“The whole place was filled with anger when they heard this. They got up, threw Jesus out of the city, and led him to the top of the hill on which it was built in order to throw him off… Read morePopcorn Summer: Bit by Bit

“And Jesus said to them, “Come along with me; and I’ll show you how to fish for people” (Mark 1.17). I saw Field of Dreams in the summer of 1989 at a two-screen theater in the now long-gone Raleigh Springs… Read morePopcorn Summer: Dreamfields

“They were amazed, mouths gaping, and saying, ‘Check it out, aren’t these Galileans who are speaking? How is it we’re hearing the language we grew up with’” (Acts 2.7-8). Language is what Pentecost is all about. The story of this… Read moreLanguage of Home

“…’teaching them to hold tight to all the directives I’ve given to you. And, listen, I’m with you every single day, all the way to the consummation of this age’” (Matthew 28.20). It’s storybook, romantic language. It’s what a lover… Read moreI am with you…

“But you’ll receive power when the Holy Spirit has come and you’ll be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the far points of earth” (Acts 1.8). Now we’re talking. Three years of waiting and following and now, now it… Read morePower

“When they had come together, they asked him saying, ‘Anointed One, is this the moment when you will restore the Kingdom of Israel” (Acts 1.6)? The Resurrection is, as we’ve been seeing, full of surprises. The disciples have been left… Read moreAnticipation

“As they were speaking, Jesus—the one and only—stood in their midst and said to them ‘Peace to you’” (Luke 24.36). I’ve long forgotten the comedian, but one of his bits has stuck with me for over thirty years. At the… Read moreIn the Midst

“Jesus said to them, “Come and eat breakfast.” None of the disciples asked him, “Who are you,” because they knew it was him” (John 21.12). Jesus has risen—returned from the mysterious land beyond the grave. His words carry five, six,… Read moreBreakfast Time

“They fled from the tomb; because, they had been seized by trembling and terror. And neither said anything to anyone; because, they were afraid” (Mark 16.8). I don’t blame them, I’d have run off too. Don’t misunderstand me, the message… Read moreTrembling and Terror

“And get this, there was a big earthquake, and a messenger of the Holy One came from heaven to roll back the stone and sit themselves upon it” (Matthew 28.2). During the entry to Jerusalem, which is read year upon… Read moreThe Sound of Stones