The scripture for this Second Sunday of Advent is Mark 1:1-8. Mark is the oldest and shortest of the four Gospels. The word “gospel” itself means “good news”. And Mark begins this book with the words “[t]he beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, God’s Son…”. Compared to the other three Gospels, Mark […]
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Our scripture for Sunday is Exodus 16:1-21. The Hebrews are in their third month of the journey toward the Promised Land. They are hungry and have suddenly forgotten God’s powerful acts that brought them from captivity to freedom. Times are tough for them and already, people are ready to go back to slavery because they
This Sunday’s passage is Exodus 2:11-3:22. Moses is now an adult and he is fleeing for his life! Pharaoh knows what he did. So, he makes it to Midian and there he meets his future wife and he settles and they have a son. Pretty impressive. But, at the end of chapter two, more time
The scripture for this Sunday is Exodus 1:1-2:10. The Hebrews had been in Egypt for some time. Joseph, his brothers, and all who knew them had died. A new king came to power in Egypt who did not know Joseph and he feared the Israelites. Pharaoh forced the Hebrews into work gangs and enslaved them.
“Midwives of Compassion” Read More »
Matthew 14:13-21 is this Sunday’s scripture and can be found here. Typically, this story is called the “Feeding of the 5,000”, but women and children were also present as we’re told in verse 21, so the number is probably closer to 20,000. Regardless, that’s a lot of people Jesus feeds in an isolated area. This
The scripture this Sunday is Matthew 13:31-52. Jesus gives us 6 parables and an explanation to a previous one in these verses. They all describe what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed, yeast, hidden treasure, a merchant searching for a pearl, etc. To the 1st century
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Our scripture for Sunday is Genesis 1:1-2:4a. Let’s take our assumptions about Genesis and set them aside for a moment. For now, let’s look at Genesis through the eyes of the exile. After King Solomon’s death, Israel was split into two kingdoms-Israel (North) and Judah (South). Israel was conquered and taken into captivity first. Hundreds
The scripture for Pentecost Sunday is 1 Corinthians 12:1-13. Remember, the Corinthian Church has many factions. Some are trying to develop a hierarchy on spiritual gifts (teaching, preaching, praying, etc.). Yet, the Apostle Paul argues that there is no such thing as a hierarchy. There are different functions, yes! There are appropriate times when various
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During the Season of Easter, we have been going through 1 Peter. The Christian’s addressed in this letter are Gentile Christians who live in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. Peter calls them “God’s chosen strangers living in the world of the diaspora”. That is, these converts to Christianity have given up status in the
You Are God’s People Read More »
The scripture this Sunday is from Matthew’s Gospel. For a moment, Mary Magdalene and Mary were the only bearers of the Good News of our Risen Christ. For a moment, they were the only witnesses to the Resurrection. For a moment, they were the only preachers. Add grief over losing their friend only to find
Because He Lives, We Can Face Tomorrow Read More »
