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Communal Sacrifice
Exodus 12:1–20, Nehemiah 8:1–18, Psalm 133 The Exodus story, specifically the first Passover, always comes up around Easter. Which makes perfect sense, as Holy Week revolves around Passover, along with the seemingly obvious linking of Jesus being the ultimate Passover lamb (i.e., the sacrifice needed for Passover). All the Israelites were going to sacrifice a
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Blessings of the Vine
Isaiah 65:8–16, Luke 5:33–39 In Old Testament and Jesus’ time, wine was considered a sign of God’s blessing.* In this Isaiah speech, the new wine will be the remnant that faithfully returns to God, and then to the Promised Land. The interesting play on this means that because of the old wine (Israel) that the
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Do You and Can You
Psalm 119:145–160 This morning’s devotion is more of contemplation on these verses of Psalm 119. The psalmist is under pressure. He seeks rescue. Thinking about your life’s circumstances, especially those when in trouble or hurting: Do you… …put your hope in his word? …meditate on his promises? …trust that he is your champion? …believe in
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Bargain Making
Genesis 22:15–18, Isaiah 48:17–49:4 Promises. Promises. God is faithful and true and fulfills his Word. If someone who does not trust God nor believe that God fulfills his Word were to compare the passage in Genesis to Isaiah 48:17–19, would they come to the same conclusion? We would like to think so. From a perspective
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Good At The End
Proverbs 19:16-25, Jeremiah 24:1-10 Wisdom is all around us. It’s on our phones. Just ask Google. True wisdom starts with God. That is the premise of Proverbs. How is such wisdom gained? There are a number of ways. The best (and easiest) is to learn from others (Proverbs 19:20). Proverbs is one of the wisdom
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Being and Becoming the Bridge
Isaiah 30:18–26, Isaiah 61:10–11, 1 Corinthians 3:5–11, 1 Corinthians 11:23–26 We are the bridge between the past and the future, with one foot in the past and one foot in the future. The past of glory was gone, a faded memory. Perhaps to some it was just an old tale that was from the crazy
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Communional Mystery
John 6:54–66, Zechariah 3:1–4, Romans 8:31–39 The how of Communion has been a mystery of and for the church. How it works has been (and continues to be) a strong discussion point between traditions and denominations. What hasn’t been a discussion point is that it does work. The long practice of Communion ties generations to
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Long Roads Together
Genesis 22:1–18, Isaiah 45:11–17, Matthew 4:1–11 Genesis has many passages in it that Christians, Jews, and non-believers stumble over. Often it is our own pride, and sometimes it is us looking back upon those “backward and ignorant” people, with all our knowledge and obviously “better” culture. This passage in Genesis (22:1–18) is often one of
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Practice Feasting
Deuteronomy 14:22–26, Acts 2:36–42 Feasting in the presence of the Lord is a strong theme in all the Jewish feast times. Feasting in God’s presence provides a physical reminder that it is by God’s grace and power that there is something to feast with. It also reminds us that God is God. It keeps us
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A Secured Feast
Psalm 78:1–43, 2 Kings 4:42–44, Luke 9:10–17 In the land they had left (Egypt), there was plenty, but it was not theirs. In the wilderness, there was not plenty. In the wilderness, however, Israel had God who provided both sustenance, and beyond that. God provided for the Israelites in ways neither you nor I, or