hope ⁽¹²³⁾

Psalm 92:1–4, 12–15; Ezekiel 17:22–24; 2 Corinthians 5:11–17; Mark 4:26–34 If you’ve ever walked in a forest, particularly a rain forest (like the one on the Olympic Peninsula), you might see a fallen and dead tree. On that dead tree, or from even its stump,…

Psalm 130; Isaiah 28:9–13; 1 Peter 4:7–19 The Psalm is a cry to people to hold onto God. Not the “opiate of the masses” that Karl Marx spoke of, but an active holding on that requires us to meet intimately with God, and pay attention…

Psalm 47; Ephesians 1:15–23; Luke 24:44–53; Acts 1:1–11 If you’re of a certain age, you’ll probably know the source of, “Up! Up! And away!” (Superman). If you’re of another age or particular family/church origin, you’ll probably know the song, “I’ll Fly Away”. Then there is…

Psalm 93; Deuteronomy 7:1–11; 1 Timothy 6:11–12 When we read Deuteronomy, we often evaluate it upon our understanding of life, nations, and ancestry. In many respects, Deuteronomy contains thinking that is alien to Western thinking. Part of this is tied into the relationship between peoples,…

Psalm 22:25–31; Amos 8:11–13; Acts 8:9–25 The diminished place in American society that the American church is finally beginning to truly wrestle with is where the church was in many other Western countries many decades ago. As it processes what this means, the American church…