Author Archives: NextSunday Reflections

Galatians 2:11-14 We teach our children so many lessons that we fail to apply to our adult lives. One of the most important is this: Be true to who you are no matter where you are or who you’re with. In today’s text, we find Cephas (Peter) letting church politics dictate his behavior. When he […]

Galatians 2:6-10 “Sure, you can have eternal life in Jesus and join our church if… you vote like I do.”  Hopefully, you think this is a ridiculous statement. Jesus is too big to be restricted by our divisive two-party system, or any other worldly structure.  Speaking of division, that’s what was happening between the Jews […]

Galatians 2:1-5 Have you ever tried to explain your faith to someone? Ever had to respond to a question like, “So why do you believe in God, anyway?” Maybe you’ve had that experience. But many of us have not been asked to articulate to someone what we believe or why we believe it. When we’re […]

Galatians 1:18-24 Paul is an outstanding example of something we all ought to practice more: changing our minds. And those Christians who once fear, then joyfully accept him model this amazing virtue too. Our world pressures us to take sides. We’re taught, “Decide what you believe and never back down about it.” Refusing to tolerate […]

Galatians 1:11-17 Which Bible character is your least favorite? Maybe that’s a strange question, but when we read the Bible closely, it seems like the list of potential candidates is endless. Perhaps King Herod repulses you most. Who could forgive his executive order to kill all of Bethlehem’s boys under age two? Or perhaps you […]

Psalm 117 In her children’s book The List of Things That Will Not Change, Rebecca Stead tells the story of what happens to Bea when her parents divorce. When this event rocks her stable life, it causes Bea’s family to look for ways to comfort Bea and each other. Their quest leads them to make […]

Luke 2:27-33 Meet Simeon, spiritual scout. Visualize him entering the temple daily, scanning the crowd, listening for the still small voice and some insider information. Will today be the day? Simeon scouts for the Messiah, looking for God’s appearing and waiting to see God’s promise fulfilled.  While consulting with a church whose attendance was growing […]

Acts 15:19-21 Sometimes it’s hard to get ourselves out of the way. Our expectations about how God should act may keep us from experiencing the movement of God’s Spirit. Sometimes we must lay aside our opinions about how church should be to enjoy the present wonder of God’s emerging forms of church. Like Zacchaeus who […]

Acts 15:12-18 How do we discern whether or not what’s happening around us is part of God’s purpose for this time and place? Individuals and churches have asked this question repeatedly throughout Christian history. Various denominations have identified discernment tools for their particular group within the Christian family to help them respond to it. In […]

Acts 15:6-11 Why do we have so much trouble trusting the goodness of God’s grace? We know that grace saves us, but we act like this truth is too good to be true. We struggle to accept what’s undeserved, what we haven’t achieved. In vain we try to earn what can only be accepted as […]