This morning I was reading again in 1 Kings and was struck by something I hadn’t remembered. In the later years of Solomon’s reign, he did all sorts of things that were not ok. He went back to Egypt, he gathered chariots and horses, he had a ton of wives. Not only that, he built… Continue reading No Kings?
Category: Studying Scripture
The question of Abraham
I was reading in Genesis 14 not too long ago – a story of early tribal warfare, if you will – where a bunch of kings teamed up together, fought and plundered some other kings, and essentially took Lot and all his household and animals with them. Abram did what would have been expected of… Continue reading The question of Abraham
A mountain of concern
“Why are you here?” This is the question the Lord asks Elijah as he was running away to save his life. After all, he had just ticked off the queen by killing all the prophets of Baal, so of course he was on her hit list. “Why are you here?” As if God doesn’t know?… Continue reading A mountain of concern
Asking for too much too soon
Hi all It’s been a bit hasn’t it? I look back and realize it was May since my last post, and needless to say it’s been a full summer. Good and hard things alike, and I just needed to take a break from writing. That being said, with weather cooler in the morning and more… Continue reading Asking for too much too soon
A new look at mercy
This morning I was reading the story of the good Samaritan in the book of Luke. Although I will assume most people have heard this story, I’ll recap before I get to my point. A teacher of the law asked Jesus how to inherit life that never ends [aionous zoe]- meaning the fullness of life… Continue reading A new look at mercy
The Cross over Empire
To say I have “studied” the book of Revelation would be a gross over-statement. Rather, I can say I have spent the last four classes of this semester looking at the themes and talking about how first century people would have understood the letter and apocalyptic style of writing of the day. It has been… Continue reading The Cross over Empire
The Imagery of Sacrifice
If I were to ask you the first thing that came to mind when I said the word “sacrifice” – what would you say? Time? Money? Something someone does when they set aside something they really wanted to do? or maybe something more sinister based on a variety of shows out nowadays? It can be… Continue reading The Imagery of Sacrifice
Breadcrumbs of Hope in the Old Testament
Sure, there are some great verses that always get pulled out and posted somewhere (or made into a sign at Hobby Lobby), but if you try to read one of the books from start to finish, unless you have been taught about their structure, it can feel like you are being thrust into a movie… Continue reading Breadcrumbs of Hope in the Old Testament
Redemption of the past
So today is the first Sunday of Advent, and this morning the pastor was reading over the first chapter in Matthew – which, if you have read it – is a geneology of the dads (and a few moms that are mentioned) in the line of Jesus. I suspect some of us have always skipped… Continue reading Redemption of the past
Lessons from Mark’s crucifixion story
Up here in the Boulder area, just like everywhere else, churches are largely still online. There are one or two smaller ones that are meeting in person, but not many. Today we decided to visit one of them, primarily because we know the young lady that is the worship leader. The congregation must have been… Continue reading Lessons from Mark’s crucifixion story
Finding the Life 