Tag: questions
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Desolate
Micah 2:1–13; Matthew 24:15–31 Many people attribute motives to leaders, especially political ones, that fit a narrative, rather than the facts. Sometimes they fit both the facts and the narrative. The last few presidents have had a lot of that. Even our current governor has had a lot of that. We may not like their…
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Power to…
Jeremiah 31:10–14; John 5:19–40 If you had the power to change anything and everything, would you? If you could eliminate war, disease, hatred, bigotry, misogyny…would you? If you could judge people perfectly…would you? The structure of the Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) is a conundrum. The Father is God; the Son (Jesus) is God; the…
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Now’s The Time
Matthew 16:1–4; Matthew 13:1–9; Matthew 13:18–23; Titus 2:11–14 Humanity has smashed the atom. Humanity has gone to the moon. Humanity can splice the fabric of life (DNA). Humanity sill hates. Humanity still wars. Humanity still fears. A generation goes and a generation comes,but the earth remains forever. What has been is what will be,and what…
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Clear the Earth
Exodus 10:3–15; Joel 1:2–4; Mark 1:4–8 We read the Little House on the Prairie series to our kids. Ingalls relates how locusts one annihilated their crops. A family that barely lived on a shoestring certainly couldn’t afford that loss. That same swarm swept much of the United States, causing horrendous loss of crops and farms.…
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Neglection
Proverbs 1:20–29; Hebrews 2:2–11; Hebrews 10:23–25 It’s been pretty normal that there will be some dramatic (and probably horrific) story of neglect that will be in the news. Children and animals recovered from bad situations; situations where the health and well-being (including mental and spiritual) of children is neglected. Most of us usually respond with…
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Gather Where
Exodus 3:1–6; Ezra 3:8–13; Matthew 23:37–24:8 I visited Rome many years ago. I have never been so overwhelmed by the sheer number of church buildings. It seemed that there wasn’t a block that didn’t have one. There is a Roman Catholic church building dedicated to every country in the world, and that’s not even half…
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Thieving Glory
Matthew 24:42–44; 1 Thessalonians 5:2–6; Revelation 16:12–16 Calling God a thief seems more than just a little ridiculous. Yet, Jesus uses the imagery of a thief to talk about the Day of the Lord. The Day of the Lord is an ambiguous phrase. Many (perhaps even most) Christians, think of the “Day of the Lord”…
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The Tax Man Comes
Mark 2:13–17; Luke 19:1–11 Zacchaeus has been a staple in Children’s church for years…♫♪“Zacchaeus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he.”♪♫ His stature makes him identifiable for children. They understand being too short to see things that all the adults get to see. What gets lost for the children is Zacchaeus’…