Pastor Rick’s Study Notes: First Impressions: The Jerusalem team of legal experts had passed judgment on Jesus. He was a threat to their traditions and their power. When power is threatened, power becomes an adversary. When traditions are threatened, traditions become the default. Either way, truth is drowned out. Apparently, the verdict from the legal…
Pastor Rick’s Study Notes: Pastor Rick’s Translation – Mark 6:1-13 (PRT) v.1 Then Jesus left Capernaum and arrived at his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. v. 2 And when the Sabbath came around, he took the initiative to teach in the synagogue; and many, as they were hearing him, were astonished, and wondering aloud about…
Nearly everyone loves to hear a good story. Movies, novels, poems, and digital versions of it all, invite us to become a part of the action or the suspense, or the romance, or the journey. Most stories we read or watch or listen to come and go. They may touch us or speak a bit;…
When the doctors and their team working in Liberia during the height of the 2014 Ebola epidemic saw the damage the disease caused, one reportedly said “I’ve never seen so many bodies.” One doctor was in charge of gathering and disposing of those who died from the disease; he and his team worked tirelessly to…
A friend of ours planned a tour of Italian museums and recalled afterward that, while there were some awe inspiring artists –Caravaggio, Giotto, Tintoretto – the favorite by far was an “unknown” whose art was everywhere, very diverse, and over the nameplate of Sconosciuto. My wife and I just finished reading through the Bible in…
