Paul takes much of the first chapter of Romans to articulate the trouble: it’s a big trouble and deeply troubling. It has caused all of us all kinds of trouble. …
We have all been inconvenienced. Hopefully, it hasn’t been at midnight. But, you know, any midnight call . . . it’s coming from someone who feels as if there isn’t…
Prestige, status, honor, respect, deference—marks of power and authority. The authority comes by virtue of the office, the position. We tend to show respect and deference to a police officer…
It doesn’t exactly feel as if my demons have submitted yet, but maybe they just want me to think they haven’t. The truth is they’re done. They’ve lost. They aren’t…
Who’s up for a fifteen hour walk? It’s about fifty miles from the Sea of Galilee to the city of Tyre, going northwest. That’s almost to Eagle Lake. The walk…
What is world-born is world-bound; what is Spirt-born is heaven-bound. With Jesus, the spirit-born are called to live differently from the world-born. Scottish pastor and biblical scholar William Barclay…
Bible Text: 2 Thessalonians 3:3-16 | Preacher: Paul Kucera | Second Thessalonians is short. When I first read through the Bible, it was a real relief finally to get to…
Bible Text: 2 Thessalonians 2 | Preacher: Paul Kucera | Well, okay . . . so that’s a lot. Scholars regard Paul’s two letters to the believers in Thessalonika as…
Bible Text: Acts 11:1-18 | Preacher: Paul Kucera | None of us are immune from the Us/Them mentality. Our interpretation of Scripture, in a way, permits such thinking: Jesus tells…
Bible Text: Mark 7:24-37 | Preacher: Paul Kucera Well, nobody likes to be called a dog. We tend to be very attached to our pets, yet no one likes to…