Romans [3:28-30] 5:1-11            Weakness, suffering, endurance, hope, and love. What a range of descriptions. What a range of adjectives. We end up focusing on being justified by faith, or by this string of poetic phrases, or that hope does not disappoint. This passage is filled with catch phrases and memorable lines, and yet filled with even more content.            So what’s…

Romans 1:1-17            In this letter, in the beginning of this letter, we hear the introduction of Paul as an apostle, and powerful Good News of Jesus Christ. From there, the letter continues into something we might take for granted. Paul asserts that he prays for them, that he thanks God for them and that he hopes to strengthen them, and that…

Acts 13:1-3; 14:8-18            Saul and Barnabus get sent out to proclaim the Gospel. The Spirit has work for them to do. When they get to Lystra, they speak, and they heal a man. They heal a man crippled from birth who cannot walk. People are amazed. People believe that the gods have come down to earth.            That’s right. They think…

Acts 10:1-17, 34-48            In this passage the sending goes both ways. Cornelius gets an angel sent to him, that tells him to send for Peter in Joppa. Peter, meanwhile, has a vision that sends him to see Cornelius. This encounter and passage begins to open the church to Gentiles, transforms Peter into the apostle to the Gentiles, and changes the arc…

Matthew 28:16-20            This is post-Easter, as fast (we assume) as the disciples could get to Galilee and see Jesus. Hear the text- they saw him, they worshiped, but some doubted. Doubt is not a barrier to being present with Jesus and worshiping in the Resurrection.            The task, however, for disciples post-Easter, is to: acknowledge the authority of Jesus (all authority…

Matthew 28:1-10            This is the Easter story that perhaps we don’t remember quite as well. In as blunt and spectacular a way as Jesus enters Jerusalem, he is raised from the dead. It’s not subtle, it’s not quiet, it’s not easy to ignore.            How does the resurrection enter into our lives? Does the earth shake? Do we see the angel,…

Matthew 21:1-17            The time for parables and subtlety is over. Jesus is coming to town, entering into Jerusalem. Now Jesus gives clear directions to the disciples, and rides right into town. Jesus enters Jerusalem to a city and a crown in turmoil, a people curious about who he is and what he’s doing.            What he does is go straight to…

Matthew 25:31-46 This is perhaps one of the best known parables. Do we treat is as a parable, or as an actual description of the situation? It follows immediately on the trail of the bridesmaids and the talents, with no break in between, as a parable about the end of the age. Sheep, one side, goats, the other – what’s the difference?…