Month: April 2017

Let’s play an image association game. I’ll describe a scene, you tell me the first thing you think of. Ready? Jesus takes bread, gives thanks, breaks it, then gives it to his disciples. So what did you think of? Communion, right? The Lord’s Supper. Of course. Take a look at Mark 14:22 – While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take it; this is my body.’”  But there are other events in Jesus’ ministry that perfectly match the description I gave you. Look at Mark 8:6 – When … Read more…

I haven’t figured out how to say this without sounding uppity, so you’re just going to have to take my word for it – this isn’t bragging. This is confession. I am addicted to excellence. In fact, I have idolized it. I like for things to be done well. Especially things that have to do with Sunday church. If we get to the final amen and there have been no technical glitches, if there were no unscripted moments of silence, no departures from the order of worship because somebody “felt led,” if the prayer leaders prayed thoughtful prayers and the … Read more…

What would you like for the preacher to say at your funeral? I think it would be nice for my eulogist to say something like, “We will really miss this special man.” Or maybe, “I can’t believe more people didn’t read his blog.” Better still, “Hey, look! He’s breathing!” I have an old friend who told me once that when she died, she wanted everyone to exclaim, “Oh Lord! Whatever shall we do now?!” This post’s title comes from a 16th century poem written by a man named John Donne. He’s the guy who wrote, “Ask not for whom the … Read more…

If he had lived in another time and place, Luke, the author of the third gospel and Acts, might have been an Academy award winning screen writer. His characters are vivid, accessible and authentic, a feat few historians achieve. In chapters 22 and 23 of his gospel, he puts us not just in Jerusalem for the final hours before the crucifixion, but in the story itself. He invites us to witness the event through the eyes, from the perspectives of those who were there. We see Jesus from every angle. And if we stay in the story long enough, we … Read more…

In two weeks, we’ll gather with other believers to celebrate The Resurrection. Between now and then, we do well to reflect on what happened before the stone was rolled away from the entrance to the tomb, before the angel told the women, “He is not here,” before death was swallowed up in victory. It is curious that the only Gospel writer who was anywhere near Jesus when he prayed in Gethsemane, John, did not include the story in his gospel. He records the betrayal and arrest, but not the Garden prayer. Matthew was certainly nearby, but by his own admission … Read more…