Life Ain’t Fair
“In my futile life I have seen everything: someone righteous perishes in spite of his righteousness, and someone wicked lives long in spite of his evil.” (Ecclesiastes 7:15) Newsflash: Life isn’t fair. Human sin turned our world upside down. Bad things happen to good people. So, what is God’s response to an unfair universe? Grace. […]
Maundy Thursday
“When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.” They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely not I?” “It is one of the Twelve,” he […]
Grace and Truth Together
“…But while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him.” (Luke 15:20) Imagine, an elderly, respected man, a pillar of the community, tucking his long robes in his belt and running to welcome his son […]
The Ongoing Battle
“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do…As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. […]
Helpless
“For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5:6) I was 19 and in college. It was October 14, 1987 when 18-month-old Jessica McClure fell into a well at her aunt’s house in Midland, Texas. (That was 36 years ago last week!) Americans were glued to the […]
Grace and Truth
“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) John’s introductory comments to his gospel are meant to shock his readers. The Creator of human flesh became human flesh and dwelt among us. The […]
Grace in Lo-Debar
“David asked, ‘Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?’” (2 Samuel 9:1) That word “kindness” is one of those important Hebrew words, hesed – sometimes translated as loving kindness. We might think of the synonym grace. After the deaths of Saul and Jonathan, […]
In the Wilderness
“The Israelites traveled on from the Wilderness of Sinai, moving from one place to the next until the cloud stopped….” (Numbers 10:12) One of the first things that comes to mind when I think of Israel is her miraculous escape from Egyptian slavery and her subsequent wandering in the wilderness. The Hebrew word midbar is […]
As Is
“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way….” (Isaiah 53:6) “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) In certain stores, you will find a special section where you can get clothes at reduced prices. My wife loves shopping at garage […]
Do You Want to Get Well?
“One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, ‘Do you want to get well?’” (John 5:5–6) Over the past few weeks, we’ve diligently studied the Scriptures together in order to […]
Where Are You?
“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’” (Genesis 3:8–9) In my sermon […]
Brotherly Love?
“When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.” (Genesis 37:4) As you know, Philadelphia is “the City of Brotherly Love.” As of July 20 of this year, 1,289 people had been shot in Philadelphia so far, which […]
