Reading: Matthew 10: 24-39 Verse 28: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul”. In our passage for today and tomorrow, Jesus is about to send out the twelve disciples. He reminds them in our section for today that a servant and master should be more alike one another than different. Yes, one might be in charge, but both should treat the other with respect, honor, … There should also be a similarity in their character. In the context of this passag

Reading: Matthew 10: 1-23 Verses 19-20: “Do not worry about what to say or how to say it… it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit”. Yesterday we read and heard about the harvest being plentiful but the workers being few. Today Jesus gathers the twelve disciples and sends them out to the towns and villages to minister to the Jews. Jesus empowers them to preach that the kingdom is near and to heal and to drive out demons. The disciples are to travel light and to rely on the

Reading: Matthew 9: 35-38 Verse 35: “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching… preaching… and healing”. Today’s short passage sums up Jesus’ ministry quite well. In verse 35 we read about the things that occupied most of his time: teaching, preaching, and healing. I believe that these three practices remain the core practices of ministry today. These three practices often work together to shape and form who we are as people of faith. Teaching can occur in many

Reading: Acts 2: 12-15 Verse 12: “Amazed and perplexed they asked on another, ‘What does this mean”’? The Jews from all over the world were drawn to the place where the Holy Spirit manifested itself and they heard these Galileans speaking God’s wonders in many languages. Many were amazed and perplexed. These asked, “What does this mean”? What was God saying to them? Yet there were others in the crowd. Jesus would describe these as those without ears to hear. They did not want

Reading: 1 Peter 3: 13-22 Verse 14: “But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed”. I believe that each of us are created in the image of God and that all people are woven together by the Creator. Because of this, I believe we each have a spark or a piece of the divine within us. If you watch young children you can see this. There is a pure love in children that reveals the divine within. It shows in the inherent kindness that children naturally display. T

Reading: John 14: 5-14 Verse 12: “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing”. The opening verses of our passage center around the fact that Jesus is God in the flesh. Jesus’ statement that “anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” is very clear to us but is outside the understanding of the disciples at this point. From our vantage point, we do not get how the disciples don’t get it. Jesus explains how the amazing words that he speaks a