Context This Sunday’s passage takes place during Jesus’ long final journey to Jerusalem (which takes up over a third of Luke’s Gospel). In the preceding pericope the disciples have asked Jesus to in...
You can heal, Christ has touched you. You can love, Christ has sought you. You can give yourself away. Christ has come walking and called you. You can break the barriers from which others suff...
When you are prescribed an antibiotic, doctors always remind you of the importance of taking the full course of the treatment. Often you will start to feel better after a few days, and then with the d...
Pastor: As God’s chosen ones, beloved sons and daughters of God, hearts cleansed by Jesus’ blood, let us pray for the Church, for the world, and for all people according to their needs. Heavenly ...
Isaiah 55:10-11 , 1 Samuel 3:1-10 , Habakkuk 2:3-4, John 1:35-39, 2 Timothy 2:2, Psalm 34:17-19
Pastor: Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs. O Lord, our heavenly Father, receive our thanks that You preserve Your Church on earth...
Gracious God, how often we have withheld a word of kindness, of truth and of love. We have lifted our voices in quick criticism rather than gracious encouragement. Through our actions and inactions we...
Mark 5:14-20, Philippians 3:13-14, Isaiah 43:18-19, Titus 3:5, John 3:3
In the story of Jesus and the demon-possessed man in Mark 5:14-20, Jesus gives new life to that man. When the townspeople saw the result of Jesus’ healing – an entirely new man, almost unrecognizable ...
Isaiah 40:1-11, Psalm 23:, John 10:1-21, Hebrews 13:20-21, Jeremiah 31:10, 1 Peter 5:4
This prayer claims the promises of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, on behalf of a person or group in need. Fill in names, pronouns, and details as best suits the situation. Good, Good Shepherd Your word...
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....
Jesus asks, “Do you want to be made well?” Do I? Do I really? I’ve been this way so long It’s what people expect of me It’s what I expect of me I know this life I’m getting by Is it good? No Is...
Mark 7:24-37, Psalm 103:2-3, Colossians 1:13-14, Ephesians 1:7, John 20:23, Luke 5:24, Isaiah 35:5-6
The One who cast out demons, who made the deaf to hear and the mute to speak, has also the authority and power to forgive sins and to make us whole. I declare to you in the name of Jesus Christ that o...
Mark 5:21-43, Mark 2:17, Luke 5:31, Matthew 9:12, Isaiah 53:5, Psalm 147:3, 1 Peter 2:24
Jesus, our Great Physician, our sins have brought wounds on ourselves and others. Heal our hearts first, that we would no longer desire the sins that have only brought us and others pain. Go on to hea...
1 Peter 2:9, Isaiah 9:6, John 16:13, Psalm 72:11, Psalm 133:1
Leader: On this Christmas [morning/eve], let us pray to our incarnate Lord Jesus, who has brought us out of darkness and into His own marvelous light. Jesus, you were born for us and given to us: ...
The Fast-Paced Gospel “Immediacy” defines the Gospel of Mark’s rendition of Jesus’ ministry. Its fast pace reads like a comic strip of heroic proportions. Before one miraculous event is over another ...
Mark 1:29-39, 1 Corinthians 9:16-23, Isaiah 40:21-31, Mark 1:29-39, Psalm 147:1-11, 20c, Mark 1:21-28
Preaching Commentary The Fast-Paced Gospel “Immediacy” defines the Gospel of Mark’s rendition of Jesus’ ministry. Its fast pace reads like a comic strip of heroic proportions. Before one miraculous...
Matthew 28:18-20, Luke 4:18-19, Luke 15:3-7, Matthew 11:28-30, Matthew 25:35-40, Galatians 5:13, Matthew 5:9, John 13:34-35, Philippians 4:4-7, Matthew 5:14-16
When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with the flocks, then the work of Christmas begins: to find t...