Matthew's Christmas story intends to show that Jesus is Israel's long-awaited Messiah. Yet there is so much in the story that is unexpected and even scandalous for his first readers.…
Following up on Jesus's "Victory Parade" into Jerusalem, some Greeks ask to meet Jesus. Jesus recalls Daniel 7 when he interprets this request as a sign that the "Son of…
Ascension Sunday celebrates Jesus being carried to heaven to sit as the Son of God at the right hand of the Father. The power he exercises is different than the…
While America celebrates a presidential inauguration on January 20, the next day commemorates the 500th anniversary of the first believers baptisms, the inauguration of the Anabaptist movement. The Anabaptists pointed…
Where are you from? The answer depends on your perspective. The Biblical perspective is that "The Earth is the Lord's" and we are aliens and tenants. Because we are not…
The Ascension of Jesus into Heaven marks the end of the Resurrection appearances. Yet, Jesus promised that his presence and the Kingdom inaugurated by his presence would continue. At Pentecost,…
The resurrection of Jesus is not just about what happens after we physically die. Resurrection is about God's approach to all of life--and death. Encountering the Risen Jesus like the…
The story of the golden calf in Exodus 32 illustrates what happens when people who live in fear make compromises with the lesser powers of this world. In Paul's letter…
Both Moses and Samuel spoke of the dangers of a king taking military power, political power, and economic power to himself. Israel's history confirms those dangers led to the end…
Psalm 40 is both a psalm of lament and a psalm of Thanksgiving. Lament is a legitimate Christian response to God in the face of a world that is not…