We all know rule-followers, those people who need to read the instruction booklet before playing a new board game, the ones who know you are required to buy or auction off...

Do you ever read scripture and say to yourself, “I could never be that obedient, even to God”? We read stories from the Old and New Testaments where the main characters...

In the beginning . . . to the end of the age. These are the first and last phrases in the first and last texts for Trinity Sunday. They hold the...

Here’s some Christian math: One, one, and one equals . . . ONE. Our God is both three distinct persons and one God. This may seem an outdated or useless head-trip....

The so-called “Great Commission” includes words that drag around a lot of baggage, words like authority, obey, commandment, and even make disciples. In the context of Christian history, these words can...

“Greet one another with a holy kiss.” This is an early reference to a practice in worship that some love and others loathe: the “passing of the peace.” Regardless of where...

Reflection upon scripture often brings to mind hymns, poetry, or images. As you ponder Psalm 8, is there anything that comes into your consciousness? Two familiar hymns bubble into my spirit:...

The first Creation story in the Bible can be interpreted as God creating order out of chaos by separating things into either/or categories. But what is clear from the text—and from...

In our biblical tradition and ancient Near Eastern traditions that influenced the biblical texts, any large body of water was symbolic of chaos. “In the beginning . . . the earth...

After his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples as they gathered together in a locked room. The scripture says that Jesus breathed on them and they received the Holy Spirit, empowering...