1 Kings 19:11-13 , Exodus 33:12-14, Isaiah 30:15 , Mark 1:35-38, Luke 5:15-16, Psalm 46:10
Jesus’ actions, in and of themselves, often make no sense unless we see them as responses to some hidden invitation—an invitation received from time spent alone with his Father. When Jesus was interru...
Psalm 127:1–2, Matthew 25:14–30, Mark 6:3, Proverbs 22:29, 1 Kings 6:7, Exodus 31:1–5
Understanding Jesus’ economic interest and competency should not be surprising when we remember that Jesus spent the majority of his life on earth learning carpentry and running a small business. In J...
Pastor: O come, let us fix our eyes on Jesus, People: the founder and perfecter of our faith, Pastor: who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, ...
1 Kings 19:11-13, Exodus 33:12-14, Isaiah 30:15-21, Mark 5:25-34, Mark 1:35-38, Psalm 46:10
Jesus knew his spiritual journey depended on responsiveness to God’s invitations. Although his job was the most crucial in human history, Jesus did not get compulsive, preoccupied or unable to practic...
Intertwined Narratives Jesus’ encounters with Jairus’ daughter and the bleeding woman are sandwiched together with the intention that the two narratives would unlock and help to interpret the other....
Intertwined Narratives Jesus’ encounters with Jairus’ daughter and the bleeding woman are sandwiched together with the intention that the two narratives would unlock and help to interpret the other....
Matthew 16:21-28, Genesis 4:1-11, Psalm 62:12, Proverbs 24:12, Luke 9:51
At the Turning Point Following Simon Peter’s climatic height of his faith, his confession that Jesus was the “Messiah, the Son of the living God,” Peter now exemplifies our humbling, human tendency t...
Ancient Lens What can we learn from the historical context? A Hard Saying There are (at least) two leaps that Jesus’s listeners have to make here. One is the reality of the incarnation and the o...
Ancient Lens What can we learn from the historical context? A Hard Saying There are (at least) two leaps that Jesus’s listeners have to make here. One is the reality of the incarnation and the o...
What do you want me to do for you, Part 2 Jesus and the disciples are nearing the end of their journey from Galilee to Jerusalem, spanning 100 miles and two chapters in Mark’s Gospel. These verses of...
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 ...
Genesis 22:1-14, Exodus 14:15-28, John 13:1-17, John 15:1-17, Psalm 23:, John 13:7
“ What I am doing, you do not understand now, but in a little while you will understand” Only Jesus knew This would be their last time together. The last supper they would share around the same...
Genesis 1:26-28, Exodus 24:3-8, Matthew 26:26-29, John 15:1-17, Psalm 22:
And they watched Him now, And they wondered. What could Jesus mean? This bread was His body? This wine was His blood? And they didn’t yet know, But one day they would. That before He...
Leader: In today’s Scripture reading, we will hear about the earliest years of the Christian church. What we find is a variety of messengers reaching diverse people groups, all with the same basic m...
Let us not mock God with metaphor, analogy, sidestepping, transcendence; making of the event a parable, a sign painted in the faded credulity of earlier ages: let us walk through the door. …………………………...
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...
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...
Leader: Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you would have been here, my brother would not have died. Even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you." People: Jesus said to he...
Isaiah 53:10, John 1:29, Matthew 27:27-31, Psalm 22:, Isaiah 53:3-5
Pastor: Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. People: He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; Pastor: and as one from w...
Leader: O come, let us fix our eyes on Jesus, People: the founder and perfecter of our faith, Leader: who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, ...
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...
John 12:35-36, John 8:12, Isaiah 60:1-3, Isaiah 60:5, Isaiah 60:1-3
Leader: Jesus said to them, "The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you." People: Arise, shine; for your light has come, an...
Pastor: We who have been given new birth into a living hope, are sent now into the world - People: to look, live and love more like Jesus. Pastor: Go in peace to serve the Lord! Pe...