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This Sunday presents us with a portion of Peter’s first public sermon, preached on the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit has come upon the disciples with power, just as Jesus promised (Acts (...)

Expectation. Birth. Manger. Shepherds. Angels. Witness. Many such details constitute the common ingredients in any veteran preacher’s Christmas Eve message. Indeed, if you have been involved in the vocation of preaching for a while, you (...)

Jonah, the book, is a great story with fantastical imagery, from a great fish swallowing Jonah to cattle in sackcloth. It’s a story told around campfires to make a point. Or recited in Sunday School (...)

Today’s reading, 2 Corinthians 4:3-6, gives us profound insight into how we are transfigured by a double manifestation — of the Messiah’s glory as the image of God and of God’s glory in the face (...)

Most congregations would drown in this text’s cascade of details. “Six days later.” “A high mountain apart.” “Elijah with Moses.” “Let’s make three dwellings.” “A cloud overshadowed them.”  Each of these items chimes with the (...)

This Sunday’s lection comprises three episodes: Jesus’ baptism (Mark 1:9-11), his temptation (1:12-13), and his inaugural preaching (1:14-15). The preacher could justifiably dedicate a sermon to any of these. I suggest an alternative: so tightly (...)

Nearly everything about this text feels far removed from 21st-century life.1 It chafes against both our theological sensibilities and our scientific good sense. Surely God does not send poisonous snakes to punish human beings for (...)

Now we’re in a place where we can see what Jesus’ disciples are made of. So far, Mark has done little to draw our attention to them. They have followed Jesus around and listened to (...)

Since the pulp-patron saint of archaeologists, Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones, Jr., appeared on the cinematic scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1984), the ark of God has played a role in popular imagination beyond (...)

Genesis 2:18-24 is a fascinating text that throughout the centuries has done much harm. For instance, over the years, the reference to the woman as man’s helpmate has been invoked to relegate women to a (...)