Second Sunday after Christmas (Year 4, NL)

The book of Revelation presents a conflict with truly ludicrous odds.

Again and again, Jesus sees people as they are.

Who is Jesus? The first chapter of John’s Gospel offers many answers.

Jesus’ word of insight to Nathanael seems a lot like a carnival grift.

So I took a new name—as many characters in the Bible do.

He might be the answer, too. But he doesn’t offer much in the way of tweetable platitudes.

Great preaching always points to Jesus.

What are you looking for? It’s a good question, maybe the only question.

Jesus quotes the Jacob’s ladder story in Genesis.

The “Son of Humanity,” the “true Israelite,” and the broken places in our communities

"Look!" says John. "Come and see," says Jesus.

What do we do when we read a story where the ending is already known?

So often the call to discipleship slides into becoming a call to church membership.

John 1:29–42

One time at a women’s retreat, I was asked to tell my call story. I told this woman the whole, convoluted story—about serving as a missionary in Japan, about being restless in my work and volunteering for leadership roles in my church, about discovering old journals where I had written about my desire to study theology, about my memory of sitting in church as a teenager and hearing the pastor give the sermon and saying, “If I was a man, that is what I would want to do.” I told her that it had taken me a long time, but I finally realized that God was calling me to be a pastor.

She was not impressed.

The story of Jesus, at least the way John tells it, begins unspectacularly. “There was a man sent by God, and his name was John.” What does John do for a living? He is a preacher. We can’t get to Jesus without going through a witness, no epiphany without preaching.