Upon reading this passage, I was struck by the phrase “and they laughed at him” in verse 24. The “they” is a group of people in active, demonstrative mourning for the...

We’ve been working this week to step away from the mindset that God expects blind, almost mindless obedience, and then we have this verse where Matthew, in fact, jumps up and...

Ever read a really good novel where everything seems to go wrong for the protagonist? Most epic novels and comic books start that way. A great person is down on their...

We all know rule-followers, those people who need to read the instruction booklet before playing a new board game, the ones who know you are required to buy or auction off...

Do you ever read scripture and say to yourself, “I could never be that obedient, even to God”? We read stories from the Old and New Testaments where the main characters...

In the beginning . . . to the end of the age. These are the first and last phrases in the first and last texts for Trinity Sunday. They hold the...

Here’s some Christian math: One, one, and one equals . . . ONE. Our God is both three distinct persons and one God. This may seem an outdated or useless head-trip....

The so-called “Great Commission” includes words that drag around a lot of baggage, words like authority, obey, commandment, and even make disciples. In the context of Christian history, these words can...

“Greet one another with a holy kiss.” This is an early reference to a practice in worship that some love and others loathe: the “passing of the peace.” Regardless of where...

Reflection upon scripture often brings to mind hymns, poetry, or images. As you ponder Psalm 8, is there anything that comes into your consciousness? Two familiar hymns bubble into my spirit:...