Sunday’s Coming
Why baptize? (Mark 1:4-11)
And why would anyone baptize the dead?
The magi and their epiphany (Isaiah 60:1-6; Matthew 2:1-12)
Do they later say to their friends, “How could we not have known?”
Wisdom and favor (Luke 2:22-40)
The hymns of Mary, Zechariah, and Simeon reflect the worship material of early Christians.
The light of hope for refugees (Isaiah 9:2-7; Luke 2:1-20)
Mary and Joseph must have felt dejected and homeless.
Baser things and better things (Luke 1:26-38)
The annunciation is a story about a woman bearing forth the better things from the baser.
John the avant-garde (John 1:6-8, 19-28)
John the Baptist had no chance at being ordinary—but he takes his outlier status to new heights all on his own.
The voices we hear (Mark 1:1-8)
It is noisy out there.
Before and after the end (Mark 13:24-37)
Jesus speaks of end things as a way of contextualizing all the other things in life that feel like endings.
I was sick and you visited me (Matthew 25:31-46)
Each year, about 1.9 million new cases of cancer are diagnosed in the US.
Frederick Douglass’s talents (Matthew 25:14-30)
When the true master returned, he found Douglass using his gifts for justice.
All our choices (Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25)
We are faced with many decisions each day.
The path to clarity (Matthew 23:1-12)
Is it possible to know what is real? Whom to believe?
Words to remember (Psalm 34:1-10, 22)
Psalm 34 is like balm to the weary spirit and nourishment to the hungry soul.
Both mother and child (1 Thessalonians 2:1-8)
Paul, speaking for Silas and Timothy, offers a layered metaphor.
The hidden God (Exodus 33:12-23)
The God of Moses is both intimate and mysterious, known and unknowable.
Delighting in whatever is lovely (Philippians 4:1-9)
Can we notice what is true and noble, even when it is also ordinary?
The Psalm 19 test (Psalm 19)
How do we wade through the vast morass of different teachings and beliefs about the God of the Bible?
Of the same mind? (Philippians 2:1-13)
Are there healthy, non-authoritarian ways to approach Paul’s call to like-mindedness?
Testimony service (Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45)
There is something truly transformative about giving thanks unto the Lord, calling upon God’s name, and making God’s deeds known among the people.
Why so much judgment? (Romans 14:1-12)
Because language matters, careful teaching and preaching matter.