Blog (Page 218)

 Psalm 8:1-4 “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?” vss. 3-4 What would the psalmist have said if he had had accessibility to the Hubble telescope, and been able to see far into the depths of the universe? Given his ecstasy over what he was able to see with the naked…

Genesis 1:20-2:4a “So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” vs. 27 As the Hebrews reflected on the nature of God and of God’s creation, it was obvious to them that there was something special about humans. Of course we’re a part of the creation and God did bring us into existence like every other living being. We have a lot in common with dogs and cats…

Genesis 1:1-19 “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good;” The creation stories of Genesis contain deep and profound truths that have been foundational for people of faith for many hundreds of…

John 20:19-23 “Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ’Receive the Holy Spirit.’” vss. 21-22 When Jesus died those who had engineered his death probably expected that the movement that had grown up around him would quickly be forgotten. After all, the crowds had come together primarily because of his personal charisma and appeal. With…

1 Corinthians 12: 8-13 “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.” vs. 12 Paul used the human body with all of its parts as a metaphor for the Body of Christ. It’s a great image. A well-functioning body is beautiful to behold and capable of amazing feats. Well maintained, it can service our needs for many decades. But our…

1 Corinthians 12:3b-7 “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” vss. 4-5, 7 All who are baptized into Christ Jesus are the Body of Christ in the world. As the old song puts it, “We are the Church!” We have been called by the Holy Spirit and gathered into one community of faith, and…

Psalm 104:30-34 “When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground.” vs. 30 Even though Pentecost has been set aside to celebrate God’s gift of the Holy Spirit, we should not imagine that the Spirit was not active before the day described in the book of Acts. Quite obviously, Jesus was guided and led by the indwelling Spirit all through his ministry…and when Genesis 1 speaks of the wind from God brooding…

Psalm 104:24-29 “O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.” vs. 24 When we take a good hard look at the world around us we can’t help but be overwhelmed by the natural beauty and wonder of it all. And if we then add the incredible variety and diversity of its creatures, the delight only increases. No wonder the psalmist was so lavish in his words of…

Acts 2:14-21 “No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.’” vss. 17-18 As the disciples lived through the excitement and turmoil of those first Spirit-filled days, their familiarity with the words of Joel convinced them that the…

Acts 2:1-13 “Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.” vss. 3-4 It’s hard to know what to do with Pentecost. Christmas and Easter are easy–crowds of folks come out for worship–and the message is pretty much always the same. But Pentecost is tougher. Some years it gets stuck on…

John 17:6-11 “And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.” vs. 11 As he neared the end of his time on earth Jesus prayed fervently for his followers, not only that they would know his words had come from God, but that they would be…

John 17:1-5 “And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” vs. 3 Despite the fact that eternal life is pretty much beyond our understanding, we have a tendency to engage in mostly fruitless speculation and debate about what it may be like. One basic mistake is to picture eternity as “endless time” and imagine that it stretches on and on, one year after another, with no ending…