Scripture: 1 Samuel 10:7 – “Now when these signs meet you, do whatever you see fit to do, for God is with you.” (NRSVUE)   Sometimes, I am fascinated by the testimony of people who have rejected or left the church. I want to know what we as Christians can do to better welcome people into the Gospel. Common refrains are that faith is irreconcilable with science, that the Bible is full of contradictions, and the hypocrisy of Christians proves that religion cannot transform live

Scripture: Genesis 27:38 – “Esau said to his father, ‘Have you only one blessing, father? Bless me, me also, father!’ And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.” (NRSVUE)   We know that we should bring up our children in the faith and teach them the lessons of the Bible. We point out people like Abraham and David and tell children to be like them. But one thing I have discovered is that the great heroes of the Bible are not simple characters that we can just mindlessly emulate. T

Scripture: Acts 9:26 – “When he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples; and they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple.” (NRSVUE)   We always hear about “Road to Damascus” moments in people’s lives. Even in our secular age, people know at least the broad details of the story. Saul( who will eventually change his name to Paul) was a great persecutor of the church, but as he traveled to the city of Damascus, he was overwhelme

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 – “For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill and a time to heal; a time to break down and a time to build up; a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance; a time to throw away stones and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing; a ti

Scripture: Luke 2:19 – “…and Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.” (NRSVUE)   Christmas Eve is one of the ultimate crosswinds days of the year. It is a day that is often tremendously busy, as families are either preparing for all the festivities of Christmas Day or engaging in Christmas Eve traditions. But it is also (supposed to be) a day of quiet reflection and anticipation of appreciation of the miracle of Christ coming into the world. How do we f

Scripture: Jude 24-25 – “Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to make you stand without blemish in the presence of his glory with rejoicing, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”   There are many similes about how uncertain life can be. Life is like a roller coaster. A house of cards. Flying blind. I’d like to add another. Life is like walking on a dock on

Scripture: Isaiah 41:14-15 – “Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you maggot Israel! I will help you, says the Lord; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. I will make of you a threshing sledge, sharp, new, and having teeth; you shall thresh the mountains and crush them, and you shall make the hills like chaff.” (NRSVUE)   The Bible has lots of common imagery: God as a shepherd or a rock, Jesus as a sacrificial lamb, peace represented by a dove, or oil as a sign of being chosen by

Scripture: Isaiah 30:21 – “And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’” (NRSVUE)   When it comes to the season of Advent, we go through a bit of mental gymnastics. We anticipate and prepare for the coming of Jesus. We look at the promises of the prophets, the angels, and even John the Baptist which will be fulfilled with Christ. And Christmas becomes the celebration as Jesus comes

Scripture: Psalm 100:1 – “Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.” (NRSVUE)   Christmas is less than a month away. One of my favorite Christmas stories is How the Grinch Stole Christmas . The Grinch is a nasty character who hates the Christmas celebrations of his neighbors in Whoville and decides to steal their presents, food, and decorations to ruin the fun. One reason he does this is because of the clamor the Whos all make. “For Tomorrow, he knew, all the Who girls

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:23 – “‘All things are permitted,’ but not all things are beneficial. ‘All things are permitted,’ but not all things build up.” (NRSVUE)   I remember when I was in high school, I went on a windjammer cruise with my friend, and I expressed my faith to another teen. He said I was naïve and too obsessed with rules. He especially highlighted the various contradictions in the Bible and what only an idiot would believe it. He didn’t convince me to abandon

Scripture: 2 John 5 – “But now, dear lady, I ask you, not as though I were writing you a new commandment but one we have had from the beginning: let us love one another.” (NRSVUE)   There is something to be said for simplicity. After all, I think most of us have heard of the principle of KISS: keep it simple, stupid! This week I want to look at that Second Letter of John, the second shortest book in the entire Bible. As you might expect, this short book has a very simple mess

Scripture: Zechariah 1:15 – “…I am extremely angry with the nations that are at ease, for while I was only a little angry, they made the disaster worse.” (NRSVUE)   I think that even people who have never cracked open a bible know about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse from the Revelation to John. They ride on white, red, black, and pale green horses, symbolizing conquest, strife, famine, and death. They are figures of terror, representing suffering and upheaval which must

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 – “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God.” (NRSVUE)   Sheldon Cooper is a character from the sitcoms The Big Bang Theory  and Young Sheldon . He is a brilliant scientist but has difficulty relating to other

Scripture: Jeremiah 39:18 – “For I will surely save you, and you shall not fall by the sword, but you shall have your life as a prize of war, because you have trusted in me, says the Lord.” (NRSVUE)   There are thousands of characters across the Bible, and a lot of them, especially those who don’t often get mentioned on Sundays, can escape our notice. One such character is Ebed-Melech the Cushite. He shows us how courage and compassion when it would have been easier just to i

Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:23 – “Have nothing to do with stupid and senseless controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.” (NRSVUE)   We live in muddy times. No matter what we do, it seems like we cannot avoid people who love stirring up trouble. This is true even in churches. We have this romanticized notion that in the earliest days when people still remembered walking with Jesus, all Christians lived in one accord.     But this was never true. There have always been disa

Scripture: James 1:6-8 – “But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the...

Scripture: Psalm 118:6 – “With the Lord on my side I do not fear. What can mortals do to me?” (NRSVUE)   As a pastor, I am familiar with...

Scripture: Jeremiah 10:23-24 – “I know, O Lord, that the way of humans is not in their control, that mortals as they walk cannot direct...

Scripture: Psalm 94:18 – “When I thought, ‘My foot is slipping,’ your steadfast love, O Lord, help me up.” (NRSVUE)   Last night at our...

Scripture: Jeremiah 13:23 – “Can Cushites change their skin or leopards their spots? Then also you can do good, who are accustomed to do...