gain ⁽²⁸⁾

Psalm 84; Ezra 6:1–16; Mark 11:15–19 If you are unaccustomed to the lectionary (again, what is being used this year for the passages), it can seem odd, annoying, and definitely repetitious to see the same Psalm for multiple days. As I, too, am reading it…

1 Samuel 15:7–15; Acts 5:1–11 Every pastor’s favorite sermon topic is tithing/giving. Every pastor absolutely loves talking about you are to give freely to God by giving to the church and other missional activities. In case you’re wondering, that was sarcasm. Most pastor’s hate it.

Matthew 16:21–28; Mark 8:27–38; Luke 9:18–27 You are probably the most familiar with the translation in Mark saying, “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” It has been made famous in a number of songs. It has…

Luke 10:1–9; 2 Corinthians 12:1–14 There are many people who attract attention naturally. Some do it with mere charisma. Some do it with money. Others do it with the words (positive and negative). There are others that do it out of gain. Whether it is…

Psalm 2; Acts 13:32–41; Galatians 4:1–8 I was Luke Skywalker for Halloween. I was attired like he was when we first see him in Star Wars (now re-titled “Episode IV: A New Hope”). Needless to say, I was excited to see The Empire Strikes back…