HOW MANY LOAVES HAVE YOU?
The Gospel John is one of the richest in meaning of the Gospels. It tells us the story of Jesus’ life and ministry on at least two levels. The first level is a description of the event itself, and then there are other levels. What does the event mean?Continue Reading
GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS REVEALED
The Lord is my shepherd is one of the most favorite phrases in English literature. Whether you are a Christian, Jewish, or non-believer you know these words. It is the first scripture I memorized in Sunday School as a child. When I work with families to prepare the funeral service for a beloved member of their family, I will ask what some of the scripture passages are they would like read at the service. Without question the 23rd Psalm is one of the most chosen passages.Continue Reading
A plumbline is a bob that is at the end of a long string. It is used as a method to test whether a wall is plumb vertical or not. In Amos the prophet is saying the justice of God for all people has been put up against the actions of the people of Israel and their mistreatment of the poor was terrible. Because they were more concerned about getting all of rules of worship right and not concerned about their treatment of the poor the country of Israel and their places of worship would be destroyed.Continue Reading
We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal and that they are endowed with certain inalienable rights. Among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.Continue Reading
WHERE ARE YOU, GOD?
The book of Lamentations was written by and for people who had survived an unimaginable trauma with personal, political, social, and theological ramifications. What if everything you relied upon for your security, comfort, identity, sense of God’s presence, and hope in the future simply vanished overnight? For the residents of Jerusalem in 587 BCE, who watched the Babylonians smash the walls of Jerusalem, burned down the temple, knock down the houses in the city, and execute the Davidic royal family, the world seemed to lose all sense of order and coherence. Life suddenly felt chaotic, brutal, meaningless, and hopeless. These emotions and the questions that arose from the traumatic destruction of Jerusalem are reflected in the book of Lamentations.Continue Reading
Kenneth’s Baptism
I find the day of a baptism to be very special. We are bringing another person into the Kingdom of God as a brother or sister of Jesus and a redeemed child of our Heavenly Father. Through water and the word, we have washed away all of sin from the soul of Kenneth symbolically by dying in the water as a sinner, and beginning eternal life as part of God’s family, both those living and dead.Continue Reading
Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Today we continue with Mark’s Gospel and hear another pair of parables as Jesus is teaching the people and his disciples. Jesus shares two parables, both involving a person sowing seeds and waiting on the harvest.Continue Reading
And There He Stood in his Fig Leaf
The first few chapters of the Book of Genesis tell in a theological way why creation happened, who is behind all that exists, and the central importance men and women have in this plan.Continue Reading
The Dance of the Trinity
I had heard it was an awesome site. I had seen pictures of it. I even saw it once on a video. But when I saw it for myself, I was blown away. I was standing on the southern edge of the Grand Canyon. Before me was the deepest gorge I had ever seen. It was miles to the northern edge. The intricate different colors of different layers of rock were truly awesome to behold. And very subtly the colors gradually changed as the sun moved across the sky. I took picture after picture, but still I was being encountered by an action of God that began millions of years ago and was still being formed. It was beyond being captured by a photo or even description.Continue Reading
The Yet; Not Yet
It was the celebration of the first harvest of the year. Jerusalem was filled with pilgrims from all the known world. The disciples were in the Upper Room praying eagerly awaiting the power from on high that Jesus had promised before ascending to be with his Father. And suddenly there was the rush of a mighty wind like we recently experienced in Greensboro. There was a mighty wind containing rain and hail. It was so powerful, and the hail was so strong it was hard to see out the window and I wondered if we were going to experience a tornado.Continue Reading