If God is the creator, and human idolatry is our attempt to manufacture something that can take his place, then the fact that those idols are reflections of their maker – us! – completely undermines their ability to rescue us. Instead, God promises his...
John the Baptist, in prison and about to die, struggles to reconcile his current experience with his prior beliefs about Jesus the Messiah and the imminent arrival of his kingdom. Jesus, however, reminds John of who he is and what he does, encouraging John to trust...
Isaiah promises Judah that God is committed to his project of redeeming them, and the guarantee that God is able to fulfill this promise is that as creator he is wiser and greater than all humans and thus alone is able to accomplish what he sets out to do. Readings...
Even though the neo-Assyrian Empire destroyed much of Israel and Judah by chopping down the tree of the Davidic kings, God promises in Isaiah 11 that a shoot will come up from the severed stump; specifically, a man who will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to put down...
Judah was devastated by Babylon's conquest, but in the resulting exile God promised them that while earthly kingdoms come and go, his word would stand forever. This word has been preached to God's people by prophets who have announced that God is planning to...
The beginning of advent marks the turning over of the Christian calendar, a calendar which – like all calendars – gives order and meaning to our actions. Specifically, the first coming and second coming of Jesus – which Advent celebrates –...
