RG AUDIO 120317   Psalm 146:1-10 Over the last 25 years, the late Leonard Cohen’s song “Hallelujah” has become a standard performed when a somber tone is needed in a “spiritual, but not religious” sort of way. The words convey the dust of a fractured and forlorn faith swept up with shards of scattered Scripture […]

RG AUDIO 120217   2 Corinthians 7:5-16 The apostle Paul had a rocky relationship with the church in Corinth. He helped found the church while on his second missionary journey (see Acts 18). The New Testament contains two letters Paul wrote to them after his departure. The first letter contains Paul’s response to problems in […]

RG AUDIO 120117   Acts 13:26-41 Science fiction authors come up with clever ways to get around the alien language problem. Douglas Adams’ satirical The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy had the Babel fish, a small fish that, when inserted in the ear canal, translated alien languages into understandable speech. He noted that this amazing […]

RG AUDIO 113017   Acts 4:8-22 The sceptic’s axiom, “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence” certainly fits the scene in Acts 4. The day before, Peter and John had healed a lame beggar “in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth” (3:6). The man began “walking and jumping, and praising God” (v. 8). This attracted a […]

RG AUDIO 112917   Isaiah 12:21-31 My mother is a great believer in bleach. Bleach kills bacteria, mold, all that yucky stuff you don’t want part of your life. A clean house requires thorough cleaning, and for her that requires bleach. However, bleach is powerful, so it must be used carefully. Bleach can spot and […]

RG AUDIO 112817   Isaiah 1:10-20 God’s forgiveness requires earnest repentance. There is a shallow view of God’s forgiving grace that rejects any necessary response from those forgiven. Such a view is not biblical. We are forgiven by God’s grace through Jesus Christ, but this grace both requires and enables our cooperation. The religious leaders […]

RG AUDIO 112717   Isaiah 1:1-9 We romanticize rebels. They inhabit our cultural narrative. In popular fiction, it is the rebels who typically have the moral high ground against the exploitation of the corrupt empire. Apart from the author-guided morality of these tales, rebellion in real life quickly gets murky. One person’s freedom fighter is […]

RG AUDIO 112617   Revelation 22:12-21 One of two events can take place when a parent comes home from work. The first event involves the child waiting eagerly by the door. The second event involves the child trying to find somewhere to hide. Whether the child is being rewarded for a good deed or punished […]

RG AUDIO 112517   1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 The battle between good and evil is a frequent theme in many works of literature. The heroes are constantly pressured to fight back and keep evil from winning. They leave their homes, practice their skills, and put on their armor. They remain alert and ready at all times. […]

RG AUDIO 112417   1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Losing a loved one can be very difficult. At first it can seem like life should not go on. Time is spent waiting for them to walk through the door, only to remember that they are not coming back. Some view death as final and have no hope […]