When God brought Israel out of Egypt and then placed them in the land he had promised Abraham, his intent was that he would be the King of Israel. The people would be largely self-governed, for if they would keep the law of Moses, God would protect them and cause them to prosper. If they…

Last Sunday we looked at the ascension of Jesus, which worked out quite well given that last Sunday was Ascension Sunday—the Sunday after Ascension Day. Since Easter is always on a Sunday and since Jesus ascended into heaven 40 days after his resurrection, Ascension Day is always on a Thursday, yet many churches celebrate the…

During our topical sermon series on the Apostles’ Creed, we end our gathered assembly by reciting the Creed together. Many of us come from a variety of traditions and in these different traditions the Creed may be recited differently, which has raised this question of the version we use: why does it say Jesus descended…

In perhaps the most quotable movie of all time, the character Vizzini frequently utters, “Inconceivable!”. When the Man in Black fails to fall while climbing a rope up the Cliffs of Insanity, he once again declares this to be inconceivable. It is then that Inigo Montoya utters his famous words: You keep using that word;…

In the Ancient Near East physical attributes were important for those who would rule others. Pharaoh Ramesses II, for example, was described as “a beautiful youth who was well developed”. He had muscular arms and was a gifted athlete who excelled at rowing and archery and horsemanship. When his mummy was discovered archaeologists saw that…