This doesn’t seem to fit with the loving, welcoming picture we have of Jesus, does it? Why would he compare an anxious mother to a dog, just because she’s a Gentile? Is He buying in to some sort of Jewish belief in ethnic superiority? Well, we need to remember that…

During the first part of the COVID pandemic, before anyone really knew very much about how the disease is transmitted, we were asked to sanitize frequently touched surfaces such as doorknobs. People with especially sensitive immune systems would go so far as to wipe down groceries that had been delivered…

Why did Jesus say that the Pharisees were “hypocrites” (7:6)? After all, they believed in scrupulous obedience to God’s Law, and they took its every detail very seriously. They were even reverent toward the traditions of their ancestors – in fact, they sound a lot like us Presbyterians, don’t they?…

When Jesus’ disciples saw Him walking on the surface of the sea they “were frightened” (6:50). But why? It’s not as though the disciples hadn’t seen Jesus do similarly miraculous things. By this time in His ministry, His power to heal had become so widely accepted that crowds thronged Him…

How excited Jesus’ disciples must have been! Jesus had sent them out two-by-two to preach, and to cast out demons, and to heal the sick (6:12-13). So on returning, they couldn’t wait to tell Jesus “all that they had done and taught” (6:30). But of course, “they” hadn’t really done…

At least in the eyes of the world, Herod Antipas had it all. Because the Roman Emperors approved of him, he was able to follow his father’s example: just as Herod the Great had rebuilt the Temple of God in Jerusalem, Herod Antipas had built the great city of Tiberias…

What do you need for successful ministry? We usually think in terms of buildings and budgets, but find neither of these things in Jesus’ instructions to His disciples as they set out on their first mission trip. Instead we find three much more important things. In verse 7, we notice…

“Familiarity breeds contempt.” Maybe you’ve heard that saying, and it was certainly true of the way the people of Nazareth thought about Jesus. Because they knew so many things about Him – His education, His family connections, and His profession – they thought they really knew Him. But because they…

Why would this desperately ill woman be afraid to admit that she was the one who had touched Jesus (verse 33)? After all, a huge crowd was gathering around Him and pressing in on Him (verse 31), trying to get His attention, begging Him for many different kinds of healing….

If Tuesday’s elections showed us anything, it’s that the people of the United States are profoundly and almost equally divided. In many of the races, the winner only gained a little over half of the vote, so even in a state like Florida which shifted rather decisively toward the Republicans,…