Articles by Cynthia A. Jarvis

Living by the Word

Siding with grace

Romans 11:1-32; Matthew 15:21-28

Jul 31, 2002 by Cynthia A. Jarvis

At the heart of the salvation doctrine is the proclamation that our lives and our deaths are in God’s hand; we are loved of God not by our own merit but by God’s gracious initiative toward us. We need not spend our lives in good works in order to be saved but only in grateful response to being so loved.

Living by the Word

Midwife's tale

Exodus 1:8—2:10; Matthew 16:13-20

Jul 31, 2002 by Cynthia A. Jarvis

The pharoah ordered his Eqyptian supervisors to make the Israelites’ lives “bitter with hard service.” Yet the more the Israelites were oppressed, “the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad.”

Living by the Word

The shadow side

Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28; Matthew 14:22-33

Jul 17, 2002 by Cynthia A. Jarvis

"Fear,” writes Karl Barth, “is the anticipation of a supposedly certain defeat.” Fear describes Joseph’s brothers, who fear and hate their brother’s favored status. Fear strikes the hearts of Jesus’ disciples when they see him walking toward them on the water.

Living by the Word

Our Jewish problem

Genesis 32:22-30; Romans 9:1-5

Jul 17, 2002 by Cynthia A. Jarvis

The relationship of Christians to Jews has the character of a sibling rivalry gone disastrously awry.

Living by the Word

The joke is on us

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Jul 03, 2002 by Cynthia A. Jarvis

"Have you understood all this?" Jesus asked, and they answered, "Yes." Today we are still answering yes . . . and God must be laughing.