May This Never Be!
“May this never be!” Such was the horrified response to the bloody end of Jesus’ parable of the tenants (Luke 20:9-19). The hearers had heard a parable about tenant-farmers turned terrorist-squatters. The vineyard owner had ...
“Devil, You Lie!”
Dear Brothers, What a contrast in every direction! Led by the Spirit, as the second Adam strode out onto the battlefield of temptation to face the father of lies, what a contrast it was to ...
The Glory of God’s Gracious Love for Us…in Small Things!
Dear Brothers, If the goal of Jesus’ first miracle was to create some buzz, then Jesus should have fired his publicist. The location of the miracle was in a town so small that John feels ...
Out of the Depths Comes…Great Rejoicing!
Dear Brothers, The upcoming Sunday bears the name Gaudete (Rejoice)! Like small children peeking at their brightly wrapped presents, this Sunday is a mini-Christmas celebration in the midst of Advent preparation. Are you searching for ...
Which Angels Have the Most Glorious Task?
Dear Brothers, All week, as is the custom of our chapel, the seminary family relives day by day the lessons of the previous Sunday. On Tuesday morning, here was the first stanza of the hymn ...
No Loopholes. Just Blessings!
Weary no doubt from dealing with challenging and messy marriage situations in his congregation, my long-ago-sainted father was heard to quip that dealing with such situations in Old Testament times surely must have been much ...
A Cleansing of the Heart
Dear Brothers, Is it true that legalists take God’s law more seriously than the typical Christian? Well, that’s at least what the legalist wants others to believe. They love it when others are impressed by ...
Stop Grumbling!
Dear Brothers, As the gospel for these weeks walk us through John 6, we can note many connections between what happens near Capernaum and what happened during Israel's journey through the wilderness. In next Sunday's ...
Now, That is Amazing
Dear Brothers, If someone would ask us the two most challenging places for us to preach, many of us would list the seminary chapel and the congregation where we grew up. A key challenge in ...
The Stronger Man
Dear Brothers, Is this the kind of experience a supervising pastor would plan to give his vicar on his first day of training: allowing that student pastor to hear respected church leaders insinuate that the ...