She was a critical piece of the puzzle. And she truly is what makes Christmas Christmas. She was the original Madonna and she put the word “Virgin” in songs two thousand years before “Like a Virgin” became a hit. Through the years she’s been called The Holy Mary, Saint Mary, The Blessed Mother, The Mother…
A Reflection of Sacrifice
He’s always the forgotten one at Christmas. Oh we remember the Christ child, how could we forget him, even in the shopping malls they sing about the birth of Christ and his name is even included in the very word Christmas. Without Christ there would be no Christmas and so he’s remembered. And his mother,…
Discover Anger
Not what we would expect at all. We are closing in on the final act of the gospels and Jesus has come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, the greatest of all the Jewish feasts. On Sunday he arrived in Bethany and from there he rode a donkey into Jerusalem fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah. …
Discover the Name
Do you like your name? And if you do now did you always like your name? As a teenager how did you feel about it? I heard two Jr. High girls talking in a mall once and one asked “Do you like your name?” To which the other replied, “No I hate my name” and…
Discover your Place
It was a party, everyone was there, it was a celebration, the video clip you just watched was from Jesus Christ Super Star 2001 and I love the Palm Sunday scene, it captures the excitement and joy of that day. From the excitement of the crowd to the animosity of the religious leaders and the…
Discover the Name
Do you like your name? And if you do now did you always like your name? As a teenager how did you feel about it? I heard two Jr. High girls talking in a mall once and one asked “Do you like your name?” To which the other replied, “No I hate my name” and…
Discover Purity
Things were beginning to escalate. Up to this point Jesus had been criticized locally for some of his teaching but now they were bringing out the big guns. The news of Jesus and his preaching was spreading throughout Palestine; remember last week I mentioned that the news had reached Herod in his palace and Herod…
Discover Injustice
This wasn’t the way it was supposed to end. He was the product of a good family, he had been raised worshipping God, he had followed God’s calling, had done God’s work and had preached God’s message and this wasn’t the way it was supposed to end.In a million years he would never have predicted…
Discover the 12
Discover the 12What a group. In another time and another place they would have killed one another or at least inflicted grave injury on each other. We know some of their stories and others we only know by name. But we do know who they were and even if we can’t name them all we…
Discover Baptism
John the BaptiserThis is how it all began! For thirty years Jesus had lived a life of obscurity as the son of Joseph the carpenter. He had been like all the other boys, had grown into a man and took over his father’s business. And now his ministry was about to begin in earnest. But…