The archive of the online Bible study of the book of Psalms is available here or as a YouTube playlist.
The archive of the online Bible study of the book of Acts is available here or as a YouTube playlist.
1/27/2019 Epiphany 3
Acts of Mercy, Advocacy and Proclaiming the Gospel Luke 4:16-30 In his first recorded sermon Jesus quotes Isaiah 61 and declares that in that moment the prophecy is fulfilled in himself. Jesus is the Christ! And the Christ has a mission which is also defined by Isaiah 61; to do acts of mercy (sight to the blind), to advocate for justice (proclaim liberty), and to preach good news. This become programmatic for the body of Christ as well.
1/20/2019 Epiphany 2 John 2:1-11 Faith that God is Good
Have you ever felt rebuffed by God, like your prayer gets about as far as the ceiling and just bounces back? It is not an uncommon experience and something that Mary, Jesus’ mother, experienced too. Feeling rebuffed can lead us down a bad path of bitterness and non-responsiveness to God. But there is another way. Mary shows us what that is.
1/13/19 Baptism of Our Lord Isaiah 43:1-7
Identity in Baptism Where do we find our identity? Is it in our new year’s resolutions or the other ways that we try to remake ourselves? Isaiah reminded Israel that her identity was to be found in God, the God who created, formed, redeemed and called her by name. Our identity is not in what we do but in what God has done for us. In our baptism, like Israel, God creates, forms, redeems, and calls us by name.
1/6/2019 Epiphany Rejoice with Exceeding Joy
Herod and the Magi are typical of two types of people; those who oppose God and those who have faith. Opposition leads to a troubled spirit as typified in Herod. Faith leads to exceeding joy as typified in the Magi. So how do you respond to the reign of God breaking into your world? Are you troubled in spirit or do you rejoice?
12/30/2018 Christmas 1 The Law at Work
This First Sunday after Christmas can feel like a time in between. It is not Christmas Day nor is it New Year’s or even Epiphany. It is somewhere in between. We may even feel the lack of structure in our professional lives; do we go to work or take the day off? In these days and others God’s law is meant to give us structure and order. In fact, while salvation comes through the Gospel, the Law plays an important…
12/24/2018 Christmas Eve – Making Sense of the Census
The first seven verses of the birth narrative of Jesus are dominated not by the birth but the census. That is not to say that the birth is not the main thing and the climax of these verses. But the census plays an important part in telling the story of Jesus’ birth. What is Luke saying by giving the census such a prominent place? How do we make sense of the census?
Expectations
Advent 3C Luke 7:18-28 Life can hardly be lived without expectations. They can be too low or high or misguided but we have them. So the issue is managing expectations. And this is true not only at Christmas time but generally in our relationship to God… This is the story of our text for today. John the Baptist, in prison, has some doubts about Jesus and who he is. His doubts stem from some misguided expectations. Today we see…
It All Starts in the Wilderness
Advent 2C Luke 3:1-14 What do you think of when the word “wilderness” is mentioned? For the Jew of Jesus’ day, the wilderness wanderings would have immediately come to mind. The prophets used the events of the wilderness to tell God’s people… that the wilderness is where God’s work of restoration would begin. So when John appeared I the wilderness with the message of repentance and baptism, they had an idea that God was up to something. Advent is our…
Your Salvation Draws Near
Have you ever wondered about the catastrophic event in nature we continually see with ever greater frequency and intensity? It seems like the world is coming unglued. In fact, Jesus warns as much… But the point is not to leave us perplexed, fearful, or full of foreboding. Rather Jesus say when you see these things look up. It is a time for faith not anxiety. Your redemption is drawing near. Of this we can be sure for while this world…
Stay Awake
Are you tired? It seems that we all are and in fact, the statistics bear that out. The average person gets less that the recommended hours of sleep and many have trouble falling asleep. So Jesus’ words, “Stay awake” may not be the message we are eager to hear… But Jesus is not talking about physical sleep but about spiritual watchfulness. Fine. But what does that look like? Jesus’ short parable about the household whose master has gone on a…