Advent catches me off-guard every year with the reminder that God may be “in his heaven” but all is not, in fact, right with the world.
Connections 11.26.2023: Grace and Goodness
November 19, 2023 by
It’s Thanksgiving week, which means many of us will gather with some of the people we love best in the world, and we’ll eat amazing favorite foods, and we’ll share the things we’re grateful for, and we’ll celebrate the beginning of the Christmas season.
Connections 11.19.2023: Peace and Security
November 12, 2023 by
Most of us don’t know very much about the ancient history of the region that many faith groups consider to be holy land.
Connections 11.05.2023: Recipe for a Saint
October 29, 2023 by
The first Sunday in November is often observed as All Saints’ Day.
Connections 10.29.2023: The Bible and the Newspaper
October 22, 2023 by
In 1963, Time magazine published a short article about the retirement of the theologian and professor Karl Barth.
Connections 10.15.2023: “Yes, But” or “Yes, And”
October 8, 2023 by
If these parables were a modern movie franchise, volume three (22:1-14) might frustrate fans and critics.
Connections 10.08.2023: Regrets, I Have (More Than) a Few
October 1, 2023 by
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 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 09.03.2023: 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 08.13.2023: 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 07.16.2023: 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 07.02.2023: 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 06.11.2023: 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 05.21.2023: 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 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 04.09.2023: “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 03.19.2023: 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 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 02.05.2023: Who Are We to Say?
January 29, 2023 by
For someone who claims to have come preaching to the Corinthians “in weakness and in fear and in much trembling” (v. 3), the Apostle Paul always seems to me to be very certain.
Connections 01.29.2023: Wisdom for the Here and Now
January 22, 2023 by
The city’s residents and visitors included educated Greek philosophers and faithful Jewish scholars alongside many other religious groups and ethnic traditions.
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 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 12.04.2022: 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 11.13.2022: 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 10.23.2022: 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.
Connections 10.16.2022: The (Im)possible Dream
October 9, 2022 by
The books of the Old Testament prophets are sprinkled with visions through which God communicates to these dedicated messengers. We may be so familiar with the stories of prophetic visions that we are no longer impressed or amazed by them.
Connections 10.02.2022: One Quiet Hope
September 25, 2022 by
The book of Lamentations is a book for the people. Five long poems of lament put a whole community’s grief into words as the people of Israel come to terms with their exile from their home in God’s holy land.
Connections 09.25.2022: Entitlement into Eternity
September 18, 2022 by
If I use enough imagination, do a bit of mental gymnastics, I can always find myself in the “good guy” in Jesus’ parables.
Connections 09.11.2022: About Us, or For Us?
September 4, 2022 by
One of the wonderful things about Jesus’ parables is the way we can find ourselves in them. When Jesus tells a story about a prodigal child, or a faithful servant, or a lost sheep, we can take encouragement from the ways Jesus shows his real-life love.
Connections 09.04.2022: Sound Bites and “Supposes”
August 28, 2022 by
I suspect most of us, at times, have encountered the Bible with a “sound bite” approach, our attention grabbed by a select handful of Jesus’ sayings.
Connections 08.14.2022: The Shaking and Unshakable
August 14, 2022 by
Six years ago, I wrote about this text for the Baptist Women in Ministry blog. We were in an election year, our national life seemed more fraught than ever before, and it felt appropriate to reflect on our human-made structures being shaken by God.
Connections 08.14.2022: Under a Cloud
August 7, 2022 by
The “cloud of witnesses” described in Hebrews 12:1 is one of the most beautiful, most encouraging images of our faith. It helps us imagine the way we are connected to all who came before us.
Connections 07.31.2022: All Kinds of Greed
July 24, 2022 by
Twenty-one years ago this spring, I wrote a sermon about this text. It was my final year of seminary and I got the best grade in my seminary career on it.
Connections 07.24.2022: What God Gives
July 17, 2022 by
They say, “God only gives you what you can handle.” “They” like to say this when people around them are struggling.