Mark packs so much into each and every verse. Mark is the shortest gospel, only 16 chapters in length. Everything happens “immediately.” You can feel the “flourish of activity” and almost “the need” to hurry to the “finish-line.” Mark is curt, terse, and almost rudely brief. Everybody says that Luke is the “big gospel” for […]
They say everything about this weekend is going to be SUPER. I know this, it is SUPER cold. Brrrr But at least we are not as cold as Minneapolis is… SUPER BOWL 52…the Patriots versus the Eagles… New England versus Philadelphia… There are the “favorites” and there are the “underdogs.” One team making their “10th […]
Excuse my mispronunciations…please: At a classical violin concert in Presov, Slovakia back in 2011…Lukas Kmit was giving a violin recital in a Synagogue. In the midst of his beautiful classical piece (a Nokia ringtone) is heard echoing nearby. The classical violinist smiles briefly and then gives his own classical rendition of the ringtone, to the […]
The Sabbath was a day of rest, we have that much down pat, but the other part of it – is that it is also a day of worship for all of God’s people! For our Jewish brothers and sisters, the Sabbath officially begins at sundown on Friday evening, when there are 3 stars -visible […]
Zebedee was a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee. He was one of 200 or so men who set out on the waters with his nets to catch the fish that fed his family and supplied for their needs. It was unrelenting and hard work. A man was fortunate if he had sons who could […]
Simon and Andrew were casting a net into the sea for they were fishermen. That is what fishermen do. They “cast the net.” Day after day it was the same thing; the same lake, the same net, the same boat…the same smells… Sometimes, even the same conversations…were held. Night after night it was wind, water, […]
You should have some background about “fig trees.” Nothing just appears in the sacred writings without having “some purpose and meaning.” The “fig tree” in the passage is often times “overlooked.” It is seen as being an unnecessary addition. Nothing could be further from the truth. The fig tree is important. The fig tree is […]
A “little” Biblical Humor…I know, very little…religious humor is subtle, it is dry, it is harder to catch… It is far from slapstick or comedic. This happens to be one of those texts – that goes “right over the heads” of “most people.” You have to “listen carefully” and at the same time, you have […]
Imagine if you will, all “that “IT” – is not.” It was not a good place to admit … coming from… Why would anybody in their right mind admit – even being there? It was not a “hot spot.” There was not even a sign of welcome at the city limits. There was nothing there […]
I have baptized “new borns” – only “hours old” in the hospital and I have baptized people in their 80’s and 90’s. And I guess it is safe to say and a whole lot of folks – in between. I waver from time to time – how I view and see Baptism. I have done […]