Do you ever think about how the Bible opens? “When God began to create…” Did you sense the liturgical pattern: the text calling, responding, repeating the chorus like a hymn? Imagine a cantor’s melodic chanting resonating through the walls of an ancient synagogue as a new Torah cycle began with God beginning to create! God […]
Author Archives: paulrpurdue
The ancient craft of letter or scroll reproduction was done entirely by hand, from the choices of the leather artisan to the scribe’s font sizing choices; these little human differences could mean that at the end of a letter there might be space for another verse. A scribe might add a postscript like Colossians 4 […]
I love Pentecost Sunday, maybe for the clamor and chaos of it- loud sounds, the crowd full of questions, bewildered and surprised by the Holy Spirit. During college some of my curious Christian friends started visiting different churches around town. They visited a small holiness church on the edge of town. Long before Billboard began […]
Ships, seas, trade winds and travel stir human imagination. In the verses before our passage Bishop Peter has been traveling around the Jerusalem Annual Conference and finds himself at the home of Simon the Tanner in the busy port of Joppa. I like to imagine Simon made the finest quality leather for the scrolls Luke […]
Two years ago, my cousin Tom and I bought a tractor for the farm that has been in our family for over 100 years. Our tractor arrived within a week, but due to pandemic delays our bush hog was on backorder. When Boo from Big Three Tractor finally called, our hayfields had not been mowed […]
Four inches of snow covered the roads, and it was still falling. Dad found me and said, “Your mother wants some things from the grocery; let’s go.” I smiled as it was easy to persuade Dad to buy Cheetos, Captain Crunch, Cokes, and other treats on Mom’s ‘no-buy’ list. Walking to the car, Dad tossed […]
“After the Sabbath, early in the morning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at Jesus’ tomb.” They brought spices to anoint Jesus’ body and wondered who would break the seal and roll back the stone. Mark clarifies that the “other Mary” was Mary the mother of James and adds Salome as an […]
“Now, I don’t know how long this Saturday in the state of Tennessee will last, but I’ve got Good News: Sunday always comes, resurrection always comes. Resurrection is a promise and a prophecy! We are still here and we will never quit.” Rep. Justin Pearson
Opening the most complex week in the Christian year, Palm Sunday holds a jarring spiritual pivot. We come in singing “All glory, laud and honor, to You, Redeemer, King, to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring,” and leave singing “O sacred head now wounded.” Perhaps this week’s heavy hearts find a parallel […]
It is possible that I am about to preach the most boring sermon you’ve ever heard. If you have been reading through Matthew with us, I imagine you have seen themes emerging. There are many themes in Matthew. Today, I’m going to walk us through one theme: Jesus’ conflict with church and community leaders, a […]
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