The Blind See–Finally

?October 25, 2009 Proper 24 Mark 10:46-52 Healing Bartimaeus closes a chapter in the life of Jesus. The new chapter (Mark 11) begins in a new location, Bethphage; records a unique new experience, the triumphal entry; and opens the final week in the earthly life of Jesus. Clearly, the story of Bartimaeus concludes something very significant.

The Royalty of Service

October 18, 2009 ?Proper 23 Mark 10:35-45 I can hear it today as clearly as I heard it 37 years ago. It was a warm May night in a crowded Idaho church building. Our small graduating class was seated on stage enduring a rambling one-hour-and-forty-minute sermon. An hour into the sermon I heard the voice that only I would recognize.

The Economics of True Faith

October 11, 2009 Proper 22 Mark 10:17-31 I often get stock tips in my e-mail. But what I am giving you here are not tips but the truth about how to gain imperishable riches: truth that comes from one of the most well-known passages in the New Testament. This truth is about a rich young ruler's encounter with Christ. In it every believer must come face to face with the costs-the economics of true faith-of following Jesus Christ.

In the Land of Uz

October 4, 2009 Proper 21 Job 1:1; 2:1-10 When we hear about the city in Job 1:1, we think of Frank Baum's classic. For Uz sounds to us like Oz. But Uz was not make-believe. It could not have been more real.

Sovereign Surprises

September 27, 2009 ?Proper 20 Esther 7:1-6,9-10; 9:20-22 "Where is God in all of this?" Haven't you asked that before? We often live our lives on the edges of faith, where promises and circumstances collide.

?He Is Not Silent: Preaching in a Postmodern World

?Expressing his concern that "dangerous trends and many popular examples threaten to undermine the centrality of biblical exposition in evangelical pulpits around the world," in this new book R. Albert Mohler, Jr. argues for a renewal of expository preaching that faithfully confronts congregations with the Word of God.