Scripture
This particular soil (Mark 4:26-34)
Seeds do not grow without soil, and soil is a factor of place.
What is the rainbow in Genesis a reminder of?
This year during Pride month, God seems to have a lot of rainbow defenders online. But they aren’t getting the Bible story quite right.
My dad’s old Bible offers more questions than answers
What can I learn from what he underlined—or didn’t?
June 16, Ordinary 11B (2 Corinthians 5:6–10, (11–13), 14–17)
Paul has been wounded by the church, but he is driven to keep engaging.
On not losing heart (2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1)
Learning to trust in God requires an act of will.
June 9, Ordinary 10B (1 Samuel 8:4–20, [11:14–15])
Samuel is a good leader, until he isn’t.
Jesus’ very Jewish question about sabbath (Mark 2:23-3:6)
Jesus is in alignment with many rabbis when he asks, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath?”
A pulpit without a context
I asked ChatGPT for a sermon. What it wrote seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere.
An evangelical scholar reads scripture through Artemis
Sandra Glahn shows how the Greek goddess’s prestige influenced the portrayal of women in Ephesians and 1 Timothy.
June 2, Ordinary 9B (1 Samuel 3:1–10, 11–20)
Opening up space and time in our lives is one way to invite God to speak.
Corrected by Jesus (John 3:1-17)
Jesus’ response to Nicodemus takes the form of a mild rebuke.
The Pharisees didn’t kill Jesus
If they had been the ones presiding over Jesus’ trial, says biblical scholar Israel Knohl, there wouldn’t have been a crucifixion.
May 26, Trinity B (John 3:1–17)
Sometimes being truly free in the Spirit means being deeply bound to the outworking of God’s mission in the world.
Going away and coming closer (John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15)
How could it be better for Jesus to go away?
May 19, Pentecost (Acts 2:1–21)
Acts points us to a better communion, one that preserves and celebrates diversity.
Divine testimony in our hearts (1 John 5:9-13)
According to 1 John, we have received more than mere mortal attestation.
Jesus in the clouds (Acts 1:1-11; Ephesians 1:15-23)
Is there anything more embarrassing than believing in a three-story universe?
May 12, Easter 7B (Psalm 1; John 17:6–19)
In meditating on the words of scripture, I discover a Word who meditates on me.
An imperative to praise (Psalm 98)
The psalmist is bossy: “Sing to the Lord a new song.”
May 9, Ascension (Luke 24:44–53)
In his final moments on earth, Jesus delivers a last lecture—with footnotes.