Today's text is graphic, painful, and destructive, concerning sexual violence against Tamar by her half-brother Amnon. When looking at this too-familiar act and responses to it from 2500 years ago,…
The story of Abigail and Nabal reminds us that the prophets and scribes of old often remembered the women, left off the lists of kings, who made the events of…
The dichotomy of insecurity and inspiration that came into Jersualem's royal household serves as a model for our reactions to disruption throughout our lives--including in the national parks.
As a people, we so often want to avoid the burden of making decisions. God is there to remind us that we're never alone when we do.
Throughout the Bible, we see women's stories subsumed into the stories of their sons and husbands. Taking them independently, we can glimpse pictures of the ways power is enforced upon…
[audio mp3="https://www.ankenyucc.org/wp-content/uploads/sermons/2017/10/Reforming-Power-and-Prophets.mp3"][/audio] One of the unexpected consequences of the Reformation is the rise of national churches. This sometimes leads us to forget that Kings, Queens, Presidents, any individual leader will…
Samuel was called from the household of Eli to preach God's word of reform to priests exploiting people in the temple. Millenia later, Martin Luther was called to reform the…
Sometimes our worth is tied up in the outcomes. But outcomes are so often out of our control, maybe doing the job in front of us is all we can…
After 40 days of indecision and standoff between Goliath and the Israelites, David finds that the traditional armor of warfare is too constricting, and prevents action. So he leaves himself…
Our introduction to King David finds him out of view of the great prophet Samuel. God tells him to keep looking, a message we ought to keep in mind.
The Bible contains many different kinds of stories. In this transition between the Bible as prehistory and the Bible as history, the parental relationship of God to God's children is…
