The apostle Paul writes to the church at Corinth with the weight of concerns bearing upon him—despair, criticism, opposition, fatigue, suffering, human limitations, mortality. He imagines what it might be like...

On first impression, a psalm describing a king preparing for battle and a petition for victory may not seem relevant to most of us. Is David giving his blessing to violence...

In this psalm, a petition for God’s intervention and protection in a forthcoming battle, there is a strong connection between God’s will and the action of the ruler. There is something...

Samuel is given the responsibility of anointing the next king of Israel, and he will make the selection from among the sons of Jesse. He begins the ritual with the assumption...

When Paul wrote the letter we now call Second Corinthians, his relationship with the believers at Corinth was already well established. He had lived among them for at least eighteen months....

From the beginning of life, we begin dying. This is true of all living things. We don’t know if other creatures conceive of this reality. But humans do develop this knowledge,...

Jesus continually demonstrated that the reign of God does not correspond directly to any earthly entities. In this passage, the demonstration becomes rather pointed. A crowd has gathered so quickly around...

The psalmist begins with overflowing praise to the Lord. This psalm exudes relief, triumph, and gratitude. The Lord is exalted above both heavenly beings and earthly monarchs. We do not know...

Warnings abound regarding hyper-partisanship globally. While many around the world work for peace, just when we think a new age is on the horizon, new hostilities break out somewhere. Those hostilities...

Dejected and depressed, Samuel turns to the Lord with the elders’ appeal. Not satisfied with governance by judges, they demand a king. Perhaps their dissatisfaction has something to do with Samuel’s...