Three acts into the 28 scenes of the Acts of The Apostles, Peter and John land in jail just like Jesus. They were arrested, jailed overnight, and dragged before the same court that crucified Jesus. I don’t know about you, but I grew up hearing that preachers should avoid politics, stay away from trouble and […]
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Before doppler radar and phone alerts, we went to church on a cold winter’s night, as we always did. I do not remember who our youth leader was; we had six leaders during my time in youth: Mike, Steve, Greg, Kent, David, and some guy who stayed 3 weeks. I have no idea what we […]
Wednesday night, Gayle graciously allowed me to sit in on her final choir practice. She required that I actually sing and sit according to the seating chart; I did. The yellow laminated placeholder read “surprise guest”. You could feel love, community, and harmony filling the room; grace was palpable. Today, our community stands at the […]
Prayer is the oldest and most universal religious practice. People all over the world pray in what the Apostle Paul calls “the rich variety of God’s wisdom” and adds that “Every ethnic group in heaven or on earth is recognized by God.” (Eph 3) The Bible assumes prayer as a practice its readers understood, and […]
If you had the hubris to write a book filled with everything people need to know about God, how might you organize it? Would you open such a Bible with a chapter of definitions and terms? Would you organize your chapters with titles like “how worship feeds our souls” or “dealing with oppression, evil […]
What do you think Mary and Joseph talked about as they walked 90 miles from Nazarath to Bethlehem? You can talk about a lot in a 36 hour walk. They did not really know each other. There was no dating without a chaperone. Mary had spent 3 months away. When do you think Mary told […]
When the time had come. Elizabeth spent five months in seclusion sometimes feeling judged, she spent 9 months of pregnancy, she spent hours breathing and pushing John into the world. Zechariah spent 10 months in silence. When the time has come to raise a child, begin school, start a career, end a relationship, retire, move, […]
Earlier in chapter one, Luke tells us that Elizabeth “was righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord,” but she and Zechariah were unable to have children and were getting on in years. Each year, Zechariah went to Herod’s temple to serve as a lay priest for several […]
Luke opens the “Good News” of God’s coming Kingdom (Luke 8:1) with a little contrast: “During the rule of King Herod of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah”. There were tens of thousands of lay priests in Israel but one King. King Herod was an agent of the Roman Empire having been appointed by […]
I zipped through heavy traffic rushing to Smyrna for the first available appointment to renew my passport. When I arrived I checked the time, it was 6 minutes before the requested “arrive 15 minutes before your appointment”, but six people before me waited for one post office clerk. At the window a loud customer was […]
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