Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy.2 Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone...

…at the news of this past weekend (June 12, 2016) about the hate crime and the terrorist assault on Pulse, a gay bar in Orlando, Florida, as must be yours. It is the biggest mass shooting by a lone gunman in the U.S. ever, and the biggest terrorist attack here since...

"But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.8 This is why it[a] says: “When he ascended on high,  he took many captives  and gave gifts to his people.”[b]9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly...

To what extent do we see our Christian walk as God’s gift to us? Or do we see it mostly as our gift to God? Does the needle of our faith point more to our side of the dial, or toward God’s side? How much do we see the blessings of faith as gifts of God’s faithfulness to us, or as rewards for our faithfulness to God? Do we think we are here this morning because Jesus first came to us, or because we first came to him? Do we think that we first called on him, or that he was first calling us, so that our call to him was a response to his call to us?

Romans 5: 1: "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so,...

(The following is the fruit of a year's reflections after having read The Confessions by St. Augustine) “Grant me what you command, and command of me what you will.” This simple but paradoxical prayer by Aurelius Augustine, the 5th Century bishop of Hippo, North...

The gospel story that began with God stooping down to enter humanity, when the highest One of heaven descended to the most lowly and humble station on earth, and the divine nature condescended to join and to take on our humble human condition, leads to the exact opposite movement that we celebrate today: when Jesus raised and exalted our humanity up to join God. On that Ascension Day, the best of earth ascended to heaven, bringing our humanity with him. … that makes Christmas and the Ascension two sides of the same coin.

Romans 8: 21...the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; 23 and not only the creation, but we...

Rev. 7: 9-17 9 After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. 10 They cried...

19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The...