Mary came running from the cemetery. “Jesus’ body is gone!” she wailed in bewilderment. Peter and John ran to see (John 20). Here is what they observed: two angels in the tomb, positioned exactly as the cherubim had been stationed …
When builders dug in modern Rome to secure the footings for a new parking garage, they uncovered an ancient cemetery. Construction stopped and archaeologists were called in to uncover and assess and preserve. Hundreds of first-century graves were identified, most …
While the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke make it clear that Jesus and his disciples ate the Passover meal together on Thursday evening, the gospel of John does not carry any such indications as it recounts the Last Supper …
The world around the slaves of Egypt was swirling with ominous tension. The “god” who owned them, called “The Pharaoh”, was battling a seemingly more powerful Lord. Moses, a guy some of them remembered from decades earlier, had recently showed …
Judas was stunned! When he first went up to Galilee to hear this new preacher everyone was raving about, Judas had been skeptical. Nobody could be that good, that insightful, that engaging, that mesmerizing. But Judas was taken in. Against …
When David became king of Israel, he needed a capital city that was both prominent and defensible. The Jebusite city of “Peace” (“Salem”/”Shalom”/”Salaam”), once ruled by mysterious Melchizedek (Genesis 14), was perfect. Jerusalem became David’s palace city and, a generation …
When the Israelites crafted the Tabernacle at Mount Sinai (Exodus 25-40), Yahweh’s Shekinah glory blazed down from heaven and filled the place with the divine presence. God was at home with God’s people, living with them, traveling with them, creating …
David was the runt in his family. When the great prophet came to town and Bethlehem’s clans turned out for a day-long celebration, Samuel moved among the leaders to find Israel’s next monarch (1 Samuel 16). Yahweh nudged Samuel when …
An ice storm on Saturday night! Everything was cancelled. Roads were closed and powerlines down. Chad was the new pastor at Creekside Church. In fact, he was new to ministry leadership. His ordination service in this rural congregation happened only …
