Hope. The Israelites needed it in Isaiah’s day. In verse one, there is a reference to the humbling of Zebulun and Naphtali. As Gennifer Benjamin Brooks noted in her Working Preacher  commentary one year, these territories “had experienced the devastation of the advancing Assyrian army, the direct result of their decision to trust human allies rather than divine promises.” Their king had worshiped idols, “which put them directly in the path of God’s anger, and divine retributi

I love A Christmas Carol . Ebenezer Scrooge changing because he sees his past, the present, and a potential future with a fresh perspective. Of course, before he can change, we need to see why change is needed. In the beginning of the novella, Ebenezer Scrooge is “living in resentment, fear and the frozen state of watching out only for himself.”  In his book The Redemption of Scrooge , Matt Rawle follows the character development of this curmudgeon who responds to Christmas w

Jesus is traveling once again. And this time, there are a lot of people following along to listen and see what’s going to happen next. Because something was happening. Everyone wanted to be part of it, and the disciples were the ones in on the action. So, Jesus decides it’s time for a reminder about what being a disciple really means. And once again, we get a difficult message from Jesus. You think being my disciple will be simple? Not a chance! Here’s what it means to be a d

In Psalm 80, the Psalmist laments that God has abandoned the good vine which is Israel, pleading with God to shine upon the vine again....