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...
Proper 10: Gospel, Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 Stories and Parables. Poetry and Prophecy. The Bible is a volume filled with stories. And the divine Author utilized such a variety of forms of story and instruction that I am sure anyone, with an open mind, could find something from the Divine Word that...
Proper 10: Epistle, Romans 8:12-17 Every time I look at our two sons, although they are fine men with children of their own, I still marvel that they belong to us. Under our Heavenly Father and theirs we have been given the most special of relationships with these guys. They’re ours...
Proper 10: Old Testament, Isaiah 55:10-13 I’m excited to take a look at this passage from the prophet Isaiah this week because I am teaching a class on the prophets this coming weekend. Isaiah has been one of my main resting places in the past days and Isaiah 55 gives to us one of the...
Proper 9: Gospel, Matthew 11:25-30 If you remember, Kimber gave us a wonderful peeking into God’s heart as she gave her meditation on our Old Testament reading in Zechariah 9. Well this week closes with our Lord praying and coaxing in Matthew chapter 11. Praying to His Father and coaxing...
