It’s a pattern: God calls; the one who is called demurs, claiming unsuitability for the task; and then, in a startling turnaround, the one who is called accepts the task. Isaiah...

What does it take to be accepted by those to whom God sends us? In an earlier reading this week, the prophet Isaiah volunteers to join the new thing that God...

“Preaching is the proclamation of good news.” This statement represents the core message of my teaching and preaching. Many preachers—perhaps even most—will concur with my statement, but few of them interpret...

It does not make sense, or at least it seems contradictory to the possibilities presented by divine invitation and the human acceptance. Isaiah seems to have been given a message that...

What an invitation this is, overwhelming in its majesty and awesome in its presentation. It is a call to consecration, dedication, newness, growth, unimagined purpose, possibilities, and even power. It’s a...

The first flush of excitement that comes with the opening of a new year is fading fast and may even have dissipated completely for you. And yet there is still the...

Who would have thought that Joseph’s boy would grow up to be a prophet? That’s what they were asking in Nazareth that day. Who would have thought? But there are some...

“Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” That must have sounded like great news. The scripture was coming true. Surely that meant the Messiah was coming. The people would...

God calls us to love one another. That’s what Paul is saying to the Corinthians and to us! We think, That’s really hard. How can I love her? I don’t even...

One little-noted event during the bleak time between January 6 and the beginning of Lent is the story of Jesus’ baptism. And that reminds us of the act of remembering our...