03232022 – Luke 13. 1-9 It happens as it always does…sometime after three a.m. in the early morning hours. I was awakened, and couldn’t fall back to sleep. It was a nagging question. Recurring. Are you a friend of Bill W? Do you know Dr. Bob? For exactly 87 years, alcoholics worldwide have found a […]
03202022 – Luke 13. 1-9 The 8th grade confirmands have been spending time with the Torah, the first five books of the Bible. Presently, they have been looking at Deuteronomy. When translated from the Greek- Septuagint, the word “Deuteronomy” means “second law,” as in, Moses’ RETELLING of God’s laws. This is where we find – […]
03162022 – Luke The Season of Lent “woo’s,” “persuades,” “challenges,” “lures,” and “entices us” to reflect on OUR priorities. You know, WHAT IS IT, that WE hold dear. WHAT is IMPORTANT for us? This season of the church year says, I double-dog dare you. What is “YOUR highest good?” Be honest. What is “MOST IMPORTANT […]
03122022 – Luke 13. 31-35 This is like THE “perfect Lenten gospel” for week two. It “sets the stage” for EVERYTHING “that is to follow.” It is uniquely Luke. Everything BUILDS on this. It gives us CONCRETE DIRECTION. “It gets us” – (EVENTUALLY) to where we want to go. The appearance of some “UNNAMED Pharisees” […]
03022022 – Matthew 6. 1-6, 16-21 The Season of Lent is NOT about YOU. It is NOT about DEATH. It is NOT about DYING. It is NOT as “DARK” as you might think it is! It is NOT foreboding at all. It is NOT about giving up chocolate, nor is it about giving up streaming […]
02262022 – Luke 9. 28-36 How good are you – at ENCOURAGING “others” or one-another, for that matter? It doesn’t COST ANYTHING and has some pretty huge results. I think it is IMPORTANT…and is something all too often OVERLOOKED. NEGLECTED. I think a LITTLE encouragement SOMETIMES can go a long way. FARTHER than we think, […]
02232022 – Luke 6. 27-38 Jesus is teaching. He taught a lot. He was good at it, and RESPECTED for it. It brought him HONOR and FAME among his followers. “Rabbouni,” people called him. The expression means “my beloved teacher.” Not just a teacher (a rabbi) but “a beloved teacher” – rabbouni. But this teaching […]
02192022 – Luke 6. 27-38 REVENGE I tell you IS SWEET. If someone strikes you on the cheek, take ‘em out. If someone rips off your coat or Jordans’ steal someone elses…just make sure they are the right size… If someone asks, look at them, like you’ve got to be kidding…what are you CRAZY? And […]
02162022 – Luke 6. 17-26 The world was pretty clear cut, either you were “Jewish” or you were “Gentile.” That was it. That’s all there was. The world was OBVIOUSLY mostly gentile, non-believers, foreigners, non-Jews, gentile dogs. “Jews” were but a small little tiny teeny miniscule minority, but an important one, because they were THE […]
0212022 – Luke 6. 17-26 There is A HISTORY behind the word, “BLESSED.” It was, according to THE GREEKS, that the “blessed” ones existed on a higher plane than the rest of ALL the people. They were “gods.” So, in “ancient Greece,” the word for “blessed” referred ONLY to the gods…at least originally…The “gods” […]