The author of Second Thessalonians surely takes the church to task for its laziness. He tells the faithful to “keep away from believers who are living in idleness.” Ostracism: that seems...

The psalmist praises God for being his salvation. The verses prior recount the many ways divine salvation has come. God has been the psalmist’s refuge, his strength and protection, and now...

The single most important event of the Old Testament, the story that the Hebrew people told about themselves, was that of the Exodus, their release from captivity in Egypt. They go...

As we would expect from a prophet, much of the book of Isaiah contains warnings and pronouncements about the sins of the people. The prophet has warned them of the coming...

It’s easy in our darkest hour to despair. We rehearse the tribulations, trials, and troubles that bring us to the height of our pain. I suppose something helpful comes from telling...

A professor of mine once said that there are no bad questions, only bad answers. I used to believe that. However, as I write this meditation, election season has rolled round...

When Franklin D. Roosevelt looked over the crowd gathered to hear his first inaugural address in 1933, one emotion dominated the nation: fear. An unprecedented economic collapse, an agricultural disaster, and...

The first chapel service I attended while in seminary is a favorite memory of mine. My classmates and I filed into the sanctuary after our first morning of tackling New Testament...

The fact that we have a hymnbook in the center of our scriptures has always impressed me. That placement makes sense to me as a pastor. Poll any random sample of...

The priestly Sadducees are rich, educated, and serious. They reject the notion of the resurrection of the dead and view Jesus’ teachings on that subject as dangerous. In an attempt to...