Today’s reading offers several hard conversations that remove the smile from Abraham’s face. God’s demand for a sacri ce will remove the laughter that Isaac has brought to Sarah and Abraham’s...

Throughout our life we try to avoid hard conversations—the ones that may embarrass, leave you feeling a fool. Hard conversations have an impact on our relationships; they don’t remain the way...

The ght for freedom from apartheid lies deep and strong in the memory of many people who lived through it. Steve Biko, murdered in September 1977, had been a trailblazer who...

Abalding friend remarked, “I try to make life easy for God. No one will have trouble counting the hairs on my head. Oops, there goes another!” It never fails to get...

Surely Jesus’ teachings and actions bring extreme responses. The words of this particular passage come on the heels of the Sermon on the Mount, some healings, and the call of the...

My brother Lance was born with a hearing disability, and I learned early in my life how to communicate well with him. We needed to be attentive to each other, and...

This psalm is the only one ascribed to David in Book III of the Psalms. Familiar Davidic themes run through it. We may wonder, How many times does David need to...

Abraham faces a dif cult situation. The mothers of his pre- cious children are jealous of each other, and he knows he cannot maintain the situation—a distressing time. The teller of...

The pain of abandonment lls this part of the great saga of Abraham. The story thus far has been laden with dif cult choices: the decision to leave Ur and all...

Many churches in the small country towns where I grew up have large wooden boards af xed to the back wall. On these boards are recorded, usually in faded yellow-gold text,...