jackson County Fair, where the carnival game proprietors would call out, “Step right up and try your luck,” or “You can’t win if you don’t...
Proper 12: Epistle, Romans 8:28-39 Our epistle reading this Sunday from the lectionary begins with a verse that all Christians love to quote. We run to it to remind ourselves, that even when dark clouds gather around us, God can be counted on. Yes God can be counted on to turn the tide of...
Proper 12: Old Testament, Deuteronomy 7:6-9 I love this passage. I don't know how anyone who has heard of the God of Israel, and by His grace and mercy alone resides in His salvation, couldn’t love this passage. It’s that wonderful. Think of the person on earth you love the most...
Proper 11: Gospel, Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 It’s no secret to readers of the New Testament that Jesus of Nazareth is an avid and skilled storyteller. Matthew thirteen is one of those classic locations to sit and listen to Him as He tells stories. And not just any stories, but those that...
Proper 11: Epistle, Romans 8:18-27 Continuing in one of the most celebrated and celebratory chapters in the whole Bible, we continue to run into the work of the Spirit of God. Hardly mentioned in the first seven chapters or this letter, chapter eight nearly erupts with the presence and power of...
Proper 11: Old Testament, Isaiah 44:6-8 Most of us would, I think, say that the most important thing about ourselves is ourselves. In other words, our true identity from the inside out, is what we want others to know of us and is that to which we desire to be true. Jesus is having a discussion...
