One part of this psalm that has always made me pause is the part about preparing “a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” I picture the shepherd as...

This psalm is so familiar in our churches and in our culture that it is hard to read it without bringing considerable baggage. It is the sort of biblical excerpt that...

Samuel is sure he knows what God is looking for in Israel’s next king. Now that God has sent him to Jesse’s house, Samuel’s confidence grows: Don’t worry, God, it will...

The woman who meets Jesus at the well in the middle of the day has gotten a bad rap in history. She’s been maligned for her sinful lifestyle, evidenced it is...

During those years in high school while I was thirsting for accomplishment, someone gave me a small book that discusses the verse from this passage that says, “But God proves his...

A few years ago, I returned to the home I grew up in to clean out my childhood bedroom. The closet was still crammed with trophies, certificates, and medals I’d accumulated...

When I read the second half of Psalm 95, which reports God’s reaction to the Israelites’ complaining of thirst in the wilderness, I find myself asking whether God really said these...

Most mornings when I was in graduate school, I joined the Episcopal campus minister and a few other students in a small chapel for morning prayer. I fell in love with...

Sometimes when we read a passage of scripture, we have to fill in the gaps, noticing what’s not said. In this passage, I think something is missing: a celebration. After the...

I teach preaching at a theological seminary, and each year my colleagues and I assign this passage as a sermon text to a number of students. I’m accustomed to hearing sermons...