Revelation 7:9-17 Behold a host arrayed in white Like thousand snow clad mountains bright With palms they stand. Who is this band before the throne of light? (Behold a Host, Hans A. Brorson, c. 1760) This day on the church calendar grows all the more precious to me the older I get, for the …
Month: October 2017
“If You Continue in My Word…”
John 8:31-36 It was some time ago when I first traveled to Germany to see the ‘Luther Sites.’ As I recall, on the first day of the journey I was sitting on the tour bus next to a friend who had skidded into that journey exhausted and so as soon as we stowed our luggage …
“Giving to God the Things That Are (Already) God’s”
Matthew 22:15-22 You can surely sense the storm clouds gathering by now as Jesus is confronted here by the Pharisees and the Herodians who together are trying to trip him up. Indeed, it is clear both here as well as in the verses which follow that his opponents are still trying to get at the …
The Wedding Banquet: Turning It Inside Out
Matthew 22:1-14 I have preached this parable before, of course. I have preached it as it is written and as it is often most typically understood — as a kind of warning to accept the invitation to the ‘banquet’ and to be ready when doing so. In fact, even this week as I read it …
The Parable of the Vineyard: Being “Tenants” Today
Matthew 21:33-46 I don’t know much of vineyards except for the three rows of concord grapes which grew in straight lines, supported by fence posts and wire, behind the garage where I grew up. I am certain that when my folks bought that house to accommodate a growing family that the grapevines were just an …