Exodus 34:6–7, Genesis 50:19–21, 2 Samuel 9:1–13, Luke 18:1–8 , Luke 7:36–50, Psalm 103:8–14
I personally get some inspiration for getting at the nature of this work from a story told by one of my favorite spiritual writers, Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. Thérèse was born in 1873, to a devout Cath...
Ephesians 3:14-21, 2 Samuel 11:1-15, Psalm 14:, Ephesians 2:19-22, John 6:1-21, Colossians 1:16, Luke 11:2, Psalm 95:6, Galatians 5:
Questions for Consideration What does a prayer reveal about a person? What do you most often pray for/about and what might that reveal about you? A Beautiful and Compelling Gospel Prayer The...
Background to the Letter and Passage Paul’s letter to the Ephesians was probably intended for wider distribution and use among the various churches around Ephesus. As such, there is no particular cri...
John 6:24-35, John 6:23, 2 Samuel 11:26-27, 2 Samuel 12:1-13, Psalm 51:1-12, Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15, Psalm 78:23-29, Ephesians 4:1-16
Ancient Lens What's the historical context? The Lakeside Community On the Sea of Galilee, it is not unusual to see from one shore to the other. It is essentially a lake, and as is often the ...
John 6:24-35, John 6:23, 2 Samuel 11:26-27, 2 Samuel 12:1-13, Psalm 51:1-12, Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15, Psalm 78:23-29, Ephesians 4:1-16
Ancient Lens What's the historical context? The Lakeside Community On the Sea of Galilee, it is not unusual to see from one shore to the other. It is essentially a lake, and as is often the ...
Mark 11:1-11, Mark 14:, Mark 15:, Mark 8:32, Mark 9:32, Mark 10:37, Zechariah 9:9, Genesis 49:11, Mark 1:1, Mark 5:7, 2 Samuel 7:12-16, 1 Kings 1:38, Revelation 4:8, Psalm 146:2-8
Lent 2021: A 40-day Heart Restoration The Triumphal Entry Bonus Content: Video prep session with Heather Ghormley on Mark 11:1-11 . Passcode: 0DU^5?GZ AIM Commentary Ancient Lens What can w...
Psalm 4:, Matthew 5:43-45, 2 Samuel 19:15-30, Numbers 6:4-9, Isaiah 65:24, Psalm 76:10
Preaching Commentary A Psalm of Trust Psalm 4, the lectionary psalm for this third Sunday of Easter, follows a psalm of lament (Psalm 3) in which David bemoans his political enemies, who included h...
Judges 16:1-31, Job 1:6-22, 2 Samuel 13:1-22, Matthew 14:1-12, Luke 23:13-25, Psalm 22:1-31
The Old Testament portrays the world as it is, no holds barred. In its pages you will find passionate stories of love and hate, blood-chilling stories of rape and dismemberment, matter-of-fact account...
Psalm 4:null, Matthew 5:43-45, 2 Samuel 19:15-30, Numbers 6:4-9, Isaiah 65:24, Psalm 76:10
A Psalm of Trust Psalm 4, the lectionary psalm for this third Sunday of Easter, follows a psalm of lament (Psalm 3) in which David bemoans his political enemies, who included his own rebellious son A...
Mark 11:1-11, Mark 14:, Mark 15:, Mark 8:32, Mark 9:32, Mark 10:37, Zechariah 9:9, Genesis 49:11, Mark 1:1, Mark 5:7, 2 Samuel 7:12-16, 1 Kings 1:38, Revelation 4:8, Psalm 146:2-8
Ancient Lens What can we learn from the historical context? Connecting the Triumphal Entry and the Passion At last we come to Jerusalem. On this sixth Sunday of Lent, lectionary-following congreg...
Hebrews 13:20, Genesis 1:26-28, Genesis 1:26, Genesis 3:14-19, Genesis 3:14, Genesis 8:20-9, Genesis 9:5-6, Genesis 12:1-3, Galatians 3:16, John 8:56-58, 2 Corinthians 3:7-9, Deuteronomy 30:1-10, Deuteronomy 30:1, 2 Samuel 7:4-17, Luke 1:31-33, Acts 1:6, Revelation 19:16, Matthew 26:28, Mark 14:24, Luke 22:20, Hebrews 8:8-12, Galatians 3:13-20
Eternal covenant, Heb 13:20—The redemptive covenant before time began, between the Father and the Son. By this covenant we have eternal redemption, an eternal peace from the ‘God of peace’, through th...
Psalm 51:10, Ephesians 4:23-24, 2 Samuel 12:1-14, John 7:37-38, Philippians 2:5-8, Matthew 5:3-4, Psalm 51:10
Jesus, we receive your blessings and pray for the Holy Spirit to make them real in our lives. Renew a right spirit within us, a poor spirit, a spirit that knows our deep need of your grace and deliver...
John 6:1-21, 2 Samuel 11:1-15, Psalm 14:, Ephesians 3:14-21, 2 Kings 4:42-44, Psalm 145:10-18
Ancient Lens What's the historical context? A New Kind of Feast A mountain, a gathering of thousands, and a great feast make for a classic ancient worship scene. Add in the frequency of loca...
John 6:1-21, 2 Samuel 11:1-15, Psalm 14:, Ephesians 3:14-21, 2 Kings 4:42-44, Psalm 145:10-18
Ancient Lens What's the historical context? A New Kind of Feast A mountain, a gathering of thousands, and a great feast make for a classic ancient worship scene. Add in the frequency of loca...
Genesis 12:1-13, Genesis 27:35, Exodus 2:12, 2 Samuel 11:, Matthew 26:74
One of the first things that strikes us about the men and women in Scripture is that they were disappointingly non- heroic. We do not find splendid moral examples. We do not find impeccably virtuous m...
The sense of Presence! I have spoken of it as stealing on one unawares. It is recorded of John Wilhelm Rowntree that as he left a great physician’s office, where he had just been told that his advanci...
Ancient Lens What's the historical context? Back to the Wilderness As he has been doing, Jesus calls the people’s minds back to the wilderness during The Exodus and reminds them of the manna ...
Hebrews 4:16, 2 Samuel 12:1-14, Isaiah 43:25, 1 John 1:8-9, Romans 8:28, Psalm 139:1-4
Prayer of Adoration Good and Gracious Lord, You hold us in the palm of Your strong hand, working all things for our good and to Your glory. There is no place we can go that escapes your notice and i...
Acts 2:, John 16:8, Isaiah 40:8, 2 Samuel 12:1-13, Psalm 51:17
O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchan...
Ephesians 5:13, Proverbs 4:18, 2 Samuel 22:29, John 8:12, Isaiah 9:2, Psalm 119:105
The rural country roads where I now live are very different from the roads I grew up around in the suburbs. When I lived in the suburbs, the roads I traveled between my house and a friend’s, or the st...
Psalm 95:1-2, Luke 2:8-20, Acts 16:25-34, 2 Samuel 6:12-15, Colossians 3:16-17, Revelation 4:11, Psalm 103:1-2
The Psalmist declares: Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens, our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death. Therefore, Come let...
Luke 1:46-55, Acts 9:, 1 Timothy 1:12-17, 2 Samuel 7:18-22, 1 Samuel 2:1-10, Luke 17:11-19, Psalm 100:4-5
Grace and gratitude belong together like heaven and earth. Grace evokes gratitude like the voice an echo. Gratitude follows grace like thunder lightning.
2 Samuel 12:1-13, Micah 6:8, Ephesians 4:15, Psalm 85:10, John 8:1-11, John 4:1-26
When a musical instrument’s strings go loose, it sounds awful. But you can also overtighten the strings, breaking them or creating discord. There’s a perfect tension to grace and truth, which makes th...
Romans 5:8, John 21:15-19, Jonah 3:4, Matthew 18:21-35, 2 Samuel 12:1-7, Romans 14:10-13, James 4:11-12
Judging others makes us blind, whereas love is illuminating. By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are.
John 12:1-3, 2 Samuel 6:14-16, John 6:1-13, Zephaniah 3:17, James 1:17, Psalm 34:8
Maurice Sendak, author and illustrator of Where the Wild Things Are and other children’s books, gets many letters from his young fans. A favorite was a “charming” drawing sent on by a little boy’s m...
Ancient Lens What's the historical context? Back to the Wilderness As he has been doing, Jesus calls the people’s minds back to the wilderness during The Exodus and reminds them of the manna ...
Ephesians 4:25-5, 2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33, Psalm 130:, John 6:35, 41-51, Ephesians 5:1-2, Acts 9:4
Taking Off the Old Clothes and Putting on the New Our passage continues Paul’s teaching on “the putting off of the old self” (anthropos) (of sin, corruption, and death) vs.22 and putting on the “new ...