Scripture Reading — Matthew 15:10-20Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.”— Matthew 15:15When children are small, they pepper us with questions: Why? Where? How? What does that mean? Although at times this may feel annoying to us, it shows that the children are listening. Peter asked Jesus lots of
Scripture Reading — John 6:60-71Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”— John 6:68Crowds can be fickle, switching quickly from enthusiasm to rejection and even violence. Sometimes these dramatic swings are triggered by just a few words. Jesus’ hard
Scripture Reading — Matthew 14:22-33Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”— Matthew 14:31Have you ever walked on water? I have, but only in the dead of winter, when the ice on a pond has been thick enough to hold my weight. Even th
Scripture Reading — Luke 8:40-56When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John, and James, and the child’s father and mother.— Luke 8:51Yesterday my daily-dictionary app sent me the word coterie. This word comes to us from the French language and refe
Scripture Reading — Mark 1:29-34The fever left her and she began to wait on them.— Mark 1:31Though we don’t know much about Simon Peter’s life, we discover here that he was married (since he had a mother-in-law). We also learn that Peter’s call to follow Jesus touched the lives of his loved ones.Jes
Scripture Reading — Luke 5:1-11Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.”— Luke 5:10Do you like fishing? I do, although I often return home with an empty bucket. Unlike me, Simon Peter didn’t fish for fun; his life depended on it. In this dramatic story, Peter not
Scripture Reading — John 1:35-42Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon. . . . You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).— John 1:42“Buster,” “Scout,” “Ace,” and “Sunshine” are all great nicknames. Some nicknames are humorous, some are affectionate, and some reveal character
Scripture Reading — Psalm 23:1-6The Lord is my shepherd. . . .— Psalm 23:1When the psalm writer wrote this beautiful song, he may well have been thinking of the Lord’s guiding hand throughout the history of his people Israel.God had called the people’s forefathers, promising to be their God and to b
Scripture Reading — Psalm 23:6I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.— Psalm 23:6Forever is a long time. And most of us are not fans of waiting. Sometimes even TV ads between our favorite shows can seem unending.When we think about it, forever can seem intimidating or overwhelming. So it can
Scripture Reading — Psalm 23:6Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.— Psalm 23:6Most cultures have a word for that feeling we all get when we experience being home. It includes a sense of safety and warmth and even coz
Scripture Reading — Galatians 5:13-25The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.— Galatians 5:22-23My mother used to advise me and my sisters to leave a place better than we found it.What might that look like for followers
Scripture Reading — Psalm 23:1-3, 6Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.— Psalm 23:6Looking again at Psalm 23, we can see that the Lord our shepherd is not like a cowboy chasing us to move us along or dragging us alon
