together ⁽¹²²⁾

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…

John 6:54–66, Zechariah 3:1–4, Romans 8:31–39 The how of Communion has been a mystery of and for the church. How it works has been (and continues to be) a strong discussion point between traditions and denominations. What hasn’t been a discussion point is that it…

Deuteronomy 14:22–26, Acts 2:36–42 Feasting in the presence of the Lord is a strong theme in all the Jewish feast times. Feasting in God’s presence provides a physical reminder that it is by God’s grace and power that there is something to feast with. It…

Joshua 22:9–34, 1 Samuel 2:12–17, Psalm 40 What’s for dinner? In other denominations, Fridays in Lent are meat-free. No steak or burgers. No bacon. Oddly, due to the latin root “carno” (i.e., carnivore), fish isn’t a “meat”. So, fish Friday it is. If you’ve ever…

Psalm 105:1–15, 2 Chronicles 20:1–22, Luke 13:22–31 We often feel powerless in comparison to the world around us. The current pervasive feeling is that normal people do not have a voice in the government that is supposed to be theirs. Many people feel powerless in…