What an invitation this is, overwhelming in its majesty and awesome in its presentation. It is a call to consecration, dedication, newness, growth, unimagined purpose, possibilities, and even power. It’s a...

The first flush of excitement that comes with the opening of a new year is fading fast and may even have dissipated completely for you. And yet there is still the...

Who would have thought that Joseph’s boy would grow up to be a prophet? That’s what they were asking in Nazareth that day. Who would have thought? But there are some...

“Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” That must have sounded like great news. The scripture was coming true. Surely that meant the Messiah was coming. The people would...

God calls us to love one another. That’s what Paul is saying to the Corinthians and to us! We think, That’s really hard. How can I love her? I don’t even...

One little-noted event during the bleak time between January 6 and the beginning of Lent is the story of Jesus’ baptism. And that reminds us of the act of remembering our...

As I write in the summer of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic is at its height. People are getting sick. People are dying. People are losing their jobs. The economy is going...

God calls us to be responsible citizens. Jeremiah’s call included being overwhelmed by national and international events—to be set over nations, to build up and tear down. He lived in a...

Jeremiah lived in troubled times. His kingdom of Judah was nearing the end of its political life under the threat of Babylonian expansion. At the same time, there was a movement...

I cannot tell you how many preachers I have heard recite these words over the years. All kinds of preachers from an array of traditions, cultures, and backgrounds. Sometimes this is...