I'm not as concerned about the future of religion in America as I am about the future of......
As we remember those who have passed away this Sunday, let us allow their memory to......
Life is not a continuous-loop Happy Channel for the Thessalonians or for Paul in working......
When we tire of the endless struggle to master our anxiety by summoning our own inner......
For Paul, perseverance is a way to get closer to Christ. It means not looking back, but......
Jesus came to earth to be level with you and level with me. So why would any of us still......
Paul can smile and say "thank you" to God -- especially in prison -- because he has......
Who is the person who is wise? The one who has the ability to learn something from every......
Paul says there is one claim on our lives that trumps all others—the claim of......
What made Paul think of this body metaphor for the church?...
In this strange and unpredictable world, we feel compelled to explain both the good and......
For as long as we continue to pursue our own agendas and to exclude others from God's......
When we try to save ourselves in the dangerous waters of life, we are swimming against......
When we are living into a difficult calling, we need to be able to discern the......
It is interesting that Paul, writing to what was probably a predominantly male audience,......
Just because we are susceptible to sin doesn't mean we're doomed to be sinners....
Taking on Jesus' yoke also means laying down certain burdens that are no longer......
When we give our lives away for some purpose beyond ourselves, that paradoxically......
What observations and admonitions for life are on your "string of beads" you wear into......
How long will the disciples continue down the road without recognizing that the Risen......
Why is it that we so often only hear the first half of Jesus' prediction: "The Son of......
Holy Week is our annual opportunity to choose courage over cowardice, to choose to be a......
The lesson of the raising of Lazarus, as it foreshadows the raising of Jesus, is that......
It seems to me that the man born blind must have had pretty keen spiritual sight long......
As we stand beside a deep well with no bucket, our spiritual sustenance is not a far-off......
In honor of Nicodemus during this Lenten season, let us participate in his and our own......
Maybe the Temptation narrative, with all its drama and distance, is closer to home, both......
Jesus' teachings in these texts introduce us to that change agent -- the love of God --......
Intense and internal: this is what Jesus affirms about the heart of the Law and what he......
Could we critique Jesus' Sermon on the Mount for setting up an impossible goal for the......
Some days the best attitude in the world can't keep misfortune at bay. What does having......
To be a disciple means to go all in for a ministry to the least and the lost. We don't......
What might we experience if we stuck around Jesus, if we sought out intentional time to......
John the Baptist and Jesus are cousins in the same way that judgment and grace are......
I give thanks that the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome......
Let us face the reality of an unknown future with the goods news that we are accompanied......
Let us embrace this child, this God with us. Let us embrace this Good news whatever bad......
It is quite easy to fly in the face of good advice and end up unprepared for a future......
This week's text challenges us with the question: What does the plaque read on the snow......
What kind of king is this that we honor on this Reign of Christ Sunday? Not one we've......
The best way to prepare for calamity that could happen at any time is to always be......
God is the God of the living, not the dead. God is the God of two by two and one by one.......
When we persist in genuine humility, we invite the power of God to work through us....
What if we applied the same principles we apply to getting customer satisfaction to......
The broad witness of Scripture from both testaments shows that God has great timing,......
Jesus says to those he heals, "Congratulations and keep moving. Don't stick around......
What is it that causes some people to have something or someone in their line of vision......
This strange parable disrupts our usual definition of what acting in our own......
There is a lot that can show up in the lost and found box of your life lying in there......
Discipleship comes at a cost. But staying home and not answering the invitation comes at......
What excuses are coming between you and the feast you've been invited to?...
It turns out that a partial view seat is not such a bargain after all....
TiVo weather has become a metaphor in my thinking for how we often draw conclusions......
We've seen the joke "Jesus is coming back soon. Look busy." Looking busy isn't enough.......
The Christian's attitude toward possessions is an important theme in Luke....
Have you ever realized, too late, that help was available, if only you had been paying......
Both preparation and presence are required when planning for an honored guest....
This parable is not about helping us determine who our neighbor is and to whom we are to......
Before you go on your next trip, take your ego out of the suitcase, but make sure you......
Haven't we all, at one time or another, put our hand to the plow and looked back?...
Have our demons fled at the command of Christ or are they still in residence?...
Who is Jesus? If this man were a prophet he would know who she is. And in fact he does.......
Jesus shows who he is through his compassionate healing....
The centurion knows a thing or two about confidence in the one giving him his orders. Do......
When the three-in-one names we recite are "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit," we can face......
We know the panoramic, pyrotechnic Pentecost that comes around every spring. Do we......
Mother's Day is a day when we moms suspect that your cards tell us not who we really......
We are charged with preparing Jesus' home in our lives....
When we experience a week like this past one, we can't help but wonder if Easter,......
We may be tempted to lift our hands in a shrug of despair or a gesture of surrender. At......
Going home to hide from Jesus isn't an option, because he knows where we live. He stands......
Sometimes I think we have more faith in our fears than we do in God. Have you ever been......
Easter Sunday is the best spoiler alert ever; knowing that, in the end, life wins,......
Palm Sunday ought to fill us with revulsion and incite us to rebellion. It's our job to......
In anointing Jesus' feet with expensive oil, Mary teaches us a simple message about......
Maybe our yearning for the love that lies within the banquet hall will overcome all......
Advice from a wise beagle: Lent is a good time to turn around and head toward God....
In this season of Lent, let us expect to be uncomfortable as we walk with Jesus through......
Satan contemplates his failure to tempt Jesus....
Through Scripture, our identities as individuals and communities will be formed and......
We all have our own Mount of Jumpification, that cliff where we can choose to embrace or......
Hold your breath and let's hope for the best in this week's cliffhanger from Luke....
From fainting bridesmaids to running out of wine, Jesus' miracles invite us to receive......
There is a wealth of insight in this passage that could enrich our preaching, teaching......
Epiphany is about assuming our role of allowing Jesus to grow and become strong in our......
Like Mary, we are all prophets....
John the Baptist wants to shake our nativity snow globe so hard it cracks and all the......
In the theater of our own lives, John the Baptist's story sets the stage for us to......
Jesus didn't give in to fear and foreboding, and neither should we....
Rather than let everyone's voice in the world tell us who we are and what we are to do,......
When we're going through hell, how can we keep on going?...
Rethinking discipleship and hoarding the Almond Joys for myself....
Bewildered, bleeding, or been around? No problem. All God wants is your heart....
When preaching, it's best to own up to your unique voice, for as Solomon said: "No one......
How do we become humble servants? Do what the disciples in Mark don't do; instead, in......
Whatever the baggage weighing down our particular life, Jesus commands us to leave it......
Receiving the kingdom of God like a little child means to completely trust in God on the......
Jesus spices up the traditional proverb with a dash of paradox and a dollop of......
A memo to the disciples: "Top Ten Ways You Are Failing at Promoting the Good News."...
If we cling for dear life to our lives, we won't have an arm to reach out to anyone......
When Jesus is in the house, you only need a crumb of faith....
This passage from Mark stresses that the pure in heart are those who are spiritually......
Where are you going? What journey are you on?...
We are used to thinking about Jesus living in our hearts. We are not so accustomed to......
"You just don't get it, do you?" is always the beginning of an argument or the end of a......
The disciples treat Jesus like a talent show contestant who has to prove himself before......
Our job as disciples is to "mind the gap" between the "Here is the little we have," and......
Jesus' version of a church supper isn't just a blessing on our bounty; it's an......
An imagined soliloquy in which King Herod reflects on his tortured decision to behead......
We all have our own internal "Mount of Jumpification." Either we hurl Jesus over it or......
When we stay in touch with Jesus, our words, our touch, and our presence have more life......
"Mayhem is coming," says the popular Allstate Insurance ad campaign. Who you gonna call?...
Good fathers know to look beneath the surface of their children's lives and see the good......
This week's text in Mark is not focused on life's complexities. It is saying simply, now......
Mary and Elizabeth's faith and courage inspire us today, and remind us that like them,......
Pentecost is not an event we wait for. It's one in which we participate. Every moment is......
Quotes and songs on friendship abound. But the best quote on friendship of all comes......
When we make our home in Jesus, there's a reciprocal promise that he'll make his home in......
A faithful minister cares for the sheep without regard for his or her own safety....
The resurrection appearances in Luke say to us, in effect: Consider yourself warned.......
Whether you're locked in or locked out, Jesus has the answer to your dilemma....
When you are on a death hunt and you find life, amazement is a natural response....
Was the unnamed woman's anointing of Jesus with costly oil foolish, or a bold act of......
Sometimes, getting within earshot of Jesus is transformative enough....
Who are you when no one's looking? Are you a master of light or shadow?...
Let's embrace spiritual spring-cleaning of our houses and our souls....
Jesus' famous teaching in Mark 8 invites us to a spiritual free fall....
The Transfiguration, then and now, is a shining mountaintop experience amidst scenes of......
If we're going to truly have a blessed day, it will necessarily involve being a blessing......
If we are living faithful lives, seeking to serve others and love them as Christ loved......
The "unclean spirit" in Mark recognizes the sound of the real enemy's voice. The real......
Mark would argue that our being called by Jesus is a situation that calls for the......
Jesus already knows us, even if we have no recollection of many of our prior encounters......
This passage from the Sermon on the Mount provides us with two principles that will help......
Like a good fitness teacher, Jesus asks us to "Bring It," while joining us in the......
We need Mary's wisdom this Advent. We are all, like her, being called by God. And we are......
The fact that we do not see Jesus among us is no fault of his. He is seeking to make......
John the Baptist wouldn't last five minutes as a Mall Santa. He's a prophet, and he's......
I wonder if our Advent temptation isn't to be alert to the wrong things: the ideal of a......
Who is a sheep and who is a goat? We may think we have a clear view of that distinction,......
According to this parable of the talents and the pounds, we are to take what ability and......
As we live out our faith in a troubled world, the parable of the ten bridesmaids can......
Matthew lifts up the Pharisees as a cautionary tale, summing up the timeworn adage:......
In this passage full of pop quizzes between Jesus and the disciples, Jesus proves to be......
When questioned about politics, Jesus didn't offer a theory of church-state relations.......
What Matthew and Luke tell us about Jesus' parable of the banquet -- and how we can make......
What implications might this parable have for how we are producing a harvest for God's......
Only when we shed our spiritual arrogance can we experience the good news of this quirky......
A parable about radical forgiveness is the lectionary text for September 11.......
Sometimes it's good that we don't know exactly what we're getting into, because we might......
Naive readings are like typing in comments on Trip Advisor without having visited the......
We must be clear, as Jesus was, that we risk personal losses out of radical love for......
We share Peter's identity as flawed disciples who sometimes, in pressure situations, let......
It's not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out. What's......
Every time we call on Jesus, it is because he is already coming toward us. Every time we......
What are we to make of Jesus' "divine dare" to feed the five thousand with only five......
A rule-of-thumb for parable interpretation is this: identify what is strange about the......
How are two groups to coexist productively and peacefully when each refuses to forbear......
We have heard the parable of the sower before. Many, many times. So let's try to hear......
Wisdom in Person, the real deal, stands before us. The question is, will we choose to......
Without the preventive medications and small comforts of daily life, I am afraid a......
How good are you at doing what you are told? We can't afford to wait until we are......
How will you allow the Holy Spirit to transform your mind and heart, and fire your will......
We might expect the disciples to be mournful at Jesus' departure. Instead, they return......
Jesus certainly doesn't need my "Change of Address" clinic for commencement speakers.......
How can we know the way to God? How can we see God? The answer Jesus gives to us is both......
The Good Shepherd is not an image intended to comfort children. It is an image intended......
What kind of journey are you on? What direction is it taking you?...
When will the moment come when we look up and really notice, really see the Risen Lord......
According to John's story, Christ rises in the dark. Christ rises for everyone. Easter......
This text is not about watching Jesus put his hands on somebody else's feet. It's about......
Preacher Alyce McKenzie shares her Palm Sunday "play," a creative dramatization and......
Until recently, I have seen this story of raising Lazarus from the dead as an......
I say we take a page out of the discipleship book of this stubborn, outspoken formerly......
Our first-century Samaritan woman is not the only secret-keeper walking toward the well.......
If we start letting the wind of the Spirit blow through our souls, our church, our......
Lent is really about saying no to some things so we can say yes to others. An Ash......
What might the Devil think after his epic fail to tempt Jesus? How might he rethink his......
The Transfiguration is a story with six characters, but we can't fully or clearly......
Jesus' teachings are digging tools that undercut the foundation of my house . . . which......
When I hear the teachings about loving our enemies and turning the other cheek, I feel......
When I read this text from Matthew 5:21-37 about anger, adultery, careless severing of......
In these verses, Jesus is saying, "Go, be salt and light." Of course, lots of people,......
I like Facebook, but I have somehow ended up with lots of friends I don't even know.......
The life of the disciple, which begins with what may look like a sudden decision,......
Do you notice how, in this passage, being introduced to Jesus prompts the disciples to......
The beginning of a New Year, with its challenges and trials, is a good time to remember......
In the juxtaposing of Herod and Jesus in the lectionary texts for this week, we see the......
Joseph is out and about this Advent, tool box in hand -- a model of faith in hopeful......
Is John having second thoughts about Jesus? Is he wondering, "Is Jesus who I thought he......
The good news of the Incarnation is that God meets our fear of punishment with the hope......
This Advent series seeks to portray the Holy Family as people with real hopes and fears,......
In the gospel reading for November 21, Jesus' last words of forgiveness and reassurance......
In the gospel reading for November 7, the Sadducees challenge Jesus with a question......
In the gospel reading for November 14, Jesus identifies the obstacles that prevent......
In these weeks before Advent, the gospel readings from the lectionary prepare us for the......
This week's parable is one of two men who each offer prayers, with surprisingly......
There is something in author Elizabeth Gilbert's experience that transcends one woman's......