Category

PSALM 113 – Praise the name of the Lord! Bible Background: “Psalm 113 is from start to finish a hymn of praise about God. It is a call to the people of God to remember who God is and what God has done. Under an arc of the sun’s transit across the sky, earthen... Read More →

PENTECOST! Bible Background: Acts 2 tells the story of how a Jewish harvest festival provided the setting for the Holy Spirit to appear in force. (Pentecost=50th day.)The original gathering is of Jews from every nation on earth. The Spirit will propel the apostles and the Good... Read More →

A CLOSER LOOK AT ROMANS 1:1-17 Bible Background: The letter to the Romans is Paul’s deepest writing, and he is especially concerned about the subjects of “how we are justified through faith in Christ Jesus” and “how God is faithful to God’s... Read More →

Acts 9 = Conversion of Saul Bible Background: Great inroads and great obstacles pop up fast in Acts, as the witnesses of the risen Christ tell his story. Saul is one of those obstacles. We meet him as a “young man”, at the stoning of Stephen. We’ll learn he is a... Read More →

ACTS 8 = PHILIP AND THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH Bible Background: This is not the strangest story in the Bible, but it is crazy-in a wonderful way-how this encounter happens, and how the circle of those following the risen Christ grows bigger and bigger! Philip is one of the 7 deacons,... Read More →

John 20=Risen Jesus + Thomas + Us Bible Background: John records the risen Jesus making multiple, very personal, and very convincing appearances. Tradition refers to “Doubting Thomas”, but pay attention to the rest of his story! Digging Deeper: 1. We first meet Thomas... Read More →

Matthew 28:16-20 = Great Commission Bible Background: In Matthew, this is the only appearance of the risen Jesus to the group of disciples. It takes place on a ‘mountain’ (remember: close encounters with God often take place on mountaintops in scripture!), in Galilee.... Read More →

Matthew 28 = Resurrection, Fear, and Joy! Bible Background: Each of the gospels tells of the resurrection. All 4 agree on a) an empty tomb; b) that Mary Magdalene is the first person there (other women are included by Matt-Mark-Luke); c) that this takes place early in the... Read More →

A few notes on the Passion According to St. Matthew: Each of the 4 gospels record Jesus’ arrest, his mock trial, and his crucifixion and resurrection. And each tells those stories in their own way. Matthew’s gospel basically follows the pattern set by Mark, but with... Read More →

The Greatest Commandment? =Matthew 22:34-40 Bible Background: In Matthew, this question comes up in the last week of Jesus’ life, as conflict between him and the religious leaders grows. This is the 3rd of 3 questions that are posed to Jesus, apparently to try to trap him... Read More →