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....

After telling them that God takes care of the birds of the air and wildflowers of the field and so God will take care of those who desire...

In May of 2017, Arnold Schwarzenegger gave a commencement speech at the University of Houston. He told them,  “None of us can make it...

Scripture: Luke 11:1-13 (NIV with CEB) One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him,...

Last summer, my husband and I purchased a house. We fell in love with the property: a corner lot with some wooded areas that the deer and...

Today is Trinity Sunday, the Sunday when we celebrate that God is one Being, one Essence, but three Persons.  Yeah, the Trinity is...

Today is one of my absolute favorite Sundays: Pentecost. That day when the Holy Spirit came from heaven like a windstorm and alighted...

John chapter 17 is a different kind of Lord’s Prayer. Instead of teaching the disciples how to pray, Jesus prays for them at this, the...

After saying that loving him means obeying his teachings, Jesus promises the Holy Spirit to the disciples. What they have known in Jesus,...

In college, I sang Edward Bainton’s choral piece “And I Saw A New Heaven”, based on the first few verses of this morning’s passage from...

Today is often called Shepherding Sunday, when we celebrate that Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd and consider what it means that we are...

There’s something to be said about routines. They keep our lives organized- easier to know what’s next and to get everything done when...

“Seeing is believing.” That’s what we say, isn’t it. We want to be able to touch, to sense, to see something before we can truly believe...

It was time to go tend to him.  We had waited, waited, waited, in the agonizing depth of Sabbath-keeping stillness, bearing our grief...

Do you remember the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer TV special? The one from 1964. I love that movie- it’s the only Christmas movie that I...

This morning’s theme is temptation and it’s not how we usually interpret it. In Gifts of the Dark Wood , temptation is not necessarily...

Have you ever felt totally lost? Like where you are just isn’t working for you, it’s sapping everything but you have no idea what’s next?...