Luke 22:7-23 {Prayer} She had a tattoo. There, on the upper part of her back, just over her shoulder blade. At times, it looked more like a scar than a tattoo. It was only one color. She had it done before tattoos were fashionable. And her tattoo, dark blue scratches making the shape of…
John 12:12-19 {Prayer} Re-enactments. Re-enactments are a popular thing which allow people to observe, to recapture the moment, the experience an event from the past. Walk into Silver Dollar City in Branson and you are taken back to the olden days of blacksmiths, horse and buggy, saloons and other frontier living conditions. Visit Gettysburg,…
Luke 22:63-23:25 {Prayer} We live in a world of trials. Turn on the television and, frequently, some major trial is underway. We’ve had O.J. Simpson, Timothy McVeigh, the Unabomber, Kobe Bryant, Scott Peterson, Michael Jackson, Saddam Hussein … you can almost chronicle the passage of time by watching the major cases and trials on…
Luke 22:54-62 {Prayer} Have you ever been caught by surprise in a store? Let’s say one morning your son’s car won’t start, so you get up and drive him into an early morning practice. You haven’t had time to shower or put on anything decent. On your way home, you decide to stop by…
John 18:1-11 {Prayer} January 17, 2004 … that is when a sixty-six-ton sperm whale died and was beached on the southwestern coast of Taiwan. Two weeks later, authorities decided to truck the dead whale to a lab where they could do an autopsy. It took fifty men and three lifting cranes a total of…
Luke 22:47-53 {Prayer} Today we continue to follow Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. This painting entitled, “The Betrayal of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane” was painted in 1308 by an artist named Duccio. The betrayal. That is what we’ve called it. And that word sums up the event. “On the night when…
Luke 22:39-46 {Prayer} Periodically, our world calls us back to simplicity. Simpler is easier, more profitable, better use of space, they seem to say. Companies downsize. Products are marked as being made with “all natural ingredients.” People are practicing the Paleo Diet. HGTV has shows like “Hot Mess House” which are designed to help…
Luke 22:14-38 {Prayer} The artist Rembrandt tried to paint the story of Abraham sacrificing Isaac. He did it twice. Twice he tried to help others see what faith looks like in that moment. The first time, Rembrandt made a grand painting. This was done early in his life. At that time Rembrandt was…
Luke 22:1-23 {Prayer} Caroline was a woman who had her place. If this was her church, it would there on the right-hand side, near the stained glass window with Luther’s Rose, and closest to the side aisle. That was where she worshiped and to her, that was her place. Caroline’s pastor learned this as…
John 6:16-21 {Prayer} Back in 2017, a newspaper reporter in Galveston, Texas, published a story about Chirpy the parakeet. One minute Chirpy was peacefully perched in his cage and singing a song. The next minute, he was sucked in, washed up, and blown over! Let me explain. It all began when Chirpy’s owner…