(Mark 8:31-38) This week we continue our Lenten series on the Power of Sacrifice as we look at a statement from Jesus that comes at a turning point in His interaction with the disciples. I’ve often said that the Gospel of Mark is like the Reader’s Digest condensed version of a Gospel. Here in the…
(Mark 1:9-15) At the start of Lent, a season that calls us to the very heart of the Christian story, it makes sense that we begin with the cornerstone of what it means to be a disciple of Christ: the gospel. While many have articulated versions of the gospel that include ideas about substitutionary atonement…
(2 Corinthians 4:3-6) February is Black History Month, so it’s appropriate to look at a film that tells an important story – one that not only connects with the African-American experience in the United States, but also helps us understand an important theme in today’s epistle text from 2 Corinthians. In 1989, Matthew Broderick, Morgan…
(Isaiah 40:21-31) Feeling a little burned out on bad news? You’re not alone. The year 2020 seemed to be a month-to-month challenge to top bad news with worse news, dominated by the coronavirus pandemic. Add to that a contentious election cycle, protests and unrest over social issues, wildfires in Australia and California, and a host…
(Psalm 111) Let’s say you’re watching Guy’s Grocery Games or Judge Judy or whatever it is you watch on TV and an annoying commercial pops up for mouthwash. The ad shows a woman leaning to pet her dog, the dog whines and backs away and then the camera zooms in for a close-up of her…
(Mark 1:14-20) At a hospital in Galveston, Texas, a Filipino nurse named Rosalie was working the night shift. One of her patients was a 92-year-old engineer with a broken arm. Another was an 82-year-old man with renal disease. The third patient was only 52, but diabetes had caused him to lose his left foot. The…
(John 1:43-51) Seeing is believing. This is the bedrock upon which the advertising world rests. A salesperson at the Godzilla Hawg Shop can talk to you about the 2021 Kawasaki Z125 Pro until he’s blue in the face. Won’t matter much. You have to see it to believe it. You have to try it before…
(Genesis 1:1-5) Girls are as good as boys at math. That sounds like an encouraging statement, doesn’t it? The sentence tries to send the message that both sexes are equal in their abilities. Girls, it seems to say, are equal to boys in their ability at math. But words are very powerful, and so is…
(John 1:1-18) My mom was born on January 3rd. Today would have been her 87th birthday. Growing up, a tradition in our house was to leave things decorated until January 3rd and then start packing up the Christmas decorations, so I’ve never understood folks who have everything down and out on December 26th. No offense…
(Isaiah 61:10–62:3) In 1982, as a gift to myself after graduating from college – I had squeezed four years into five and felt I deserved something, I took a group bicycle tour around the Puget Sound. We started in Seattle, went up into British Columbia, came down into the Olympia National Forest and back to…