Numbers 21:4-9, Isaiah 53:, John 3:14-15 , Matthew 12:38-41, Psalm 107:23-32
The symbol of judgment and death, the serpent, is lifted up as Israel’s symbol of life. Jesus draws this parallel for us in John, hinting toward the way the tool of Roman execution, the cross, will be...
Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5, Revelation 21:2, 10, 22-27, Revelation 22:1-5, 1 Kings 6:20, Genesis 12:1-3, Genesis 2:9, Genesis 3:23-24, Genesis 1:28, Genesis 2:15, Genesis 3:17-19, 1 Corinthians 15:58, Ephesians 6:5-9, Colossians 3:23, Genesis 1:26-27, Exodus 33:20-23, John 14:9, Colossians 1:15, Hebrews 1:3, Mark 15:34, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Exodus 28:15-21, 29-30, John 4:13-14, John 7:37-38, Matthew 27:46, John 3:2, Romans 8:29
Preaching Commentary Pulling Back the Curtain The Revelation of Jesus Christ is a “pulling back of the curtain” to reveal both the unseen realities of the present (what is really going on in the wo...
Revelation 21:10, Revelation 21:2, 10, 22-27, Revelation 22:1-5, 1 Kings 6:20, Genesis 12:1-3, Genesis 2:9, Genesis 3:23-24, Genesis 1:28, Genesis 2:15, Genesis 3:17-19, 1 Corinthians 15:58, Ephesians 6:5-9, Colossians 3:23, Genesis 1:26-27, Exodus 33:20-23, John 14:9, Colossians 1:15, Hebrews 1:3, Mark 15:34, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Exodus 28:15-21, 29-30, John 4:13-14, John 7:37-38, Matthew 27:46, John 3:2, Romans 8:29
Pulling Back the Curtain The Revelation of Jesus Christ is a “pulling back of the curtain” to reveal both the unseen realities of the present (what is really going on in the world from God’s perspect...
Mark 10:45, Romans 12:10, 1 John 3:18, 1 Peter 5:2-3, Ephesians 4:32, John 10:11, Matthew 20:28
Gracious God, your Son Jesus came not be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. He is our Good Shepherd, whose leadership is less about the love of power, and more about the ...
Matthew 25:35-40, James 1:27, Philippians 2:3-4, John 13:3-5, Micah 6:8, Isaiah 58:6-7, 1 John 3:18
An ancient legend tells of a well-respected rabbi who would vanish from his synagogue for a few hours each Sabbath. His mysterious absences sparked curiosity among his students, who wondered if their ...
John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15, John 13:10, John 14:7, John 14:13-14, John 13:31-32, John 14:19-21, John 14:16, John 14:15-18, John 3:8, John 8:46, Matthew 4:8-9, Luke 4:5-6, John 14:30, John 12:31, John 6:12, Ephesians 2:2, John 16:12, John 14:17, John 16:14, John 16:6, John 14:6
Context The Upper Room Discourse Our Gospel reading for today takes place within what has come to be known as the “Upper Room discourse,” a stretch of Scripture unique to John’s Gospel that begins ...
Romans 5:8, Matthew 26:36-46, Ephesians 2:8-9, John 3:16, 2 Corinthians 13:14, Matthew 28:19
Heavenly Father, blessed Son, eternal Spirit, We adore you as one Being, one Essence, one God in three distinct Persons, for bringing sinners to the knowledge of you and your kingdom. O Father, you ha...
John 3:6-17 , Ephesians 2:8-10, Acts 16:31-34, 1 John 1:7, Philippians 2:5-8 , Matthew 5:14-16, Romans 12:1-2
O Lord God, You have commanded us to believe in Jesus; and I would flee to no other refuge, wash in no other fountain, build on no other foundation, receive from no other fullness, res...
John 5:39-40, Hebrews 4:12-13, Matthew 16:13-15, Mark 10:17-22, John 3:1-10, John 18:33-38, Matthew 12:30
We had thought intellectually to examine him; we find he is spiritually examining us. The roles are reversed between us...A person may study Jesus with intellectual impartiality, he cannot do it with ...
Colossians 1:15-17, Matthew 16:13-17, Mark 10:25-27, John 3:1-10, Matthew 5:43-44, Jeremiah 29:13, Hebrews 12:2
As Tim Stafford writes, Jesus has become “deceptively familiar. People think they know all about him, so they never look at him. When they finally do, they are surprised at what they find. Jesus may s...
John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15, John 15:26-27, John 16:4-15, John 13:10, John 14:7, John 14:13-14, John 13:31-32, John 14:19-21, John 14:16, John 14:15-18, John 3:8, John 8:46, Matthew 4:8-9, Luke 4:5-6, John 14:30, John 12:31, John 6:12, Ephesians 2:2, Hebrews 12:2, John 16:12, John 14:17, John 16:14, John 16:6, John 14:6
Preaching Commentary Context The Upper Room Discourse Our Gospel reading for today takes place within what has come to be known as the “Upper Room discourse,” a stretch of Scripture unique to Jo...
Isaiah 7:14, Mark 1:10-11, John 10:29, Matthew 12:32, John 6:44, Luke 24:49, Acts 16:7, John 3:8, John 14:26, 1 Corinthians 3:16, Romans 8:15, 1 Corinthians 12:13, John 17:22, Romans 8:11
Advent is a celebration of the coming of Christ — and the whole Trinity! I wonder if you’ve ever meditated on the Trinity? This has been one of the most important practices in my life. What a bles...
John 3:16, 1 John 4:9, 2 Timothy 1:10, Romans 8:11, Matthew 28:19
Glory be to You, O Father everlasting, who did send your only-begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. Glory be to you, O Lord Jesus Christ, who has brought life and immortality to...
Matthew 10:40-42, John 20:21, Acts 1:18, 2 Peter 2:13, Luke 17:10, John 3:18, Matthew 28:19, Ephesians 5:20, James 5:14, Colossians 3:17, Acts 3:6, 1 Corinthians 6:11, Acts 20:35
preaching commentary The Transitive Property of Welcoming In elementary school math you learn various basic principles of working with numbers…the commutative property, the associative property, th...
John 3:16-17, Romans 5:8, 1 John 4:9-10, Matthew 27:45-50, Isaiah 53:1-5, Luke 23:34, 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, Ephesians 5:2, John 15:13
In George Bernard Shaw’s play about Joan of Arc , as Joan faces her execution by burning, she addresses those in power who have condemned her: “I will now go to the common people and find comfort in ...
Genesis 1:1, Psalm 19:1, John 3:16, Matthew 16:16, Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 27:24-26, 1 Peter 3:18-19
I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, ...
Isaiah 55:1-3, John 3:1-5, Matthew 1:25-27, John 3:16-17, Psalm 145:8-9
Justin Martyr (ca. 100–165), the most renowned apologist of the second century, dedicated his life to defending Christianity as the one true philosophy. Engaging the Greek philosophers and intellectua...
Matthew 10:40-42, John 20:21, Acts 1:18, 2 Peter 2:13, Luke 17:10, John 3:18, Matthew 28:19, Ephesians 5:20, James 5:14, Colossians 3:17, Acts 3:6, 1 Corinthians 6:11, Acts 20:35
The Transitive Property of Welcoming In elementary school math you learn various basic principles of working with numbers…the commutative property, the associative property, the distributive property...
John 3:16, Matthew 11:28, John 6:37, 1 Timothy 1:15
Hear the words of comfort of our savior Christ says to all who truly turn to him: Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matt. 11:28) For God so loved the world...
Philippians 2:, Isaiah 7:14, Luke 2:1-20, Matthew 1:, Colossians 3:10, 1 John 3:1, 2 Corinthians 5:17
You have wonderfully created us, O God, and yet more wonderfully restored the dignity of human nature. Allow us to share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesu...
John 3:16-17, Isaiah 53:4-5, Luke 4:18-19, Matthew 1:21, John 1:14, Isaiah 9:6
The Lord, before His Incarnation, let mankind experience all the bitterness of sin, all their powerlessness to eradicate it; and when all longed for a Deliverer, then He appeared, the most wise, all-p...
Psalm 115:1, 1 Peter 5:6-7, Matthew 5:16, James 4:10, Proverbs 3:34, Micah 6:8, John 3:30
Gracious, almighty God, we think of John the Baptist, who was a faithful witness to you. He understood that this role was pointing people toward you and not himself. Yet we know that all too often we ...
1 Peter 2:9, James 5:14-15, 2 Corinthians 5:20, Matthew 9:37-38, Galatians 6:9-10, Romans 12:5, 1 John 3:1
Father–Father of the Lord Jesus and our Father: You’ve blessed us beyond imagination. You redeem us, forgive us and lavish Your gifts on us: Thank You. You choose us, when we wouldn’t choose ourselves...
John 15:13, Romans 5:8, 1 John 3:16, Matthew 5:9, Micah 6:8, Isaiah 53:5, Hebrews 12:2
At a funeral Mass for a friend of Archbishop Romero who was murdered by the government because of her faith in Christ, Romero invited those present to follow this Lord who died, this God who sacrifice...
Revelation 11:15, 1 Corinthians 4:20, John 3:3, Romans 14:17, Colossians 1:13-14, Matthew 6:33
Lord, through Your son have ushered in a new kingdom. You have invited us into that kingdom and You invite us to participate with You. Please show us Your powerful presence today as we discover more o...
Romans 3:23-24, James 1:22, 1 John 3:17, John 15:11, Luke 19:1-10, Luke 1:, Luke 2:, Matthew 2:
Lord of Christmas Peace, we have done wrong. We have tarnished the gift you gave freely. We have buried you so deeply in our hearts, the world doesn't see you. We have not followed Christ, we have...
Matthew 5:14-16, Mark 12:41-44 , 2 Timothy 1:7 , Philippians 2:3-4, 1 John 3:16-18, Acts 20:24, Luke 9:23-24
Gracious God, our decisions are often rooted in keeping comfortable. We keep quiet in order to protect ourselves. We give just enough to look good in front of others. We hold back to avoid pain. Yet y...