The once and future King declares what no other king can declare: "Innocent." Heaven and earth will pass away but his verdicts will not.
Peter Tepper
Jeremiah 33:14-16
Psalm 25:1-9
1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
Luke 21:25-13
Jesus is King, and You are Not- Well, It's Complicated...
"Nobody can tell me what to do!" This sentiment may be the greatest challenge facing First World Believers today. All the benefits of our social and political liberties often lead us to forget that the freedom we have in Christ is the freedom to serve. We need the constant reminder that Christ is King, and we are not. Yet, we are also called to live as free people, children of the King.
Reggie Kidd
2 Samuel 23:1–7; Psalm 132:1–13
Revelation 1:4b–8
John 18:33–37
Jesus, the Midwife
What if we don't have to live in fear of tomorrow? When it feels like the world is falling apart, it really matters who you are following. Jesus invites us to follow Him through the chaos of this world as He brings us to New Life.
Josh Bales
1 Samuel 1:4-20; 1 Samuel 2:1-10
Hebrews 10:11-14 (15-18) 19-25
Mark 13: 1-8
Mind Blowing Truths and a Great Cloud of Witnesses — Crash Helmets for Everybody!
We need crash helmets for worship on All Saints Day: 1) because of mind-blowing truths (Jesus weeps, he ascends as King of glory, and he will set a table for us at the end of time when he makes all things new); and 2) because the saints who have gone before us are still a part of us, and are cheering us on!
Reggie Kidd
Isaiah 25:5–6; Psalm 24; Revelation 21:1–6a;
John 11:32–44
Scratching the Soul's Itch
Humans have historically tried to connect with the divine by offering sacrificial gifts. These offerings ultimately cannot perfect the conscience of the worshipper. Jesus, however, was designed to do what human sacrificial systems cannot. Christ offers a better sacrifice, one both human and divine.
Josh Bales
Ruth 1:1-18
Hebrews 9:11-14
Mark 12:28-34
Luke, the Beloved Physician
Luke & Paul are a powerful duo: one expert in health of the body, the other health of the soul
Reggie Kidd
Sirach 38:1-4,6-10,12-14; 2 Timothy 4:5-13;
Luke 4:14-21
Speaking to us in the whirlwind
God speaks to us, but are we listening? He speaks to us in creation, in our conscience, through other Christians, through the canon of Scripture, and pre-eminently in his Son, Jesus.
Canon Peter Tepper
Job 38:1-7, 34-41
Hebrews 5:1-10
Mark 10:35-45
Letting Go to Take Hold of Christ
Life without God is a living hell. Life with God can feel like hell, but it's leading to heaven. Jesus sees all the way into our hearts and doesn't jump back in fear. He loves us, and gives us room for repentance. He invites us to bring our hearts confidently to receive mercy and grace.
Reggie Kidd
Job 23:1-9, 16-17
Hebrews 4:12-16
Mark 10:17-31
A Love that We are Made For, and 1,001 Ways We Blow It
God puts a hunger for love in us, and loves us with exactly that kind of love. We are invited to mirror that love here below.
Reggie Kidd
Job 1:1; 2:1-10
Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12
Mark 10:2-16
Medicine for Body and Soul
We are equally susceptible to headache and heartache. God gives us resources to heal the body and the soul. We have access to a faith bigger than our own, a community of faith, the sacraments which mediate God's grace to us, and the freedom to confess and drop the weights that are dragging us down.
Reggie Kidd
Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22
James 5:13-20
Mark 9:38-50
Are You a Wise Person?
What does it mean to be wise? In his Epistle, James teaches us three components of true wisdom. True wisdom comes from God, and where something comes from matters. Second, wisdom is more ethical than abstract because it involves action. Third, true wisdom leads to maturity and wholeness.
Josh Bales
Proverbs 31:10-31
James 3:13-4:3
Mark 9:30-37
Everyone's Got a Microphone
Words are a matter of life and death. Speech is deceptive with regard to its directive power, destructive potential, and duplicitous productions. In a world where everyone has a proverbial microphone, how can we embody the living Word of Jesus?
Josh Bales
Proverbs 1:20-33, 8-9
James 3:1-12
Mark 8:27-38
Made Worthy
Often we judge others by appearances. James tells us not to judge others by their appearances. The syrophoenician widow acknowledges her unworthiness and Christ's worthiness. Only by being fully honest with ourselves and others will we discover Christ's worth which he then imparts to us.
Canon Peter Tepper
Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23
James 2:1-18
Mark 7:24-37
Blessed to be a Blessing
God's "voice of love" is a powerful force that, when welcomed and listened to with humbleness, changes us. The Church is called to be the instrument for that love to each other and to the rest of our neighbors. Truly caring about "the other" is a mark of pure religion.
Patricia Orlando
Song of Solomon 2:8-13; James 1:17-27; Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 ; Hebrews:8:10
One Greater Than Solomon
Solomon receives wisdom to build God's house, and study human love and life (Song of Songs and Proverbs). Solomon's greater Son, Jesus, builds God's greater house (the church) and leads worship in it, comes as Bridegroom of his Church, and embodies God's wisdom for us.
Reggie Kidd
1 Kings 8:1,6,10–11,22–30,40–41
God Is The Hero
The failures of Israel's Kings detailed in the books of 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings can be discouraging unless we realize that the scriptural authors want us to see God (Yahweh) as the Hero, not these men. God is the one who will keep his promise to Israel (and to us) through his Heroic Command of Human History, his Heroic Commitment to his people, and by paying the Heroic Cost to save humanity.
Josh Bales
1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14, Psalm 111, Ephesians 5:15-20, John 6:51-58
12th Sunday of Pentecost
Absalom! Absalom!
Lessons from a failed father and a narcissistic son: 1) Faith learns that we are sinners, but that a faithful King and Son comes to save; 2) Hope discerns a confident but sober way to live in anticipation of "Thy Kingdom come"; 3) Love learns to accept and to imitate our Heavenly Father's love and our Savior's life.
Reggie Kidd
2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33; Psalm 130; Ephesians 4:25-5:2 John 6:35, 41-51
11th Sunday of Pentecost
When You Discover You're a Monster
When you discover you're a monster: 1) faithful are the wounds of a friend; 2) forgiveness is just a prayer away (Psalm 51)...; 3)... though consequences may not go away (e.g., Absalom's sin and rebellion); 4) worship can see you through (e.g., Psalm 3)
Reggie Kidd
2 Samuel 11:26–13a; Psalm 51
10th Sunday of Pentecost
David Becomes a Monster
David uses & abuses people; manipulates the situation to cover his sin; and fails to exercise his kingly office. By contrast, Jesus meets the needs of others; uses his powers to care for people; and refuses kingly authority on the world's terms.
Reggie Kidd
2 Samuel 11:1-15; Psalm 14; John 1:1–21
9th Sunday of Pentecost
I Pledge Thee My Troth
God's loyal love made him so vulnerable that he became homeless that he might take up residence in us. Covenant makes God and humanity inextricably linked by grace.
Peter Tepper
2 Samuel 7:1-14
8th Sunday of Pentecost