January 04, 2009
The visit of the magi is recorded only in Matthew's gospel. They are mentioned in...
January 11, 2009
King Herod, appointed by the Romans in 37 B.C. to rule over Judea, was known for his...
January 18, 2009
The king cake contains a hidden baby. If you happen to get the baby, you are...
January 25, 2009
February 01, 2009
Jesus called for his hearers to repent-to turn around and head in another direction...
February 08, 2009
Jesus stood up to read from the scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue of his hometown...
February 15, 2009
Mark records the initial message of Jesus in Galilee: "The Kingdom of God is near...
February 22, 2009
The fourth gospel differs in many ways from the other three. John enriches and expands...
March 01, 2009
Jesus is tempted by the devil, after 40 days of fasting, to turn the loaf-looking...
March 08, 2009
Jesus was proclaiming and bringing the kingdom of God on this earth. He was seeking to...
March 15, 2009
Jesus has twice been tempted by the devil. He is tired, hungry, lonely, and...
March 22, 2009
In one of the most controversial texts in the Gospel of John, the evangelist records...
March 29, 2009
The anticipation of pain is part of suffering, and it may be as difficult as the pain...
April 05, 2009
A crowd armed with clubs and swords came to arrest Jesus. One of their leaders lost an...
April 12, 2009
The kingdom is a theme in the trial of Jesus including his interrogation by the Roman...
April 19, 2009
This parable tells the secrets about the kingdom of God. Particularly, it relates how...
April 26, 2009
The authenticity of people who claim to be in the kingdom of God has always been a...
May 03, 2009
Here are two similar parables placed together for emphasis. Jesus starts both stories...
May 10, 2009
Jesus combines two pictures again, a hidden treasure and the finest pearl. In each...
May 17, 2009
One of the strangest and most memorable pictures Jesus ever painted with his words is...
May 24, 2009
May 31, 2009
The employer’s decision in this story does seem unfair. He pays the very same wage to...
June 07, 2009
This story is wide and deep. It tells us about the wonderful invitation that the king...
June 14, 2009
“Happiness—who has it and why” serves as the introduction to the Sermon on the Mount...
June 21, 2009
We need to connect the reality and authenticity of our worship with the condition of...
June 28, 2009
Gouging out an eye, cutting off a hand--this is both gruesome and unforgettable...
July 05, 2009
We enjoy a variety and quantity of food and clothes that other generations could not...
July 12, 2009
A “standard” is “something set up and established by authority as a rule for the...
July 19, 2009
The teachings of Jesus profoundly affect our language, culture, and vocabulary. The...
July 26, 2009
A half million attacks and robberies occur in public high schools each month...
August 02, 2009
I picture my lovely wife sitting beside me on the couch, her hands busy with some...
August 09, 2009
My earliest memory is in black and white. I am standing with my brother Tim beside my...
August 16, 2009
Our first love is to be God himself. This is the heart of the first commandment in the...
August 23, 2009
The story about the Good Samaritan is introduced by an encounter with an “expert in...
August 30, 2009
Loving one another is the emulation of Christ.
September 06, 2009
Jesus spotted Zacchaeus in the tree. I imagine this notorious thief was preparing for...
September 13, 2009
God told Moses that he would make the Hebrew people “a kingdom of priests and a holy...
September 20, 2009
The U.S. Constitution requires that the president be born in this country.
September 27, 2009
We have said and sung, “Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory.” It is the...
October 04, 2009
Daniel was a young Hebrew intellectual taken to Babylon when the Kingdom of Judah was...
October 11, 2009
The first half of the Book of Daniel reads something like an historical narrative of...
October 18, 2009
A woman clothed with the sun is pictured here along with a red dragon engaged in a...
October 25, 2009
Many times I have stood beside the open grave with grieving families. Often I have...
November 01, 2009
Jesus mentions both “my church” and “the kingdom of heaven” only in this passage...
November 08, 2009
The disciples are contemplating the departure of their resurrected Lord. He is...
November 15, 2009
“After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken” (Acts 4:31).
November 22, 2009
“We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” Paul and Barnabas...
November 29, 2009
Paul told the Jews, “It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this...
December 06, 2009
Mary is such an amazing and endearing presence in the story of Christmas. She is young...
December 13, 2009
I do not know if Zechariah was a singer. Maybe he sang out of tune. Maybe he was operatic.
December 20, 2009
The government is going to take a census. A census is very important to the government...
December 27, 2009
These shepherds are on the low end of the economic ladder in Israel. They really don’t...
