sign ⁽⁴²⁾

Psalm 49, 1 Chronicles 29:16–22, Acts 3:1–16 Wealth and prosperity have long been a source of strife, envy, pointless striving, overwork, and abandonment of others. In an achievement-driven culture, it became an even greater issue as an “achievement” of wealth is measured against those whose…

Psalm 122, Isaiah 14:1–2, John 17:20–26, Acts 1:12–14 Psalm 122 is a prayer for the flourishing of a community. Love for Jerusalem is symbolic of loving God’s bride, as Jerusalem is often tied to being the bride of God. Loving God’s bride is to be…

Ecclesiastes 4:4–8, Ecclesiastes 5:8–17, Luke 12:13–21 “Earn all you can. Save all you can. Give all you can.” —John Wesley Money and all that it can get a person is what drives so much. The worst aspects of capitalism are very visible, and rightly so.

Psalm 55, 2 Samuel 16:15–17:10, John 13:21-32 Betrayal. It’s not that we expect our enemies or adversaries to “play” fair, but our friends? Co-workers? Family? It’s hard. It hurts. We often feel absolutely powerless in the midst of it. Then we feel angry. All very…

Isaiah 65:8–16, Luke 5:33–39 In Old Testament and Jesus’ time, wine was considered a sign of God’s blessing.* In this Isaiah speech, the new wine will be the remnant that faithfully returns to God, and then to the Promised Land. The interesting play on this…