The disciples certainly have reasons to be troubled. What starts as a celebratory meal is ruined by Jesus’ predictions of betrayal by Judas and denial by Peter. Similarly, Jesus is troubled...

When the early church witnessed Stephen’s death, they must have been struck not only by the injustice but the lost opportunity. Stephen was a persuasive and holy man who could have...

We are so accustomed to Stephen’s serene posture in death that it’s easy to forget the fiery speech that got him martyred. Stephen shocked the Sanhedrin by identifying his hearers as...

There is one thing about being a sheep that we don’t often hear in sermons: Sheep don’t live by themselves; they are part of a flock. People who actually know things...

My first memory of Psalm 23 does not come from a funeral or church service but a prayer meeting in my grandmother’s backyard. Grandma’s Saturday morning prayer meetings were a permanent...

Early in my ministry life I was asked, “What would happen if one hundred new families suddenly showed up at your church?” This seemed so far-fetched that I hadn’t given it...

I was an adult the first time I ever saw a sheep in person. I have to confess that all those paintings of Jesus and sheep radically undersold what real sheep...

Our text speaks of a reality that often sounds foreign to the ears of most Christians in North America: unjust suffering. Though we live in an era of protest and digital...

Psalm 23 is one of the most popular psalms in the Bible. The King James Version has immortalized the words of this psalm with poetic language that has endured through many...

Though shepherds and sheep are the prevailing images for most of the readings this week, when we stand far enough away we can notice another connecting point: the constant presence of...