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2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2
Last Epiphany C
Setting aside Donald Trump’s recent exigetically disastrous and self-serving use of a verse in this week’s Epistle lection, most of us who preach would admit that this is not an easy text to get right. Paul’s second letter to Corinth contains wonderful pockets of now well-known words and images. But weaving in and around those…
Matthew 1:1-17
“This is the genealogy of Jesus…” So begins the gospel of Matthew. Frankly, it sounds a bit boring. After all, the genealogies are one of those the parts of the Bible that we skip over (unless someone is watching us and we feel guilty, because “all scripture” is supposed to be profitable, 2 Tim. 3:16)….
Acts 27:13-44
“Call me Ishmael.” So begins the epic sea adventure Moby Dick, in which the conflict between humanity and the Leviathan symbolizes so many other conflicts. It’s a story that captivates us, as we have always been captivated by stories of voyages and adventures at sea. The adventures and exploits of Odysseus, doing battle with mythical…
2 Corinthians 11
Pastor Heath Mooneyham thinks that many churches are too wimpy, and that’s why so few men come to church. So his congregation, the aptly-named Ignite Church in Joplin, Missouri, started giving away military-style rifles to attract men to their testosterone-fueled services. Mooneyham enticed seekers with the promise that they could “double tap a zombie in…
1 Timothy 4
Apostasy. It’s not a word that we hear too often in Christian circles, except in perhaps more argumentative circles. It’s not a word that one should use too quickly or easily. But it’s the term that the apostle uses here: Some will apostatize (ἀποστήσονται) in later days, or the last days. To apostatize is to…
2 John
“All you need is love…” John Lennon’s iconic refrain still resonates in our culture decades after it was a hit for The Beatles, and so does the sentiment. From the first epistle of John you might get the impression that John agrees, since love is the overriding theme of that letter, mentioned well over 40…
Matthew 6:5-15
Comments, Observations, and Questions to Consider: Helmut Thielicke preached to the church in Stuttgart in the declining days of Germany’s “reign of terror.” Screaming sirens, underground bomb shelters and fear surrounded his congregation. When Rev. Thielicke started a sermon series on this very text, his congregation was still worshipping in the Church of the Hospitallers….
Matthew 15:29-39
Comments, Observations, and Questions to Consider Out of the two “Feeding the Multitude” miracles, this one of “the 4,000” gets considerably less airtime than its larger twin. It’s not just overshadowed by the numbers (5,000 men, 12 baskets, more verses) but also in seeming importance. Besides the Resurrection itself, the 5,000 feeding is the only…
Mark 4:1-20
Comments, Observations, and Questions to Consider Why does the same message produce different returns? Consider the chapter before our text. Mark 3 is chock-full with Jesus-resisters. Pharisees tag-team with Herodians. Evil spirits blab the Messianic secret. Jerusalem’s doctrinal deputies censure Jesus as Satanic. Judas is introduced as the betrayer. Even Jesus’ own family–including Mary meek…
John 4:46-54
Comments, Observations, and Questions to Consider Jesus is no Ned Flanders. The “okely-dokely” nooberly-nice Evangelical neighbor of the Simpsons is a far cry from the Lord, who can come off as needlessly harsh, even rude. Who says to a desperate father–with a feverish son at death’s door- “unless you people see miracles, you won’t believe?”…
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