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Be it BFFs, a high school clique, a fraternal organization, a neighborhood, rival teams, or even countries, one or more persons are considered ‘in’ and others are not. In Isaiah 45:1,4-6, we see two such groups: the Israelites and the non-Israelites, the pagans. King Cyrus, a [...]
If you attended Sunday School as a child, perhaps the first Psalm you were taught was the one in today’s readings: Psalm 23. It was comforting, even to city kids who had never seen a shepherd! This psalm can still be comforting to us today. We [...]
We should have no question about how we are to behave; it’s not up for debate. We know we are to love God and our neighbor as ourselves. We know we are to provide welcome, food, drink, clothing, and care for those in need. In today’s [...]
In the gospel reading for today, Matthew 21:28-32, we meet two sons, and we might think that they both dishonored their father. One publicly refused to do what his father asked but later did; the other agreed but then didn’t do what he said he would. [...]
Once again, we can easily miss some of the story of the parable, as in Matthew 20:1-16a, the gospel reading for today. This is the story of the payments a landowner gave to people who worked for various lengths of time. As Westerners, we don’t always [...]
Today's Scripture readings are Sirach 27:30-28:7, Psalm 103:1-4, 9-12, Romans 14:7-9, and Matthew 18:21-35. In reading these verses, we need to remember that community and honor were very important, actually essential, in the ancient world As we consider these lessons, we might wonder how people avoided [...]
The Scripture readings for today include Ezekiel 33:7-9 and Matthew 18:15-20, together providing instruction about dealing with the misbehavior of another. Considering the bullying that sometimes seems rampant (school is starting – prayers for all kids, especially those who seem to be targeted!), it’s too bad [...]
Do you believe that you have a calling – something God is telling you to be or do? Do you wonder if what you think might be a call from God really is from God? Today’s Scripture reading from Jeremiah (20:7-9) shows us how to answer [...]
There’s a key word in Matthew 16:13-20 that we might overlook. It is a small but mighty word that carries much meaning. The word is ‘my’. We read that Jesus tells Peter that Jesus is going to build “my church’. The key word is ‘my’ . [...]
The chosen people are …..? While reading the Old Testament, we are often reminded that the Hebrew people are God’s chosen. In today’s world, we may hear from many Christians that, because of Jesus, Christians are God’s chosen ones. But the scripture readings (Isaiah 56:1, 6-7; [...]