John 5:30-47 The writer of the book of Hebrews begins his magisterial letter on Christ as the end of the Old Covenant and the embodiment of the New with these words: “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds.” In a similar way,... Read more
John 5:16-29 Life and death hang in the balance in this passage. It seems odd, even bizarre to the point of belonging in a Ripley’s Believe it or Not Odditorium somewhere, that life and death would arise in such a way. In the beginning of John 5, Jesus heals a man who had had an infirmity for 38 years. We’re not told what the infirmity was, but in any case this man’s infirmity is a sign and symbol of our... Read more
John 5:1-15 I want my miracle. The invalid man today had his miracle. Yes, I know he had to wait 38 years, but he had his miracle. I’ve had my chronic fatigue for 32 years now, and I’m sure many of you have had various ailments for a very long time, too. We want our miracles, Jesus. But if we don’t receive them, what then? What shall we do? Shall we complain to God, as if His daily grace were... Read more
John 4:43-54 How many of you would like to participate in a miracle this morning? What? Only a few of you? Let me see your hands: how many of you would like to participate in a miracle this morning? (Hmmmm. It’s more difficult to count virtual hands than I’d anticipated!) Good! Keep that in mind as you hear the Word of the Lord this morning, because this morning God is offering you a chance to participate in a miracle He... Read more
The Evangelical Spirituality In my last blog I looked at the Anglo-Catholic spirituality and some of the ways in which it threatens a clear and coherent Anglican identity. This time, I’ll examine the Evangelical spirituality. Historically (until recent decades), Evangelical Anglicans have also been Prayer Book Anglicans. While some have been more “Low Church” than others, for the most part their spirituality was still rooted in the Prayer Book and was solidly Anglican. Evangelicalism has often added an important degree... Read more
John 4:27-42 “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.” If you’ve read the New Testament enough times, this saying may be familiar to you. It may, regrettably, be so familiar to you that little meaning remains in it for you. But when Jesus says in verse 34 that “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work He is saying something so... Read more
John 4:15-26 Imagine that you are living in the first century, before the advent of Jesus Christ. You are a Jew, or a Samaritan, and you have the Old Testament and you believe it is the oracle of God. And so you understand that God has promised a Messiah, as even the Samaritan woman at the well understood. This Messiah was supposed to be the royal Son of David who would bring victory and prosperity to the nation of Israel... Read more
John 4:1-14 Sometimes the most common things are the most special and holy. Take water. Water is one of the most common substances found on earth. Chemically, it’s a very simply one as well, composed only of 1 oxygen and 2 hydrogen atoms. It comprises 70% of the surface of the earth. And yet it’s one of the most amazing substances God ever created. We don’t see how special it is because it is so... Read more
John 3:22-36 “He must increase, but I must decrease.” This is a good verse to live by. Oh, it’s not likely to make anyone’s Top 100 verses, but I still think it’s pretty cool. Isn’t this the essence of the Christian life: that He must increase, but I must decrease? If you think about it, it’s just another way of saying that we must crucify the Old Man and put on Christ or that if... Read more
Give Us This Day
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In
Thursday of the 3rd Sunday after the Epiphany – John 6:1-14
John 6:1-14 God has a simple message for you today. He is saying to you: “I am calling you to do something that’s too hard for you to do so that you can remember to trust in Me.” You should remember that because it’s both challenging and true. You are not the first that God has so called. In today’s lesson, we have the example of Jesus’ disciples. If ever anyone was called by God to do something that was... Read more