Three years ago, I preached a sermon here on today’s text from Mark. It was, of course, brilliant, and I was tempted to reheat it for today, and maybe I should have done that. But instead, I have decided to do what I have not done before, that is, take on all of Mark’s gospel. […]

The density of a material is its weight per volume. Writing also has varying degrees of density, that is, content per word count. Good writing strives for high density. It abhors adjectives and adverbs and qualifiers. Strong writing will avoid saying “today is actually Sunday” or “today is not Saturday, but Sunday”, when “today is […]

Our epistle today from the Letter of James (2:1-10, 14-17) is a famous text. In it, James argues that faith without works is not real; works are the proof of faith. He says, “What good is it if you say you have faith but do not have works? If a brother or sister is naked […]

The apostle Paul starts his Letter to the Ephesians with an upbeat, almost euphoric message: – “In Jesus Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, so that we might live […]