The worst part about being a prophet, Jeremiah knew, was having to tell God’s people what they did not want to hear. The false prophets of his day—as in ours—loved to...

John 3:16 often appears on people’s foreheads at ballgames, on placards, bumper stickers, or in pamphlets left in public restrooms. To grow up in a Christian church means that you know,...

I once knew a young man who had been raised going to church and even attended a Christian elementary school. When invited to attend church with my husband and me, he...

What does it mean to “be dead in your transgressions and sin?” We know that we humans tend to live into patterns. Patterns are comfortable ways to avoid making decisions. We...

Growing up in the shadow of an over-achieving older sister, I tried to earn the love of my parents through my achievements and good behavior. I found areas to excel different...

What is it that God desires of us? God desires we recognize God’s good gifts and tell the story, share the wealth, share in God’s great abundance with others. We are...

This passage from Numbers reminds me of the suffering of Jesus, lifted high on the cross at Calvary. In John’s Gospel, the writer makes this comparison in verse 14 of chapter...

Does anything good ever come from impatience? Impatience makes us less likely to be kind. Impatience feeds negativity into the inner spaces of our minds and bodies. Impatience sees scarcity, not...

Some people are unsettled by Jesus’ overturning of tables. We tend to imagine Jesus as always meek, mild, and kind. That Jesus could become angry reminds us that God in God’s...

In the 1970s, a theory was promoted that humans have six basic emotions: happiness, sadness, fear, disgust, surprise, and anger. I’ve heard—and preached—a lot of sermons on happiness, sadness, fear, and...