Tag Archives: Jesus
Sermon On Jesus Before Pilate
If Christ Is King John 18.28-38 Today is the last Sunday in the church year… Christ the King Sunday. Next week the church calendar starts anew as we begin Advent and look toward Christmas. The scripture readings for today invite … Continue reading
Divine Conspiracy 2 and 3
In chapter two of The Divine Conspiracy, Dallas Willard critiques versions of the gospel he sees operative in churches today. On the religious right, Jesus brings forgiveness of sins and the hope of heaven at some time in the future. … Continue reading
Divine Conspiracy 1
Dallas Willard begins The Divine Conspiracy with a story about a jet fighter that crashed. The pilot was flying upside-down without knowing it, and when she made an ascent maneuver the plane flew into the ground. He uses this image throughout … Continue reading
Dead Cars and Holy Saturday
The coldest winter in years has afflicted us for the last six weeks. Montana’s weather has migrated to southeastern Michigan, and we’re not accustomed to it. I don’t know how people endure this kind of weather year after year. One … Continue reading
Alzheimer’s and Capax Dei
The Coalition for Older Adults meets every other month at the Human Services Building on Winter Street. Forty representatives from an array of agencies, mostly women, sit at long brown tables in the River Raisin Room to network, share ideas and … Continue reading
Not Like Jesus
Ed Dobson, former pastor at Calvary Church in Grand Rapids, spent last year trying to live like Jesus. He read the four Gospels each week, gleaning them for daily direction. His efforts at imitation led in two directions: he followed Jewish … Continue reading
When the Margins Disappear
He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. (Psalm 40.2) I finished a funeral Monday afternoon and drove back to the office. When I … Continue reading
Aboriginal Man
In the epic film Australia, Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman) must drive 1500 head of cattle from her ranch at Faraway Downs to the port at Darwin. A mysterious man called Drover (Hugh Jackman) assists her in the journey, which will … Continue reading
Wealth and Its Discontents
The Parable of the Dishonest Manager ends with this admonition from Jesus: And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes. (Luke … Continue reading
On a Quest
In today’s Gospel reading large crowds are following Jesus, but he attempts to discourage them from becoming disciples. They must give up family claims, he says, and even a claim to life itself. To impress the point he uses images … Continue reading
Unmarked Graves
Woe to you Pharisees! For you love to have the seat of honor in the synagogues and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces. Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without … Continue reading
A Simple Way to Pray
In today’s Gospel reading from Luke 11.1-13, the disciples watch Jesus praying and afterward ask him to teach them to pray. He gives them a model prayer, which has come down in different versions as the Lord’s Prayer, and he … Continue reading
Anxiety
A phone call came yesterday, telling us an elder member had died early in the morning. She rose, put on her slippers and slumped over in her bed. A peaceful death — we should all be so fortunate. Her death … Continue reading
Jesus Has Withdrawn
“Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Luke 5.15-16 TNIV This is a … Continue reading
