Reading from Isaiah 40:1–11 Isaiah 40 begins what is often referred to by biblical scholars as second Isaiah. Chapter 39 tells of Jerusalem’s “welcoming” the Babylonians, which will be followed by the destruction of the Temple, the sacking of Jerusalem, and the people being exiled to Babylon. All of this…

This is a book I’ve had on my radar for some time. But I often held off on getting because of the price — it’s an expensive soft cover book coming in around $75. …

The title of this book caught my attention. It seems to sum up the internal struggle I have these days — Christians claiming one thing, and then living completely different. It’s not so much the idea that rich Christians are bad people. It’s more the idea that we live in…

Based on the reading from Jeremiah 33:10–11, 14–18 The prophet Jeremiah, like Isaiah, is one of the major prophets in the Hebrew Scriptures. Jeremiah overlaps Josiah’s time as king but extends beyond him to the end of the kingdom of Judah and the Davidic line of kings, the destruction of…

Commentary on 2 Kings 22:1–10, 14–20; 23:1–3 This passage of Scripture is about Josiah, one of the few “good” kings of Judah, and certainly the last good king that Judah would see. Josiah reigned from 640–609 BCE. And it is this passage of Scripture, specifically verses 14–20, that give us…

I’ve heard either directly from people who read this blog, or through mutual friends that what I write is a bit “shocking” for a pastor. Not in a bad sense. More shocking in a breath of fresh air sense. That’s a nice compliment actually. I’m grateful that what I write…

Election Day used to be one of my favorite days of the year. Yes, I was a political nerd to the highest degree. That’s when I did politics for a living and lived and breathed it. I’ve been known to say that politics is my first language. But then life…

The Narrative Lectionary continues marching us forward with an important segment of the story of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. In Sunday’s reading we hear about King Ahab, who is the seventh Northern king of Israel. His wife, Queen Jezebel, was from Sidon and this created a political alliance between…

A challenge to public officials and really anyone who says a variation of “thoughts and prayers” after yet another mass shooting — don’t. Instead, express the actual thoughts you are thinking and the actual prayers you are praying. I mean that quite literally. They are far more meaningful than an…