When Jesus Sang

It’s one of those “orphan” verses in the Bible.  You know, the kind that sit by themselves, alone, isolated—usually because what comes before or after grabs our attention.  In fact, it might be one of those verses that someone unfamiliar with the Bible would notice before a regular Bible reader because regular readers tend to read inContinue reading “When Jesus Sang”

Faith And The Flesh

Many of us have seen the commercials advertising DNA kits that can be purchased for under $100. We’re told if we’ll spit into a tube or swab the inside of our cheek, they’ll tell us if we’re 13% Tanzanian, 12% Cherokee or 14% Belgian—or all of the above! It’s presented in a here’s-the-truth-that-will-transform-your-life sort ofContinue reading “Faith And The Flesh”

Breaking Open The Jar

It was “very expensive perfume” (Mark 14:3). Her critics said it was worth more than a year’s wages (v. 5). Perhaps in their anger they were exaggerating as people have been known to do when objecting to something, so let’s put it at a year’s wages. I found some perfume online from Bloomingdale’s that isContinue reading “Breaking Open The Jar”

Water Is Thicker Than Blood

Family is important. It is how God brings us into the world. It is the incubator where we are raised and nurtured. It is responsible for so much of who we are and what we become. Furthermore, we’ve all seen how communities can crumble in the absence of strong families. And yet . . .Continue reading “Water Is Thicker Than Blood”

The Joy That Jesus Brings

It’s an understatement to that the Pharisees and teachers of the law didn’t know what to make of Jesus. They didn’t come anywhere close to seeing Him for what He was. He wasn’t Someone who had come tweak their system a bit here and there—He called for a radical revisioning of things (Mark 2:21-22 and the Sermon onContinue reading “The Joy That Jesus Brings”

Perception Isn’t Always Reality

What if God had a Twitter account?  That would be pretty interesting, wouldn’t it? If God was on Twitter, I think there are a few things we could predict with reasonable certainty. The first things is that just about everyone would be “following Him” in the Twitter sense and all of His tweets would goContinue reading “Perception Isn’t Always Reality”

Lord Of The Tombs

He was someone’s son, someone’s nephew, someone’s cousin, perhaps someone’s husband, and maybe someone’s father.  And everything they knew to do for him had been done—even though it must have been incredibly painful to put your someone you love in chains and have him under constant guard.  Still, his condition left them no choice. Others had toContinue reading “Lord Of The Tombs”