Yesterday I let my fifteen-year-old son connect his phone to my car’s audio system so we could listen to his playlist on the way to the orthodontist.
Connections 10.01.2023: The Guest List
September 24, 2023 by
Verse 31 of our passage, which is the “Verse to Remember” for today’s study, is one of those difficult sayings of Jesus that bewilder us: “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you.”
Connections 09.24.2023: What’s Your Problem?
September 17, 2023 by
In general, it is not a good idea to base complex theological understandings on snippets and sound bites.
Connections 09.17.2023: All Means All
September 7, 2023 by
In literature, including the Bible, repetition of a word or phrase is a way of giving emphasis to an image or an idea.
Connections 09.10.2023: God’s Justice and God’s Love
September 3, 2023 by
Today’s lesson text highlights the responsibility of the prophet Ezekiel: he must preach repentance to the people.
Connections 09.03.2023: Up to Good?
August 27, 2023 by
Of all the descriptions we might apply to the Bible—holy, inspired, encouraging, uplifting—one we might not usually consider is ironic.
Connections 08.27.2023: Stop, Look, and Listen
August 20, 2023 by
As children, many of us learned to “stop, look, and listen” when we crossed the street, to (hopefully) cross safely.
Connections 08.20.2023: Salvation
August 13, 2023 by
People from certain Christian traditions may remember sermons and lessons about “being saved,” “asking Jesus into your heart,” or “walking the aisle” to make a public profession of faith before the church.
Connections 08.13.2023: You Are (Still) Here
August 6, 2023 by
Elijah is on the run. His life is in danger because he has been faithful to the ways of God and has faithfully proclaimed God’s messages, even though the people have responded violently.
Connections 08.06.2023: Making the Pitch
July 30, 2023 by
There’s an old advertising maxim that if you want to sell something, first you show the people that they have a need, then show them how your product or service can meet that need.
Connections 07.30.2023: Jacob and Laban
July 23, 2023 by
As we modern readers study Genesis 29, we might be struck by the way Laban uses his daughters, Leah and Rachel, to bait and trap Jacob.
Connections 07.23.2023: Jacob and the Lord
July 16, 2023 by
Esau was angry enough to kill Jacob, and when their mother Rebekah heard about that, she told her beloved son to leave home.
Connections 07.16.2023: Changing the Things We Can
July 9, 2023 by
The Bible is full of stories of people who grapple with this reality, whether they know it or not. They learn to trust God in times when a situation “is what it is.”
Connections 07.09.2023: Isaac and Rebekah
July 2, 2023 by
In today’s lesson text, a servant of Abraham does the patriarch’s bidding. He goes to Abraham’s people to “get a wife” for Isaac, the beloved miracle son (v. 38).
Connections 07.02.2023: Here I Am
June 25, 2023 by
About three miles from the White House are the gated, green grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement Home. Today it’s a quick car ride to a place that feels a million miles away from the marble monuments and memorials of the National Mall.
Connections 06.25.2023: Good to Know
June 18, 2023 by
Those of us who grew up in churches and denominations that were “evangelical”—in the sense of sharing the Good News (from the Greek, euangélion)—can probably rattle off quite a few Bible verses that we learned to lean on as foundations of faith.
Connections 06.18.2023: Bodies and Souls
June 11, 2023 by
In our lesson text, we read about Jesus fulfilling his mission of bringing God’s kingdom to earth. How does he do this?
Connections 06.11.2023: You Can Sit with Us
June 4, 2023 by
I have very clear memories of lunchtimes on several first days in several new schools, when I would stand at the edge of a crowded, noisy cafeteria, clutching the edges of a plastic tray.
Connections 06.04.2023: The Great Reassurance
May 28, 2023 by
Matthew 28:17 seems to me to be one of the most honest descriptions of Jesus’s disciples in the entire Bible. They have followed him from their fishing boats to the upper room.
Connections 05.28.2023: Receive the Holy Spirit
May 21, 2023 by
Our lesson title, “Receive the Holy Spirit,” comes from John 20:22, when Jesus breathes on his frightened disciples and blesses them with a new power that will remain even after he is no longer physically present.
Connections 05.21.2023: On Their Behalf
May 14, 2023 by
Many of us have probably had the experience of someone praying for us by name, in person, right in front of (or next to) us. Maybe they’re even holding our hands or laying hands on our heads or shoulders.
Connections 05.14.2023: Making a Home
May 7, 2023 by
In 22 years as a military family, my family has had a lot of homes. We are old hands at moving in and moving out.
Connections 05.07.2023: “Believe in Me”
April 30, 2023 by
Our lesson text encapsulates what, for me, are the two sides of the coin of faith: hope and doubt.
Connections 04.30.2023: Seeking Understanding
April 23, 2023 by
Jesus regularly teaches his listeners—whether his devoted followers or his frustrated (and frustrating) detractors—using metaphors.
Connections 04.23.2023: Doing Something
April 16, 2023 by
When I was about fifteen years old, the movie Dead Poets Society came out and changed my life—at least, it sure felt like it.
Connections 04.16.2023: The Hope of Christ in Grief
April 9, 2023 by
What’s the most powerful sermon you can remember? I remember one in particular. I was still in high school and had slept over at a friend’s house on New Year’s Eve.
Connections 04.09.2023: “Who Are You Looking For?”
April 2, 2023 by
If the question of Palm Sunday—“Who is this?”—is a good one, the question of Easter may be a better one.
Connections 04.02.2023: Who Is This?
March 26, 2023 by
There are Scriptures we can hear spoken aloud in worship—and sung about in hymns—and acted out in children’s pageants—and taught about in studies and sermons.
Connections 03.26.2023: Restoration
March 19, 2023 by
As I grew up, skeletons always made me think of Halloween. Whether it was a homemade costume, flexible paper decorations hanging on school walls, or plastic bones sticking out of the yard.
Connections 03.19.2023: How Long, O Lord?
March 12, 2023 by
At least fifteen times in the Psalms, the psalmist asks God “How long?” How long will God allow God’s people to suffer (Ps 4)? How long will God hide God’s face (Ps 13)?
Connections 03.12.2023: In Remembrance
March 5, 2023 by
In Exodus, there is a refrain: the Hebrew people are to tell their children what God did to save them from slavery in Egypt. But the exodus isn’t the only thing the people are supposed to remember.
Connections 03.05.2023: Movement
February 26, 2023 by
When we feel comfortable somewhere—we know the layout of the place, the character of the people, the dependency of the routines—it’s hard to think about leaving.
Connections 02.26.2023: For All We Know
February 19, 2023 by
The narrative of the Garden of Eden makes a great children’s story. It’s ideal for picture books: the flowing blues of water and sky, with the shining sun, moon, and stars in their courses.
Connections 02.19.2023: We’ve Heard It All Before
February 12, 2023 by
People who have grown up in church, been regular Sunday School attenders, or listened to enough sermons based on the three-year cycle of the Revised Common Lectionary may feel like they’ve heard it all before.
Connections 01.22.2023: Jesus’s Ministry Begins
January 15, 2023 by
It must be a sobering moment for Jesus. He has just spent time on his own in the wilderness, enduring and overcoming the devil’s temptations. Now he comes back to civilization to learn that his cousin John has been arrested.
Connections 01.15.2023: Letting Them Go
January 8, 2023 by
All four Gospels tell stories that include John the Baptist. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus’s cousin John shows up several times.
Connections 01.08.2023: Who Jesus Is
January 1, 2023 by
The four Gospels record many similar depictions of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection, and each writer also includes unique parts of Jesus’s story. When we study the Bible, we remember that the similarities and differences between the Gospels are important.
Connections 01.01.2023: Beginning a New Year
December 25, 2022 by
Jesus’s life began in great drama. His earthly parents rushed to be counted for the census only to get stuck in Bethlehem as Mary started having labor pains.
Connections 12.25.2022: Pondering Traditions
December 18, 2022 by
The other day I saw a social media post aimed at newly married folks. It said, in effect, whatever you do, you do not question your spouse’s family’s Christmas traditions.
Connections 12.18.2022: What is Love?
December 11, 2022 by
In this final week of Advent, our wait for Christmas Day is in single digits. The winter solstice, the longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, is here.
Connections 12.11.2022: Having Patience
December 4, 2022 by
We are often a backward-looking or forward-looking society. It’s hard to stay in the present. Many of us spend lots of time thinking about past decisions, memories, or events that we wish we could do over.
Connections 12.04.2022: Seeking Peace
November 27, 2022 by
There are several different ways to “name” the four traditional weeks of Advent as we move closer to the celebration of Jesus’s birth. The most familiar is probably the quartet of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.
Connections 11.27.2022: Counting Down
November 20, 2022 by
When I was growing up in the Olden Days (you know, the 1980s), my family didn’t celebrate the church season of Advent. Once Thanksgiving was over and December 1 came, we went straight into red and green overload.
Connections 11.20.2022: A Promise of Home
November 13, 2022 by
Imagine being exiled away from your homeland—from all you know, all that feels familiar, all that makes you comfortable.
Connections 11.13.2022: Remembering to Forget
November 6, 2022 by
Where I live, the autumn trees have been spectacular this year and every time the wind blows a flurry of red and gold leaves spill to the ground. The trees are letting go until next spring.
Connections 11.06.2022: Looking Back and Working Toward
October 30, 2022 by
For the past several Sundays, the church my family attends has been gearing up for a time of visioning: where are we being called in the months and years ahead?
Connections 10.30.2022: So Stay Faithful
October 23, 2022 by
If we think about just the past decade in our world, we might feel inclined to say with Habakkuk, “Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise.”
Connections 10.23.2022: God in the Midst
October 16, 2022 by
The “end times” are big business. When I was in youth group in the 1980s, we had a leader who was really into end-times stuff. At lock-ins we watched ‘70s-era apocalypse movies, and for many years I carried a bookmark in my Bible describing all the possible tribulation timelines.