Elijah the Prophet For our Jewish friends, the Passover supper is the most important meal of the year. It is known as the Seder. At the table that evening there is always an empty chair and, on the table, an empty wine glass. This place is reserved for Elijah who just might come in […]
Homily by Bruce Johnson 17 January 2021
Listening for the Voice of God The writers of the Old Testament included quite a few stories about a prophet named Samuel. One of those stories is our lectionary reading for today. The setting for this story is in a place called Shiloh. Long before Solomon built his famous temple in Jerusalem there were […]
Wednesday Morning Bible Study – Oct-Nov 2020
The Gospel of John includes several collections of the sayings of Jesus that are not found in the other three gospels. Some of these sayings are said to be from his public teaching but the audience for most of them consists exclusively of his inner circle of disciples. As we revisit these familiar […]
Homily by Bruce Johnson 4 October 2020
The Gospel According to Francis of Assisi This is the day when we remember Saint Francis of Assisi or the as he was known in his day, “the Little Poor Man.” He was in fact fairly short. Francis was born in the town of Assisi in the year 1181. Assisi is a small hill-top town […]
Wednesday Morning Bible Study – Fall 2020
After several years of traveling from synagogue to synagogue in the part of the world we know as Greece and Turkey, the Apostle Paul was planning a preaching mission in Rome, the imperial capitol. He had received many reports of the growing Christian community in that city. Like all the other early Christian communities, […]
Presentation by Bruce Johnson 19 July 2020
Jacob, the Amazing Dreamer Today’s Old Testament reading is one of the stories of Abraham’s grandson, Jacob. In fact, it is probably the best known of all the Jacob stories. It’s sometimes called “the story of Jacob’s ladder” — a story depicted in the art of several renaissance artists. In this story Jacob […]
Wednesday Morning Bible Study – Summer 2020
Saul, Israel’s First King In the Old Testament, we find many stories of the key figures in the history of ancient Israel. One of the most interesting of these is the story of Saul, the first king of Israel. It is a story in which God changes His mind twice. First, he allows Israel to […]
Wednesday Morning Bible Study – Winter 2020
Paul’s Letter to the Churches of Galatia Originally, the Christian movement was essentially a sect of Judaism. The leadership of this movement, which was known as “The Way,” was centered in the city of Jerusalem. The head of this movement was James, the brother of Jesus. Outside of Judea, in the larger Roman […]
Wednesday Morning Bible Study – Autumn 2019
The Sermon on the Mount In the early chapters of Matthew’s Gospel, we find a collection of the teachings of Jesus that are traditionally referred to as the “Sermon on the Mount.” Matthew tells us that Jesus traveled throughout the region known as Galilee teaching in synagogues and the open air. As his reputation spread […]
Wednesday Morning Bible Study – Summer 2019 (2)
Wednesday Morning Bible Study Summer 2019 The Book of Job Guided by Bruce Johnson This summer the Wednesday Morning Bible Study Group will be reading and discussing some of the poems found in the Old Testament Book of Job. In these poems, some of the great mysteries of our faith tradition are explored. The […]