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Why suddenly demand a king? In truth, there is more to the story than first appears. 1 Samuel 8:4-20 November 8, 2026 Todd R. Wright Last week, we started our study of the historical books of the Bible, with the story of Deborah, one of twelve judges who ruled over Israel. For nearly 200 years God raised up judges to help lead the people through times of crisis. There was no sign that this pattern would ever change. Until Samuel. You may remember Samuel’s story. His mother,

The point seems to be to remind the readers that even though Judges is a roll call of mighty men (and one woman), it is actually God who claims the victory; it is always God! Judges 4:1-16 November 1, 2026 Todd R. Wright Scottish writer and philosopher Thomas Carlyle, stated that "The History of the world is but the Biography of great men" and categorized them into archetypes like the king, prophet, poet, priest, and man of letters in his 1840 work, On Heroes, Hero-Worship,

We shouldn’t be surprised; we’ve traveled that same well-worn path, because of our fears. Jesus, focuses instead on love, summed up as – love of God and love of neighbor. Matthew 22:34-40 October 25, 2026 Todd R. Wright The late Michael Leunig, cartoonist and poet, wrote: “There are only two feelings. Love and fear. There are only two languages. Love and fear. There are only two activities. Love and fear. There are only two motives, two procedures, two frameworks, two results

But this time he says, “The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. Not with our ancestors did the Lord make this covenant but with us, who are all of us here alive today.” Deuteronomy 5:6-21 October 18, 2026 Todd R. Wright The first time the Ten Commandments appear in the Pentateuch, Moses has led Israel out of Egypt and into the wilderness. God has split the waters so they could escape on dry ground, fed them with bread from heaven and water from a rock, and defended

It is no accident that the Pentateuch is peppered with occasions where God is defined as: “the one who brought Israel out of the land of Egypt”. It’s a defining story; a tale full of miracles! Exodus 14:10-31 October 11, 2026 Todd R. Wright Did you ever stop to think how important the Pentateuch is to believers? You can’t tell the story of our God without starting with the creation ... for it’s there that we hear that we are made from the dust of the earth, in God’s image, an

It was just enough to cause Moses to stop and turn aside. Exodus 3:1-15 October 4, 2026 Todd R. Wright I have a question: What did Moses know about God before the burning bush incident? Not much, it would seem. Scripture says he was under his mother’s care until he was weaned. That means that for the first three years of his life he would have heard her pray and sing and tell stories. Maybe she shared about the mighty deeds of the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. Maybe she

...in a surprising move by the first editors, there are actually two Creation stories! Genesis 1:1-2:4a, 2:4b-25 September 20, 2026 Todd R. Wright Welcome to the first of 4 Sundays focused on the Pentateuch, the first 5 books of the Bible! The planning group struggled on which four passages to choose because Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy represent a full 20% of the chapters in the Old Testament, contain a multitude of important themes and figures, and c

Maybe the title should be: forgive, Peter. Matthew 18:21-35 September 13, 2026 Dr. Todd R. Wright How would you complete the sermon title? What should fill in the blank? A name? A sinful act? A failure to speak up? Our passage today offers some possibilities. Let’s consider them together. Poor, Peter! Bless his heart! He’s trying, but he doesn’t quite get it. He hears Jesus talking about what to do if someone sins against you and interrupts to ask: “How often should I forg

Here’s the good news: God stands ready to help us. The Good Shepherd is always nudging us back onto the path. “Happy Birthday Miss Jones” by Norman Rockwell for The Saturday Evening Post, 1956 Psalm 119:33-40 September 6, 2026 Dr. Todd R. Wright Psalm 119 is the longest psalm in the Bible. But that’s not why it’s worth studying. It reads like a love poem to God’s Torah. But that’s not what makes it special. It’s an acrostic with 176 verses divided into 22 stanzas. It’s a cele

... Paul is simply echoing Jesus’ commands, but that hasn’t made it any easier for people of faith to fulfill down through the centuries. Detail from “Sunday Morning in Virginia” by Winslow Homer, 1877 (Depicts a family in a slave cabin with children being taught how to read from the Bible) Romans 12:9-21 August 30, 2026 Dr. Todd R. Wright I have told you before about Robert Fulghum, author of All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. At one point he sat in a coffe

Imagine how different the world would be if there was a constant elevator soundtrack of people singing quietly, resolutely, faithfully, “I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart …” “David and his harp” by Marc Chagall Psalm 138 August 23, 2026 Dr. Todd R. Wright The enthusiasm is evident from the first line – this is a song of exuberant praise! There are no punctuation marks in the original Hebrew, but the content begs for exclamation marks to be littered throughout it,

The jokesters are completely wrong – Matthew is not recounting a trick. But they are also a little bit right – the gospel writer does have something up his sleeve. Photo by George Dagerotip Isaiah 56:1-8 August 16, 2026 Dr. Todd R. Wright The wounds were still fresh. Wounds? What wounds? Whose wounds? Isaiah speaks to a collection of bruised and broken people – three groups in particular: Those returning from long years of exile in Babylon found their Holy City destr

The jokesters are completely wrong – Matthew is not recounting a trick. But they are also a little bit right – the gospel writer does have something up his sleeve. “Jesus Walks on Water” by Tracy Councill Matthew 14:22-33 August 9, 2026 Dr. Todd R. Wright This story of Jesus walking on water has stoked imaginations for generations … and that shows up in a series of jokes. Maybe you’ve heard them. Jokes like this one: “Two retired pastors had a habit of going fishing togethe

“All things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” [1] Painting in the Grotto of St. Paul, Ephesus, late 5th century Romans 8:26-39 July 26, 2026 Dr. Todd R. Wright “All things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” That was the favorite verse of Bob Ward, the last surviving “life elder” when I arrived at First Presbyterian Church, Mt. Holly, NC back in 1997. He was “Mr. Presby

And just like that their life was transformed! That is what has happened for the Christian. [1] Painting in the Grotto of St. Paul, Ephesus, late 5th century Romans 8:12-25 July 19, 2026 Dr. Todd R. Wright We are nearing the end of our series, but Paul still has much to say to the congregation gathered in Rome. Here, as elsewhere, he is particularly adept at mining local customs to make his theological points and to help people understand the will and ways of God. For instanc

Dying and rising is the shared experience that Paul wants to build on in this letter. [1] Painting in the Grotto of St. Paul, Ephesus, late 5th century Romans 6:1-11 July 5, 2026 Dr. Todd R. Wright Consider with me for a moment not the audience or the author, but the purpose of this letter. This is Paul’s attempt to introduce himself to the believers living in far-away Rome, people who do not know his face or his voice… yet. Perhaps they have heard rumors, but they can be dis

Can you imagine? Faced with our willful, continuing sinfulness, God chose to justify us. [1] Painting in the Grotto of St. Paul, Ephesus, late 5th century Romans 5:1-8 June 28, 2026 Dr. Todd R. Wright We began this series, “Reading Romans”, last week by familiarizing ourselves with Rome in 57 AD, and the Christian community that developed there. Now we will turn our attention from the audience to the author – Paul. If you had grown up with him, and then lost touch, you would

How do you keep the faith when the pressure and temptation is to bow down to Caesars that proclaimed themselves as gods? [1] Painting in the Grotto of St. Paul, Ephesus, late 5th century Romans 4:13-25 June 21, 2026 Dr. Todd R. Wright Paul could not be everywhere (though a map of his journeys makes it look like he tried). Since he could not be everywhere, he wrote letters, lots of letters! He wrote to churches across Asia minor, many that he had founded. Sometimes he sounded

I think God led Israel out into the wilderness so they would embrace their dependence on God, and on each other. The wilderness forced them to become a holy community! Exodus 19:2-8a June 14, 2026 Dr. Todd R. Wright Take a moment to center yourself in this story. Like the Israelites, we have entered the wilderness. Our story is not nearly as dramatic – we haven’t been freed by God from 400 years of bondage in Egypt; or escaped through the midst of the Red Sea with Pharoah’s a