30-Aug-15 Mark 6:45-52 He intended to pass them by. In the Gospel of Mark, this is the second time that the disciples have been in trouble in a boat. And quite frankly, that’s somewhat ironic. The disciples are fishermen by trade; they are experts in boatsmanship. They’ve got skills and experience that should keep them […]
Bread That Satisfies
23-Aug-15 John 6:22-35 The picnic is over. It happened while I was on vacation. But that’s OK. Most of us know about the picnic anyway. And so this morning, we are looking at the aftermath of the picnic, and things aren’t looking all that great for Jesus. It seems that he has suddenly dropped in […]
Offensive Food and Drink
09-Aug-15 John 6:48-59 It would be better for us if we did not have to think about it. In fact, it is so offensive, that after Jesus uttered these words, many of his followers abandoned him. The thought of having to eat this man’s flesh and drink his blood was too strange, too bizarre and […]
Grand Theft Wife
02-Aug-15 2 Samuel 11:26-12:7a Most of us, I think, are fairly familiar with the treachery and conniving that King David engaged in, in order to secure a new love interest for himself. The story of David and Bathsheba is a complicated account of lust gone wrong in just about as many ways as possible. It […]
Aspirations of Grace
26-Jul-15 Ephesians 3:14-21 From time to time, the Apostle Paul says something very practical and very understandable. When that happens, it is usually something that we can stick our teeth into, chew on it like good, healthy food, and ultimately have our lives transformed by it. This isn’t one of those passages. At other times, […]
12-July-15 2 Samuel 6 What we’re looking at this morning is a grand celebration gone sour. The Ark of the Covenant, which had long been forgotten and neglected, is finally coming home to gain a place of prominence among God’s people. And so a big parade is planned to bring the Ark home, with the […]
A Thorny Struggle
05-July-15 2 Corinthians 12: 1-10 The Apostle Paul is in deep trouble with the folks in the Christian church in the city of Corinth. They don’t like him anymore, and maybe they never did, at least not for very long. The Apostle Paul was the one who brought Christianity to Corinth. He was the one […]
The Wheedler
28-June-15 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 I’ll be up front with you. The Apostle Paul is wheedling money out of the good Christians in Corinth, and he’s doing it with sarcasm and shame. The Apostle was gifted in the arts of sarcasm and shame, and he knew when and how to use them to his advantage when […]
That Kid’s Story
June 21, 2015 1 Samuel 17 It’s a kid’s story. Most of us learned about David and Goliath when we were in Sunday School. It’s a story about a young lad who defeated a menacing giant against all odds. It’s a story about bravery and heroism, and it taught us as little kids not to […]
Born Wild; Grown Tame?
May 31, 2015 Acts 2:1-21 I have a feeling that if some strangers happened to show up unannounced in one of our worship services one Sunday morning, that one conclusion that they would probably never come to is that we are all drunk. We might look sleepy, but we certainly wouldn’t look like we were […]