Mark 11. 1-11 AUDIO: Several years ago, on Ash Wednesday, Mel Gibson’s movie The Passion of the Christ was released and was a big hit. Almost 2,000 years after it happened, the death of Jesus was once again front page news. The movie was controversial – some loved it and others were disturbed by … [Read more…]
Jonah 3.10-4.11 Imagine with me for a minute. Think of a place that you do not like. Maybe it is Las Vegas, maybe Duke, maybe somewhere that you have very negative memories or someplace that you hope to never go. Now think of people that you do not like, maybe it is a group from … [Read more…]
Hosea 2.14-20 Last Sunday we had a fabulous Super Bowl party at our house for the children, youth and their families. We had great party food, the predicted snow did not come, and the game was exciting. But for many of us, including most of the children and youth, the commercials were the real draw. … [Read more…]
Ezekiel 34.11-24 We are at the midpoint of a five week sermon series on the prophets. We have heard from Isaiah and Jeremiah and today we will hear from Ezekiel. Jesus was compared to prophets, he studied the prophets and taught from them. The 70+ prophets in the Old Testament were very diverse in their … [Read more…]
Jeremiah 31.27-40 This is the second of our five week sermon series on prophets. We are studying the prophets leading up to Lent which is the season of preparation for the Resurrection. Jesus was both compared to the prophets and used them in his teaching. The sermon schedule is on the website along with the … [Read more…]
Isaiah 40.21-31 We are beginning a sermon series on Prophets today for the 5 weeks leading up to Lent. In the Gospels Jesus is compared to prophets, like Moses and Elijah. Jesus quotes from the prophets Isaiah, Jonah, and others. Today and tomorrow we honor a modern day prophet – Martin Luther King Jr. whose … [Read more…]
Genesis 1. 1-5 You know, context is crucial. The same exact word or phrase can have very different meanings depending on the context of the situation; grammar sometimes helps with that. The phrase, “Let’s eat, Grandma!” with a comma after “let’s eat” says I am hungry and ready to eat your delicious food. Whereas without … [Read more…]
Matthew 2.1-12 This week Matthew Hufford, son of Beth and Joe Hufford, came by to see me. Matthew is currently serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Peru. He is working as a health care educator and has a program with 30 mothers that he visits in their homes to evaluate the children’s physical and … [Read more…]
Isaiah 9.2-7 This week I heard a story on the BBC News that put theses traditional Christmas Eve texts in perspective for me. It is a story that has not been prominent in the news in the U.S. for some reason. We have become all too familiar with the terrorists that call themselves ISIS or … [Read more…]
Luke 1. 46-55 It is Advent, the Christ child is coming and we are preparing. We prepare by decorating our homes, by buying gifts for loved ones, by making donations to charity, by listening to Christmas music, baking and eating. We prepare our hearts and minds by reading Scripture and doing a daily devotion, by … [Read more…]
