John 15: 9-17 A man stood in his front yard accessing the damage to his front porch after a storm came through the night before. It didn’t appear severe, but he knew he didn’t have all the tools he needed to remove the damage and begin the work of repairing his house. Before long, several…
A Vine Through a Branch
John 15: 1-8 The pastor asked a small boy in the church, “Can you tell me who made you?” The youngster thought a moment. Then he said to the pastor, “God made part of me.” The pastor asked, “What do you mean, ‘part of you?’” The boy answered, “Well, God made me little. I grew…
The Shepherd and The Gate
Scripture tells us in Acts 1 that Jesus stayed with his disciples for 40 days after his resurrection. His ascension that followed occurred ten days before the Jewish festival of Pentecost which occurred in the Jewish calendar 50 days after Passover; therefore, in the Christian calendar, we recognize the 50 day period yearly from Easter…
You Are Witnesses of These Things
Luke 24: 36-48 These days are full of the run-of-the-mill responsibilities for family and personal duties that capture our attention. Family and friends are under doctors’ care, loved ones are entering new jobs and relationships, unresolved issues both small and great continue to bite at our heals. All of this amounts to life in 21st…
Take My Word For It
Mark 16: 1-8 I used to not like this account of the Easter story from Mark because Jesus doesn’t appear, but this story is more like our lives. When we talk about encountering Jesus usually in our moment or day of conversion, most of the time, we don’t talk about Jesus appearing before us or…
He Made a Ruckus
Mark 11: 1-11 Back in January of 1993, April, Eli and I visited my parents, my brother, my sister and her family in Baltimore. While we were there, the inauguration of Bill Clinton was scheduled. We decided to go to D.C and see the inaugural parade. April and I met in Washington while in seminary…
Is Access Enough?
John 12: 20-26 Today, it all started with some Greek people who attended worship in Jerusalem during Passover wanted to see Jesus. I’ve been a big fan of Bob Dylan since I was in high school. I’ve seen him in concert five times. The most recent time was two years ago with our son in…
Light and Belief
John 3: 14-21 We will soon begin to see in the evening moths fluttering around streetlights and porch lights. Come to find out, they are migratory insects. It is believed moths draw close to the lights in the evening because they are meant to fly at night attracted to the heavenly lights like the moon…
Reflections on the Third Sunday
John 2: 13-22 The temple was not meant to be a marketplace. The religious asked him what authority Jesus had to fashion a whip from cords and drive the sheep and cattle out of the temple and pour the coins of the money changers onto the ground and overturned their tables. He told them, “Destroy…
Crosses and Costs
Mark 8: 31-38 A husband says to his wife, “I don’t want to brag, but here it is February, and I’ve kept every one of my New Year’s resolutions. I’ve kept them in a manila folder in the back of my desk.” Some of us make resolutions like one man said to his friend, “There’s…
Psalm 102 in The Message 