Search Results

Mark 1:21-39 sets up the framework of Jesus’ ministry in terms of casting out demons, healing, and preaching/teaching. We already saw his first exorcism in verses 21-28. Now we encounter his first healing. Back from (...)

Our reading from Luke for this week is made up of two vignettes; the first about Jesus’ encounter with an unwelcoming Samaritan village (9:51-56), and the second a series of conversations about following Jesus (9:57-62). (...)

For a passage that is supposed to be about Jesus’ baptism, Luke 3 seems strange in its avoidance of the moment. The baptism seems almost an afterthought. It happens off-stage, mentioned alongside the baptisms of (...)

Even God’s friend Moses did not live forever. But God swore to bless and shepherd the beloved community for all time. How can we have a forever community without a forever [human] leader? The answer (...)

At the heart of Psalm 89 is the question of faithfulness.1 More particularly, the question centers on the faithfulness of God. As a royal psalm, the psalm celebrates and explores the relationship between God and (...)

Isaiah 40:1-11 is one of the most important texts in all of Isaiah.1 The narrative immediately preceding it (Isaiah 39:1-8) features King Hezekiah, who hosts an envoy from the faraway country of Babylon. This narrative, (...)

For preachers and congregations that have followed the Revised Common Lectionary in the past, it may seem out of place to read portions of this Ash Wednesday text in the midst of Advent. But bringing (...)

Brennan Breed serves as Associate Professor of Old Testament and Director of the Quality Enhancement Plan at Columbia Theological Seminary, and Theologian-in-Residence at First Presbyterian Church in Marietta, Georgia. He is author of the book Nomadic (...)

Christopher B. Hays is D. Wilson Moore Associate Professor of Ancient Near Eastern Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary. Hays is the author of Hidden Riches: A Textbook for the Comparative Study of the Old Testament (...)

Prior to the opening of the dreaded seventh seal, Revelation delivers an amazing and hope-filled surprise: a “salvation interlude,” assuring God’s people they are protected.1 Just when we are expecting even more destruction with the (...)