Like all my companion authors for Disciplines 2022, I am writing during a year fraught with uncertainty. It will be the defining year for this current generation. The names we hear...

Another named storm headlines the news. Some years we’ve run out of letters from the English alphabet and have had to move on to the Greek alphabet. And those are only...

Isaiah said they would bring gold and frankincense as gifts to praise the Lord. It would be a joyous occasion, when all the world would see the worth of God’s people...

Chaff, as you know, is the stuff that comes along with a grain of wheat, a sort of outer skin. Think of it like that piece of husk that sometimes shows...

Following Jesus always involves a little two-step dance. For United Methodists and many others, baptism is one step—especially baptism for those “unable to answer for themselves,” typically babies. And then ten...

Did you hear that? Did you hear the voice from heaven say, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased”? Even if you missed the message, you...

The immanence of God has always been a desire for people since time immemorial. Finding God who dwells among the people would mean problems of access to divine favor are reduced....

John 1 displays the pre-existent Christ, the spoken word, becoming a human being. This being was with God, and God was the word. This word is the Son of God, Jesus...

Paul explains to the believers in Ephesus that God is in control today, tomorrow, and forever. The apostle explains that God has a plan to adopt each person in Jesus Christ...

Ephesians 1 opens with Paul announcing peace and the grace of God to the believers in Ephesus. He describes God's spiritual blessing on humanity in Jesus’ name. The text makes clear...