Reading: Matthew 25-26, Psalm 93 As we have progressed through the book of Matthew, you may have noticed a kind of acceleration. While the book always moves pretty quickly (ancient writing lent itself to this… nobody wrote particularly long or wordy works. It was too expensive) it picks up more
Reading: Matthew 23-24, Psalm 92 When I was in my early teens, I developed a mild obsession with the end of the world. I assume this was the result of several factors: watching “end times” movies and TV shows, enjoyment of science fiction, and the general discontent of the early
Reading: Matthew 21-22, Psalm 91 For the majority of my career, I have been somebody’s “boss.” I was responsible for people, gave instructions to people, and corrected those people when things did not go the way they were supposed to. I also was able, when things were really going well,
Reading: Matthew 17-18, Psalm 89 Transfiguration. Demon possession. Taxes. Personal ranking. Causing children to sin. Lost sheep. Community discipline. Forgiving as you have been forgiven. Whew. There is just a little bit going on in these chapters of the book of Matthew. Many of the stories will be familiar, perhaps
Reading: Matthew 15-16, Psalm 88 Let’s say you have something good. You know it is good, and you would like other people to know that it is good, too. How do you go about it? There are two directions people often take. The first is the direction of setting barriers.
Reading: Matthew 11-12, Psalm 86 So, Jesus has been wandering around the cities of northern Judea, acting like the King of an entirely new creation. Now he has sent out his disciples to the people to demonstrate what this new creation looks like. One might think that at this point
Reading: Matthew 9-10, Psalm 85 Yesterday we read about how everything Jesus instructed his people in had to do with the condition of their hearts. Then we saw Jesus go out and demonstrate his authority over, well, pretty much everything. Disease, demon, the weather. Today we a more direct demonstration
Reading: Matthew 7-8, Psalm 84 Have you ever said something you thought you understood, only to have it explained to you that it means something totally different? I have a number of examples myself, but my all time favorite I am going to lift from a comedian I once heard