Skip to main content

Posts

Advent Challenge - Luke Chapters 8 and 9

Weekends can be a busy thing around the holidays.  Ironically Advent invites us to slow down while the world around us is speeding up with decorating, parties, shopping, etc.  That's why a challenge like reading a chapter of Luke every day is important - it refocusses you. Chapter 8 starts out with a parable about a farmer sowing seeds.  Most of the seed ends up useless, while the seed that fell on good soil yielded a massive harvest.  When the disciples asked what the parable is about, Jesus described it in terms of the Word of God, often falling on hearts that are either unwilling or unready, and it doesn't take hold.  But for some, it lands on a heart that's willing and ready, and bears much fruit. This sets the stage for two miracles that come next - the calming of the sea and the healing of a demoniac.  Jesus and the disciples went out on a boat, and a big storm came upon them.  While everyone else was panicking, Jesus was fast asleep in the stern...
Recent posts

Advent Challenge - Luke Chapter 5

Luke was a genius when it came to structuring this Gospel.  Chapter 5 is framed on two sides by calling of disciples, with two miraculous healings in between them. The chapter starts with Jesus calling Peter, James, and John, and as part of the calling provides them with a huge catch of fish.  The payload was so big that several other boats were brought in, yet they all started to sink because they were so full.  When Peter expressed his unworthiness, Jesus simply told him to follow, and Jesus would make him fish for people. This miracle foreshadowed the role Peter would play in the early Church.  On the first day of Pentecost in Acts, Peter's preaching converts several thousand souls in one day, and tradition holds that they returned home and began their own local Churches in their communities.  But the question remains, what are all of these conversions for? The next two sections in Luke 5 gives us a clue as to the answer.  First Jesus heals a leper, and ...

Advent Challenge - Luke Chapter 4

 Chapter 4 begins with a whirlwind of events.  First Jesus is tempted by Satan in the wilderness, then he returns to Nazareth only to be rejected, then it's on to Capernaum where he cast out demons and healed the sick. One of the things this chapter does is highlight the difference between a fallen world and the world that Jesus is repairing.  The temptation shows how we fall in the first place - every temptation is a deliberate misuse of power.  Turn these stones into bread.  Fall down and worship me and I will give you all authority on earth.  Throw yourself down off the temple so people will notice you.  Each temptation tried to get Jesus to be inwardly focussed. When Jesus came to Nazareth, his home town, the people there couldn't believe what he was saying.  They knew him as a little boy growing up.  They knew his mother and family.  They already knew who he was - so they thought.  Sadly, those preconceived ideas prevented them...

Advent Challenge - Luke Chapter 3

The main focus of Chapter 3 is John the Baptist.  We move quickly from his birth to his ministry in the wilderness.  The other day at Church someone was asking me why he spent the majority of his life in the desert / wilderness.  The best answer I have is that there was a community of people who thought the temple priesthood was so corrupt, that they moved to the desert to begin anew.  These people were called the Essenes and sought to return to the time of wandering, when Israel followed God completely for 40 years before entering the promised land.  John's parents joined this group, which was interesting since his father, Zechariah was a priest in the Temple.  Something must have happened - we're not sure exactly what, but Zechariah and Elizabeth felt that God was calling them to another way of life, so they left what they knew, with all of its security and predictability, and moved to the desert.  There John grew up, and eventually became a very lar...

Advent Challenge - Luke Chapters 1 and 2

It's been a long time since I published here - about 10 months.  My life has taken some twists and turns.  As I went along I reflected on last year's journey, and my plan to launch Parish Development Ministries.  When I look back at everything I intended to do, I do think I had a decent road map.  But I didn't do a lot of it.  As it turns out, my heart really is in parish ministry, and I'm really glad to be back in that role. Last summer I accepted a call to St. Mary's Church in Wayne, PA.  So we moved again, and I'm settling into this new and wonderful place.  Since it is a year of new things, I decided to launch an Advent Challenge for the new year.  Things worked out nicely.  There are 24 days of Advent this year, and it's Year C, when we'll be reading the Gospel of Luke.  Since Luke has 24 chapters, it just makes sense to read one chapter a day this month, and be prepared for Christmas. Luke is an interesting Gospel.  He has one...

What’s In Store For The Future

I have some supply work this coming Sunday, and I’m excited to be in a pulpit again. The OT text is God’s promise to Abraham - how he was to become the father of many nations - that his descendants would be more numerous than the sands on the seashore or the stars in the heavens. That’s a lot of people.  God made this promise so that Abraham’s offspring would be a blessing to the world. Because of the Jewish people we have a great deal of Scripture, and a moral consciousness that raised the world to new levels.  What strikes me about this promise is how many people are involved. God counted on Abraham having so many descendents that they couldn’t be counted. This many people created a critical mass that influenced the rest of the world.  Today in the Church we need another another critical mass. We need a critical mass of people willing to tell their faith stories. We need so many faith stories out there in the public space, to influence people in a positive, respectful w...

Hook, Story, Offer - Internet Work Gives Some Immediate Feedback

 It's been an exciting week.  Just yesterday I released my Free Guide To Christian Storytelling .  I was able to set up a landing page in Mail Chimp, and people are able to obtain a copy in exchange for their email address.  According to the marketing books I've been reading, an email list is the most valuable thing you own, because you can always connect with past and potential customers. At the same time, I've managed to entice five people so far.  Not bad for a few days but I do want a much larger list.  A larger list means I'm helping more people, and more people are interested in this particular ministry.   Thinking back to what I've learned over the past two months, any internet offer comes down to a Hook, a Story, and an Offer.  The hook grabs people's attention, the story engages on an emotional level, and the offer is the actual resource you're providing.  When I looked at my first landing page, I realized it was all offer, no h...