What a Promise
Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Old Testament, Isaiah 29:11-19 Isaiah 29:11-19 I know I have heard this idea expressed in several ways through the years. Distilling the thought comes down to this: “You can’t appreciate...
Read. Just Read.
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Gospel, John 6:51-69 John 6:51-69 We continue where we left off last week. Wrapping our western, scientific heads around the discourse of Jesus in John 6 takes a bit of effort. Add to that, that in the American church landscape, many have actually been...
What’s His Will?
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Epistle, Ephesians 5:6-21 Ephesians 5:6-21 Perhaps the most asked questions received in ministry revolve around people seeking God’s will for their lives. Our text speaks, no it screams at...
Wanting Wisdom
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Old Testament, Proverbs 9:1-10 Proverbs 9:1-10 Dear readers-I have taken on the discipline (and it’s a joyful one) of reading a Proverb for each day of the month. I fear that perhaps the Book of Proverbs is a book...
What Jesus Says
Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost: Gospel, John 6:35-41 John 6:35-41 The great Catholic novelist Flannery O’Connor famously quipped in a conversation where someone referred to the eucharist as a symbol, “Well, if it’s a symbol. to hell with it.” She went on to declare the...
Changed
Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost: Epistle, Ephesians 4:17-5:2 Ephesians 4:17-5:2 How different do you want to be? How different from your neighbors and friends? Here’s one for Christians to really chew on: how different do you want to be than those in your own congregation? What does...
Fear, Fathers, and Food
Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost: Old Testament, 1 Kings 19:1-8 1 Kings 19:1-8 It’s one of the most harrowing and fantastic “tales” of all the Bible. And I don’t use the word “tales” in a way that detracts from its historicity. But I take it as...
What We’re After
Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost: Gospel, John 6:22-35 John 6:22-35 Every time I set myself to read the Gospel through John, or even to spend time in just a section of it, I come away amazed at its “density.” What do I mean by that? Well, it is wonderful to read the gospel just to...
What to Say
Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost: Psalm, Psalm 145:10-21 Psalm 145:10-21 Our psalm this week gives a reminder pointing to many of the ways God loves His people. He manifests His power in providing for all our needs, He speaks His Word to us, He saves us and preserves us. And each one of those...
Great Question
Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost: Old Testament, Exodus 16:2-15 Exodus 16:2-15 I love the accounts highlighting the children of Israel immediately after their deliverance from Egypt. Into the wilderness they go. And it doesn’t take long for them to become impatient and begin their...
