November 2024

November 24, 2024. Texts: Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14; Revelation 1:4b-8; John 18:33-37. Psychic or psychotic? It’s a legitimate question to ask about Daniel. Are we hearing the disintegration of a mind in terrible distress? Daniel’s visions were set in perilous times, reflecting trials ranging from the Babylonian deportation of Israel, to Greek occupation and subjugation under […]

November 17, 2024. Texts: Daniel 12:1-3; Hebrews 10:11-25; Mark 13:1-8. Contrary to both history and popular imagination, Daniel was not a person. Or perhaps we should say, not a particular person. Daniel is the synthesis of an idea, a conviction, a message. Daniel goes a long way back in history. The oldest known writing referring

November 10, 2024. Texts: 1 Kings 17:8-16; Hebrews 5:24-28; Mark 12:38-44. There was a knock at the door and the young woman opened it to find several men standing there. She did not invite them in, for that would have been unseemly. But they only came to bring word to her that her husband had

November 3, 2024. Texts: Isaiah 25:6-9; Revelation 21:1-6a; John 11:32-44. In previous generations they used to say, travel is broadening. Or, as travel expert Rick Steves says, it’s the best education you’ll ever have. It generally follows that the farther afield you go, the more you’ll learn. And in a sense you never really return.

October 27, 2024. Texts: Jeremiah 31:31-34; Romans 3:19-28; John 8:31-36. A book was effectively banned from public access. It happened because religious leaders with strong influence in government thought the book was dangerous. It had been widely available for years and never fell off the list of best sellers because it had everything. Epic battles

October 20, 2024. Texts: Isaiah 53:4-12; Hebrews 5:1-10; Mark 10:35-45. A baby girl in Spain was born with Down syndrome. In her five brief years of life she was tenderly cared for and greatly loved. An elderly French man lived with a terrible dental condition that left him toothless and with constant painful infections. But

October 13, 2024. Texts: Amos 5:6-7, 10-15; Hebrews 4:12-16; Mark 10:17-31. In gracious homes with manicured gardens, the people lived. Public spaces were well tended. Cafes were full of happy chatting customers. The markets were bursting with produce and lanes were lined with chic butcher shops. Things were going along so well. And so, it

October 6, 2024. Texts: Genesis 2:18-24; Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12; Mark 10:2-26. Every now and then a message pops up on the computer screen. It says, Changes have been made that affect the global template. Do you wish to save these changes? This is an alarming question. Because, what is the global template? How did it

September 29, 2024. Texts: Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29; James 5:14-20; Mark 9:38-50. Have you noticed how the crowded the calendar is anymore? Is there any day, week, or month that doesn’t have a commemoration attached to it? It’s hard to keep track of them all, much less remember to honor them. It’s as true in

September 22, 2024. Texts: Jeremiah 11:18-20; James 3:13 – 4:3, 7-8a; Mark 9:30-37. Jonathan Edwards preached a rousing sermon in his Northamption, Massachusetts congregation in 1741. Edwards was a Calvinist revival preacher, skilled in calling sinners to repentance. His sermon was so successful he took it on the road to Enfield, Connecticut. That sermon became