God does not look on outward appearance but on the heart; create in me a clean heart.

Alright, as we know, we’re going through a narrative arc of the Scriptures this year. We’re not hitting every story, but touching on many major points in the unfolding story of the people of Israel, the mission of Jesus, and the early church. We want to gain a sense of the scope AND look at how people’s…

What is the name of God? How dare we seek to name that which is beyond all names? Can God have a name? Can we fathom it? These questions have been central to my faith and it’s evolution over the last 20 years. In my early twenties, I had grown quite disenchanted with many of the popular, evangelical,…

Today, we continue our series of the narrative lectionary, the sacred mythos, the world of the Bible and God’s unfolding narrative of blessing humanity. We began a couple weeks ago with the Creation story. God’s presence hovers over the chaos of our lives and speaks the enchanted cosmos into being. And…

Today we continue in the beginning of the narrative arc of the Scriptures, moving from the stories of Creation to settle into the more up-close family drama of Abraham and Sarah. The cosmic God has moved closer to humanity. There is a lot to explore in this upcoming reading and I’m going to do my best…

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated…

Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.”…

Setting the stage of the human condition. Guilt through idolatry. Justification through Christ.

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he said…