Author Archives: maggiemax15

Forgiveness is unconditional or it is not forgiveness at all. For the sinner, forgiveness has the character of “in spite of,”. For the righteous forgiveness is endowed with the character of “because.” Unlike the righteous, sinners cannot transform the “in … Continue reading →

For the first time in the Old Testament we have a new story form, a prophetic narrative that describe in speech and deeds the work of the Prophet. The stories of Elijah are the first to use such a literary … Continue reading →

 William Loader says that Paul emphasizes that nothing should clutter the simplicity of our relationship with God. There are no hidden hurdles that we must clear or qualifications we must achieve. It is an unconditional love which greets us – … Continue reading →

Because the Celtic Church was never infected with a dualistic outlook on creation, they did not see matter as evil, nor the spiritual world as divorced from the material. They looked on Creation around them as one great hymn of … Continue reading →

The Last Word: Acts 16:16–34; Psalm 97; Revelation 22:12–14, 16–17, 20–21 Our story today continues where we left off last week, where Paul and his cohorts are beginning their work in Philippi.  The story is jammed packed with people who … Continue reading →

Eighteenth-century deists like Thomas Jefferson believed in a supreme being who created the world, ordered it with the predictable laws of nature and morality, and then abandoned it like an absentee landlord. Deists, who judge everything by reason alone, reject … Continue reading →

During our 10:45 Meeting for Worship the joys and concerns on the hearts of worshippers shared with those gathered and the inspired messages shared in our time of open worship led to concluding our time of worship with the reading for this … Continue reading →

Our scripture reading is an addition to the Gospel of John, given that the Gospel has a concluding paragraph just before Chapter 21 begins. Maybe it’s an epilogue.  Scholars have quite different opinions as to whether it is from John’s … Continue reading →

The peace Christ give us heals the fear and cynicism of the world. This peace builds bridges of trust and allows us to walk together to the Father. His peace allows us to continue to believe and to hold on … Continue reading →

We think of Easter as a joyful time as we read of the women finding the tomb empty and announcing it to the disciples.  We imagine that all the men and women who had known and loved and followed and … Continue reading →