Scripture Reading — Matthew 14:22-33 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”— Matthew 14:31Have you ever walked on water? I have, but only in the dead of winter, when the ice on a pond has been thick enough to
Scripture Reading — Luke 8:40-56 When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John, and James, and the child’s father and mother.— Luke 8:51Yesterday my daily-dictionary app sent me the word coterie. This word comes to us from the
Scripture Reading — Mark 1:29-34 The fever left her and she began to wait on them.— Mark 1:31Though we don’t know much about Simon Peter’s life, we discover here that he was married (since he had a mother-in-law). We also learn that Peter’s call to follow Jesus touched the liv
Scripture Reading — Luke 5:1-11 Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.”— Luke 5:10Do you like fishing? I do, although I often return home with an empty bucket. Unlike me, Simon Peter didn’t fish for fun; his life depended on it. In this dr
Scripture Reading — John 1:35-42 Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon. . . . You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).— John 1:42“Buster,” “Scout,” “Ace,” and “Sunshine” are all great nicknames. Some nicknames are humorous, some are affectionate, a
Scripture Reading — Psalm 23:1-6 The Lord is my shepherd. . . .— Psalm 23:1When the psalm writer wrote this beautiful song, he may well have been thinking of the Lord’s guiding hand throughout the history of his people Israel.God had called the people’s forefathers, promising
Scripture Reading — Psalm 23:6 I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.— Psalm 23:6Forever is a long time. And most of us are not fans of waiting. Sometimes even TV ads between our favorite shows can seem unending.When we think about it, forever can seem intimidating or
Scripture Reading — Psalm 23:6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.— Psalm 23:6Most cultures have a word for that feeling we all get when we experience being home. It includes a sense of safety
Scripture Reading — Galatians 5:13-25 The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.— Galatians 5:22-23My mother used to advise me and my sisters to leave a place better than we found it.What might that
Scripture Reading — Psalm 23:1-3, 6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.— Psalm 23:6Looking again at Psalm 23, we can see that the Lord our shepherd is not like a cowboy chasing us to move us a
Scripture Reading — John 14:15-31 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”— John 14:18One of the hardest things for the disciples to grasp was how Jesus could continue to shepherd them after he returned to be with the Father. So Jesus prepared them ahead of time
Scripture Reading — Luke 24:33-35 “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.”— Luke 24:34Buoyed by a renewed understanding of Jesus’ mission and their calling to tell others, all of the disciples found renewed hope. They shared stories among themselves of other