~ Mark 1:29-39/Isaiah 40:28-31 ~ Right up front one may question the veracity of this account of Jesus going to Simon and Andrew’s house for lunch. For everyone knows that a little bit of fever is not going to keep the matriarch of the house from doing what has to … Read More
~ Mark 1:21-28 ~ By what authority did Jesus speak? If you just saw Jesus out and about in Galilee you would assume with everybody else that he didn’t have any authority. Simply, he did not have the required honor to have authority. It wasn’t as though he was a … Read More
Mark 1:14-20/Jeremiah 16:16-20/Amos 4:1-2 Very simply, the Gospel of Mark is a story about Jesus. But it is more than just a story. The primary purpose of the gospel is a call to discipleship. Mark hits the “call” theme right at the start. Following a brief, yet packed, prologue, Mark … Read More
~ I Samuel 3:1-10/John 1:43-51 ~ The spring of 1968 found me in my first year of Bible school. I had come from a small town in Colorado, so I was just beginning to comprehend the complexity and diversity of the city of Chicago. Unlike many of my classmates, I … Read More
~ Isaiah 60:1-6 / Matthew 2:1-12 ~ Light is a powerful symbol especially in places where darkness seems to overwhelm. The biblical writers were very aware of the power of that symbol. Writing in times steeped in despair and worry and seeming hopelessness, they sought to deliver a message … Read More
~ Luke 1:26-38; 47-55 ~ 26In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28And he came to her and said, “Greetings, … Read More