Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Old Testament, Ezekiel 34:11-24 Ezekiel 34:11-24 Any discussion of shepherds, sheep, wolves and the like are loaded in the Bible. What do I mean? Well, early on God himself portrays himself as a shepherd of his...
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Gospel, Luke 14:25-35 Luke 14:25-35 One of my favorite pastor/writers is A. W. Tozer. Tozer pastored in the middle of the 20th century both in America and Canada and was a favorite among many American evangelicals. Favorite to some, but...
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Epistle, Philemon 1-21 Philemon 1-21 Probably no New Testament letter is as unfamiliar to Bible readers as the little book of Philemon. It is a letter from Paul, imprisoned, now as an old man for preaching the gospel of our Lord...
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Old Testament, Deuteronomy 30:15-20 Deuteronomy 30:15-20 Pretty simple stuff here from dear old Moses. God is life. There are no viable options. But here is something not so simple. Life, or the attempts at life...
Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost: Gospel, Luke 4:1-14 Luke 4:1-14 Baptism is an entrance. Baptism is a purposeful prelude. Have you ever looked at Holy Baptism that way? Oh, the magnificent treasures brought to us in our...
Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost: Epistle, Hebrews 13:1-17 Hebrews 13:1-17 A few years ago a pop group called “The Pointer Sisters” brought a fun and funky tune to the pop music world called, “We are family.” It spouted all...
Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost: Old Testament, Proverbs 25:2-10 Proverbs 25:2-10 Dear Dr. Mitchell at the seminary used to love to remind us of the quip from King Solomon, “In all thy getting, get wisdom.” Solomon’s great collection of proverbs...
Third Sunday after Pentecost: Gospel, Luke 9:51-62 Luke 9:51-62 So many parallels between this gospel reading and our Old Testament lesson this week. We find the question of discipleship rising out of the discussion as Jesus walks through...
Third Sunday after Pentecost: Psalm 16 Psalm 16 Psalm 16 is one of those psalms that, whenever I finish reading it, praying it, I know I should return to it more than I do. I read the...
Third Sunday after Pentecost: Old Testament, 1 Kings 19:19b-21 1 Kings 19:19b-21 There are always, always challenges to the Word of God continuing to go forward. In our Old Testament lesson this week, the great prophet Elijah bemoans his stance as the...
