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Isaiah 58:1–12; Psalm 51:1–17; 2 Corinthians 5:20b–6:10; Matthew 6:1–6, Matthew 6:16–21 Today is Ash Wednesday. This ancient church tradition goes beyond Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Orthodox. It a time of self-reflection. Many call it a time of self-mortification. This is why it is often a…

Psalm 110:1–4; Exodus 19:7–25; Hebrews 2:1–4 God tells the “master” (king) to “sit”. It is quite common today for rulers to sit while the armies go forth to wage war or defend the nation. When the Psalm was written, it was normal that kings/rulers went…

Deuteronomy 18:15–20; Mark 1:21–28 Prophetic speech is not unique to the Judeo-Christian community, not by a long shot. In the current world, there are many forms of prophetic voice. A short list (i.e., not exhaustive) of prophetic voices: environmental collapse; sustainability (related, but not the…

Psalm 46; Genesis 12:1–9; 1 Corinthians 7:17–24 A number of years ago, Randy Craker (our District Superintendent), shared a message with the college-aged students of our ministry. He talked about how their time, whether being in college or not, was their time before going out…

Jonah 3:1–5, 10; 1 Corinthians 7:29–31; Mark 1:14–20 Jonah may have been the most successful preacher in history. He preached and an entire city repented, and a large city, at that. The church celebrates 4000 in one day as a supreme act, yet cranky Jonah…