November 23, 2014 Ezekiel 34: 11-16, 20-24 Rev. Catherine Purves There are a lot of strange images or metaphors for God in the Bible. Two of my favorites are The Rock and The Hen gathering her chicks. Talk about your mixed metaphors! How can God be like a rock and like a hen? Well, how can God be both a king and a shepherd? They don’t seem to go together either. Just as…
November 16, 2014 Matthew 25: 14-30 Rev. Catherine Purves Work hard. Use your head. Invest wisely, but don’t be afraid to take a risk. And the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer. Can that really be what is being taught in this parable? It sounds like a defense of the most unforgiving form of capitalism, a financial survival of the fittest. I must admit that I cringe a bit…
November 9, 2012 Matthew 25:1-13 Rebecca DePoe My favorite course this term (other than the I’m taking with Dr. Purves, of course) has been Introduction to Ethics. Christian Ethics asks Christians to think about how Christ is a part of the decisions they make every day. Christian Ethics insists that the fact that we are Christians matters when it comes to how we make decisions. Christian Ethics is not easy. This is a…
November 2, 2014 1 John 3: 1-3 Revelations 7: 9-17 Rev. Catherine Purves A couple of weeks ago I read a book that had been loaned to me by two different people. The first loaner I put on my book shelf and promptly forgot about. The second time that the same book was given to me I read it in an afternoon. I’ve since returned both copies to their owners. This was a…
October 26, 2014 1 Thessalonians 2: 1-8 Matthew 22: 36-40 Rev. Catherine Purves Samuel L. Jackson must be coming down in the world, because for a while now he’s been doing T.V. ads for a credit card company. You’ve probably seen them. He stands there in his three piece suit with a rather smug look on his face. After explaining the benefits and blessings bestowed by this particular company, he then leans into…