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…
John 19:1-16
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…
John 18:33-40
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…
Zechariah 14:8-11 {Prayer} Cities spend big bucks on marketing. In the 1970’s New York City was in chaos. Crime was running wild. As a means of scaring off tourists, unions across the city actually ran a campaign called “Welcome to Fear City”. Tourists were told that they should “stay away from New York City if…
Zechariah 12:10-14 {Prayer} “God is dead.” This is what a 19th century German philosopher by the name of Friedrich Nietzsche said. The expression, “God is dead,” is famously associated with Nietzsche’s book titled Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Nietzsche used the phrase figuratively. Zechariah, however, used the phrase literally. God. Is. Dead. But really? That’s…
Zechariah 9:11-12 {Prayer} I invite you to look at this pit. It looks pretty deep and what you can’t see is that there is no water in it. Now envision a 17-year-old teenager stuck in the waterless pit. His hands are bound. His ankles are tied together. His eyes are wet from tears. His…
Zechariah 9:9-10 {Prayer} Expectations meet reality. The sandwich looked good on the menu, but it didn’t look good when it was served. You thought you had taken a great picture, but now you want a retake. You thought loading the car for the trip would be easy, but your children wanted to bring way…