1 Kings 18:[17-19] 20-39 Elijah at Mount Carmel (Mark 9:2-4) We have here the classic battle between power and faith. Elijah, that most famous of prophets, it facing off against Ahab, who accuses Elijah of troubling Israel, when Ahab has followed Baal. This is the introduction of Jezebel who gets the short end of the stick historically and in the Biblical tale.…
Jeremiah 33:1-4, 10-22 Promise of the Messiah Jeremiah is a prophet for the people of Israel. He is prophet of God Almighty, to the southern kingdom (Judah) through the fall of Jerusalem. He has an unpleasant, unwanted message for the people of God – that they have violated the covenant, and that God will withdraw God’s blessings. By the time…
1 Kings 12:1-17, 25-29 Kingdom Divided(Mark 10:42-45) Just 2 generations later, we end up in these passages. We hear what we often hear about the young neglecting the wisdom of their elders, of men who need to impress with their strength and virility, and of people who take the wrong advice. Rehoboam angers the people who was meant to serve.…
John 3:9-17 Focus on the idea that the verse is translated poorly, with the world (cosmos) being the focus, not man (anthropos). We’ll talk about how we need to do our part to live in community with the earth and our neighbors. Christina Krost, Faith in Place
The tail end of this passage is often used at weddings. Often the bias in using it is towards having the woman docilely follow her husband or her husband’s family. That’s not really the power of the narrative though. We have a renewal of the earlier story of the chosen people of God moving from one place to another due to…
Deuteronomy 5:1-21; 6:4-9 Hear O Israel, Ten Commandments (Mark 12:28-31) Over my lifetime, the 10 commandments have made a comeback. It sounds odd to say that, but for the longest time many Christians were convinced that anything Old Testament was made irrelevant by Jesus, including the 10 commandments, and so we heard more about the greatest commandment. And then suddenly there…
Exodus 1:8-14 [1:15–2:10]; 3:1-15 Moses and God’s Name (Mark 12:26-27a) This small (3 chapter) section of Exodus highlights again how long a scale God does things over. At the very beginning we hear that things have changed in Egypt. The people of God are forgotten – their connection to Joseph and Joseph himself are unknown by those in power. That situation didn’t…
Genesis 32:[9-13] 22-30 Jacob Wrestles God (Mark 14:32-36) Here we catch up to Jacob as he is about to head home. He has been on a long trip from home. His father sent him to find a wife among the extended family, which he has done, indeed, he has found two wives, 11 children, and been away from home for a…
Genesis 18:1-15; 21:1-7 Isaac Born to Sarah (Mark 10:27) God and angels come to visit with Sarah and Abraham. Abraham sees them and runs to greet them (do you hear the prodigal son?) Abraham flags down the travelers and encourages them to stop. Next he orders a meal to be made. Bread is to be made, a calf is to be…
I Corinthians 11:23-29, James 5:13-18, Matthew 6:5-15, Luke 10:1-17, Mark 6:7-13, Matthew 28:19-20, John 6:48–58 Table, Prayer, Sending The things we do at the end of the service, or towards the end of the service are important, too. We gather at God’s table, we pray for ourselves, our neighbors, and our world, and we are sent out into the world. There’s some…