Acts 16:16-34

This snapshot we have today of Paul’s ministry adventures in the Middle East has it all!
From a boisterous fortune teller, to a fortuitous earthquake!
It’s a breathtaking story.

And this is what I notice about it:
Like the call to Paul and Silas, the call of God is one that involves motion, movement, a going forth, a...

Last Sunday I spoke about the difficulty – in fact the impossibility – of speaking about God in exacting terms – talking about God in any definitive, unambiguous way … as if we can comprehend fully and nail down completely our concept of God.

And, of course, while we do know something very important about God through the...

Where would the church be without Women of Faith? 

So, the religious leaders gather around Jesus, and say to him: “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

Tell us plainly.

Indeed.
How much we all prefer “plain-talkers” – people who just tell it straight, to tell it like it is, not to beat around the bush, but just say it...

Do you ever notice how mysterious dusk and dawn often are in the Bible? It seems that there is something particularly sacred about these transitional times of day. The Easter journey is full of key events at these particular times, Peter denying Jesus as the rooster crows, Jesus is hurried down from the cross before the Sabbath sun sets, Jesus...

Doubting Thomas. It seems that Thomas the Twin often gets a bad rap. He is set up as an easy punching bag in this Gospel reading. How could he not believe the disciples when they told him Jesus dropped in? I wonder if they had April Fool’s Day back then. It seems like a pretty good set up. Perhaps Thomas drew the short straw and was sent...

Well, I for one am glad it’s Easter Sunday – for many different reasons.

What with this recent ice storm, it seems we’ve been through a long, grey, wearying winter.

And Holy Week prior to Easter – with its tough and gritty emotions surrounding the suffering, torture and death of Jesus – all of that just beats us...

Good Friday, what’s so Good about Good Friday?

It seems a little bit of a misnomer given how gruesome today’s story is. Jesus is tested, betrayed and arrested, humiliated, his disciples reject him, he’s beaten and tortured, put on the cross to suffer a horrible death, witness to the agony on his mother’s face as she...

Today is a dark day in the Christian calendar, this is not really a feel good event. How many times have you heard the words, “in the night in which he was betrayed?” Tonight is the night of the Last Supper, as told by the Gospel of John.

You know what, I love the Gospel of John. It is a rich narrative about Jesus’ ministry,...

There is a lot of heavy stuff in today’s reading; faith, sin, atonement, law, death, justification. The first thing that jumps out at me is the most important theological principle in the Lutheran tradition. Justification through faith.

Basically what that means is that it is God’s grace and forgiveness, which makes us acceptable to...