Another good – “Jesus story.” The “region” of a rich man brought forth plentifully. Understand this: it was “the region.” In other words, the production wasn’t because the rich man was such a great agriculturalist, but because it was a banner or bumper crop year in that locale. It was “the region” that produced, not […]

Some say, “Capitalism is based on greed.” Economics 101 could not disagree more. When Paul buys meat from Joe-the-Butcher he does so “out of a belief” that the meat is more valuable to him – then what it is costing him to purchase it. So, Paul willingly exchanges his money for the meat. He is […]

In a lot of ways we can be like “little children.” We want what we want, when we want it. We will not take “no” for an answer. We dig in our heels. We can become very stubborn. That is, until we get what we want! “Are we there yet?” “I want that!” “Gimme that!” […]

Luke “likes” stories about hospitality. It was an “age of hospitality.” Hospitality “was” a big thing. Unfortunately today, people do not “go” and “visit” any more. Back in the day, when I grew up, Sunday afternoon was the day and the time to reconnect with family members and friends. We went to the cemetery. We […]

Tonight I want to talk about different kinds of power…just for a little bit. What we have in front of us this evening is how Luke (the Evangelist) attempts to describe Jesus’ beginning public ministry. I want you to know “first things” matter in the Gospels – as they “set the tone” and “name the […]

Luke in many ways is a strange gospel. This weekend is a case in point. It has been said of this gospel: that it is “an extremely dangerous text,” perhaps the most dangerous in the entire Bible. Because it contains a great deal of material about women that is found nowhere else in the Gospels, […]