Wednesday, September 25, 2024

The Evangeliad (29:43-38)


Section 29:43-48 (corresponding to Luke 14:1-6)

Once, in the home of a chief Pharisee,
Where Jesus had come to talk and to eat,
They watched all the things he would do and would say,
To catch him in error on that Sabbath-day.

And there in their midst stood a man in pain,
Stricken with dropsy, swollen, aflame;
So Jesus regarded the man and the crowd,
And their silent question he uttered aloud:

"Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath-day?"
But they were silent, had nothing to say.
So Jesus reached out, and with a touch,
He healed the man and bade him get up.

Then after sending the healed man away,
He looked at the crowd and had this to say:
"If on the Sabbath your ox or your son
Fell down a well, the decision is done--

You'd pull them right out, and not even wait,
For such precious things must be saved straightaway."
Then no word of rebuke would anyone say,
Nor lift up their eyes to challenge his gaze.

Tuesday, September 24, 2024

Photo of the Week


So is my word that goes out from my mouth: 
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

- Isaiah 55:11

Monday, September 23, 2024

Quote of the Week


"If you want to know who God is, look at Jesus. If you want to know what it means to be human, look at Jesus. If you want to know what love is, look at Jesus. If you want to know what grief is, look at Jesus. And go on looking until you’re not just a spectator, but you’re actually part of the drama which has him as the central character."

- N. T. Wright

Thursday, September 12, 2024

Sermon

 As I get back into my regular posting schedule, I'll continue including audio files of my Sunday sermons here, usually in the Thursday slot. We're just starting a series looking at prophecies and foreshadowings of Jesus in the Old Testament, seeking to see the portrait of the Savior that emerges from the many ways that God prepared his people for their Messiah. It's called "Glimpses of Grace," similar to the partial series of essays by the same name here on the blog. This first sermon looks at the portrait of Christ which emerges from Genesis 1.



Tuesday, September 10, 2024

Photo of the Week


When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

- Matthew 9:36-38

Monday, September 09, 2024

Quote of the Week


"The essence of Christ’s peace lies in his perfect knowledge of the Father. So it is with us: if we know the Eternal Truth all the torments of this life will be confined, as it were, to the periphery of our being, while the light of life proceeding from the Father will reign within us."

- Sophrony Sakharov