Describing the new life offered to us in Christ, Paul writes: So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! (2Corinthians 5:22) In the Christian life, we are invited to live out of the new creation rather than out of the old creation. […]
The parable concludes. Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, ˜Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him […]
The parable continues.The parable continues. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, “˜Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called […]
The parable continues. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with […]
Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant […]
This week we will be living with Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son and the elder brother. Luke tells us the context in which Jesus told the parable: Now all the tax-collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners […]
The forty days of Lent does not include Sundays. Why? Because traditionally, Sundays were viewed as little Easters. It is a time to set aside the sack cloth and ashes that has often been associated with Lent, and to rejoice again that ultimately the tomb is empty. We have been set free to live. In the […]
Long ago the prophet Isaiah asked this question: Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?(Isaiah 55:2a) In our fast paced, materialistic culture, the relevance of the question has simply increased. We live in a society where everyone seems to be in […]
Perhaps as we look at our lives, a regret comes upon us as we realize our lives haven’t borne the kind of fruit that perhaps they could have. Perhaps there is a part of ourselves that feels as though the owner of the fig tree would be justified to go ahead and cut the tree […]
Following a conversation with his disciples about people whose life had been cut short with sudden, unexpected death, Jesus told a little parable about a fig tree that wasn’t producing any figs. The owner wants to cut it down, but the gardener holds out the hope that given another year, it will yet bear fruit. […]
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