For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles—assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my…
Jesus Does Not Want Our Pity
We know the scene well. For many of us, we have seen it play out in the theaters of our imaginations, on the not-so-dramatic felt cloth boards of children’s Sunday School and on the big screens of Hollywood productions. Props from the scene are regular parts of our church’s liturgy. They adorn the exterior of…
Learn What This Means
Jesus dined with tax collectors and other outcasts while the Pharisees looked on with scorn. They asked some disciples why Jesus did this, and unbeknownst to them, Jesus overheard them. In my mind’s eye, I imagine Jesus not even getting up, and without taking his eyes off of the outcasts around him saying, “Go and…
Ephesians 2:19-22
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.…
The Ironies of the Cross
Luke’s account of the crucifixion narrative is laced with scandalous irony that is meant to help illumine the glorious wonder of our salvation. While there are doubtless other scandals within Luke’s gospel, I pray these seven will humble you before the crucified King. The One accused of blasphemy is the only true God. In Luke 22.71,…
Ephesians 2:14-18
For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both…