He Will Have His Way
Fourth Sunday after Pentecost: Old Testament, Ezekiel 17:22-24 Ezekiel 17:22-24 Not obscure, but neither familiar is our Old Testament reading for the week. And it is such a small piece of a...
Opposition
Third Sunday after Pentecost: Gospel, Mark 3:20-35 Mark 3:20-35 It doesn’t take long in our gospel reading this week to realize how unfriendly many are toward Jesus. Even his own...
Inspirational Woe
Third Sunday after Pentecost: Psalm, Psalm 130 Psalm 130 Yes, you read that correctly. The title really is “Inspirational Woe.” If I could use the emoji with wide eyes and gaping mouth I...
No One Told Him
Third Sunday after Pentecost: Old Testament, Genesis 3:8-15 Genesis 3:8-15 I would venture that most of those who read these meditations regularly know the account of our first parents in the garden. First man...
Just Like Everything Else
Second Sunday after Pentecost: Gospel, Mark 2:23-28 Mark 2:23-28 Our gospel text this week highlights a truth that any reader of the gospels will encounter again and again: Jesus is for us. And not just in...
Admitting Weakness
Second Sunday after Pentecost: Epistle, 2 Corinthians 4:5-12 2 Corinthians 4:5-12 Watch Paul. Watch all the writers of Holy Scripture and you find a theme creeping into their output. The theme is...
Rest and Deliverance
Second Sunday after Pentecost: Old Testament, Deuteronomy 5:12-15 Deuteronomy 5:12-15 Now we enter the long season of the church calendar finally interrupted by the observance in late October of Reformation Sunday. But I love this season...
Opened Eyes
Trinity Sunday: Gospel, John 3:1-17 John 3:1-17 Do you know the exchange in John 3 between Jesus and Nicodemus, the “teacher of Israel”? Many of you...
This Jesus. He’s all we need.
Trinity Sunday: Second Reading, Acts 2:14a, 22-36 Acts 2:14a, 22-36 Fitting for Trinity Sunday that perhaps the second Person of the Trinity is mentioned in our reading by the tag, “This Jesus” three times. You could see...
Angels are Real World Beings
Trinity Sunday: Old Testament, Isaiah 6:1-8 Isaiah 6:1-8 Each time this text rolls into our lectionary I have to pause. A great Reformed professor by the name of R. C. Sproul...
