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But, of course, it is more than that – it is a call to arise, to stand up and be noticed, to shine! Isaiah 60:1+6 and Ephesians 3:1-12 January 4, 2026 Dr. Todd R. Wright Most years, Epiphany means a visit from the Magi. We love their story – Matthew gives us just enough information about them to spark our imagination and then allows us the freedom to fill in the rest of the details; they bring mysterious and symbolic gifts; and they arrive with a flourish wearing exotic cloth

... as we stand on this bridge, I want you to hear what God’s voice repeats, and what people of faith claim, over and over, to people across the centuries: do not fear! A selection of scriptures featuring the word “fear” December 28, 2025 Dr. Todd R. Wright Welcome to the first Sunday after Christmas, the last Sunday of the calendar year, and the bridge from one year to the next! You have heard a representative litany of scriptures. I could have chosen others. There are a lot

No place? For a baby? We bristle at the thought. How could there be no place? Isaiah 9:2-7 and Luke 2:1-14 December 24, 2025 Dr. Todd R. Wright Luke’s version of the birth narrative contains one of the most heartbreaking phrases in scripture. He reports that when Mary gave birth to her firstborn son, she “laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” No place? For a baby? We bristle at the thought. How could there be no place? Oh, we heard Luke when h

I’m confused. What will we call this baby – Jesus or Emmanuel? Matthew 1:18-25 December 21, 2025     Dr. Todd R. Wright Did you ever notice that Joseph never speaks? His actions do! Still, it takes an angelic intervention to get him to do what he ends up doing. One scholar observes, “Angels usually get involved in the biblical story only when heavy lifting is involved. I think it’s safe to say that the [time] leading up to Christ’s birth was not one blissful baby-shower after

Are you ready? Ready to pause and reflect? Ready to wrestle with this story? Ready to repent? Matthew 3:1-12 December 7, 2025 Dr. Todd R. Wright   Every year, during Advent, we’re confronted with a voice crying out in the wilderness! It draws us, just as it did the crowds Matthew says came “from Jerusalem and all Judea”. Jill Duffield wonders why they came: “Are they simply curious? Perhaps. However, we learn in the Gospels that they do more than gawk. They stay. They listen.

The prophets we read during Advent have a different vision. They stride into history and announce, in no uncertain terms, that there is a God in this universe, and this God is not neutral on matters of good and evil. Isaiah 2:1-5 and Romans 13:11-14 November 30, 2025 Dr. Todd R. Wright Advent is a season that draws us to look back – to remember the stories associated with the birth of our savior – the stunning annunciation, the census-forced travel to Bethlehem, Cousin John’s

Paul implies that if you work your way through this checklist of holiness, “the peace of God will guard your hearts and minds.” “La Ofrenda, or, The Offering” by Saturnino Herrán, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN Psalm 100 and Philippians 4:2-7 November 23, 2025 Dr. Todd R. Wright In her novel, Gilead, Maryilynne Robinson writes about a young couple walking after a rain: “On some impulse, plain exuberance, I supp

Paul sees idleness as a threat: He cautions the Thessalonians to keep away from those believers who are living in idleness. “Idle Hands” by Will Barnet 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 November 16, 2025 Dr. Todd R. Wright Ninety years ago, in 1935, Bertrand Russell wrote an essay, “In Praise of Idleness”. In it he argues against the glorification of work and for a four-hour workday. (Can you imagine?) He believed less work would mean more time for leisure, creativity, and reflection.

I wonder if Zacchaeus was weary of the tangle of his life. I wonder if he was stung by his neighbors’ low opinion of him, their hostile whispers. [1] “Zacchaeus” by Rev. Lauren Wright Pittman, A Sanctified Art, LLC Luke 19:1-10 November 9, 2025 Dr. Todd R. Wright We all know the story of Zacchaeus, thanks to a song many of us learned as children. The basic facts of the story are simple: Zacchaeus, a tax collector, climbs a tree to see Jesus. Jesus notices him and invites hims

Luke indicates that Jesus grew up poor. When he was presented at the Temple, the offering his parents gave – two young pigeons – was what people gave if they couldn’t afford a lamb. Luke 6:20-31 November 2, 2025 Dr. Todd R. Wright “Blessed are you who are poor…” – that’s how Jesus starts. Well, actually, to begin, he spent a night on a mountaintop praying. When dawn came, he chose twelve people from among the disciples who had been following him, and named them apostles – sen

...we believe in the possibility of change and in the necessity of reform, not just of institutions, but of people – because churches, schools, businesses, and governments are made up of people – and as they change, the institutions they create and sustain, change too. [1] by Nelly Bube of Kazakhstan Joel 2:23-32 and Luke 18:9-14 October 26, 2025 Dr. Todd R. Wright Can people change? It’s an important question to be asking on Reformation Sunday – the day when Presbyterians al

When Jesus saw that his followers were in danger of losing heart, Luke remembers him telling a parable about praying always and not losing heart. [1] “The persistent Widow” by James B. Janknegt, 2017 Luke 18:1-8 October 19, 2025 Dr. Todd R. Wright It seemed like a simple question. The Pharisees asked when the Kingdom of God was coming, and Jesus gave a dark answer. He talked about upcoming days of suffering – like in the time of Noah – people were eating and drinking, marryin

This is the thought that captured my imagination. Our praise is not the marching step of duty, it is the dance of joy; it is not the settled and predictable phrase that we can repeat without emotion, it is the giggle of delight; our praise is like jazz! [1] “Ten Lepers” by James Christensen Luke 17:11-19 October 12, 2025 Dr. Todd R. Wright I thought this was just another healing story … and then, as I was doing my research this past week, I ran across a comment that sent my i

He is reminding them that they are called to do their work – to lead little ones to faith and forgive habitually – and not expect gold...

How then, can he advise Timothy to pray for the very people who threaten their ministries, their freedom, and their very lives?...

Paul’s confession is not casual or calculated, coerced or false; instead, it is an unexpected, vulnerable, complete confession of his own...

I think Moses had a full, rich vision of what happens when people choose life.   Navigational rock cairn at Zion National Park...

So maybe that is what Paul is getting at – when you were dead, you couldn’t do anything for yourself… so God had to save you! Ephesians...

... let’s dig in and try to figure out what truth a passage about seven bowls of wrath contains. Revelation 16:1-21 August 24, 2025 Dr....

But what if Paul is speaking to a specific group of women in Ephesus... 1 Timothy 2:8-15 and Galatians 3:27-28 August 17, 2025 Dr. Todd...