“Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?" (Acts 8:36, NRSV). In this season of Eastertide, we find stories of how belief in the resurrection, which really is belief in the Resurrected One, transforms peoples' lives. This is the story of the Acts of the Apostles. It is the story of how the church was driven out of Jerusalem into the whole world. In a sense, we have the cart in front of the horse. Pentecost has not happened, but we have jumped ahead to t

“I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unt

“And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful” (Titus 3:14). I made a decision after I retired that I was going to spend significant amounts of time learning new things. While as a full-time pastor, I didn’t feel like I had the bandwidth to devote to learning new skills outside of what was necessary for good preaching, pastoral care and for church leadership. For whatever reason, after I stepped down fr

28 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit (Jn.19:28-30, NIV). *** 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after