Psalm 137:1 “By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion.” It has been appropriately called the “Song of the Captive.” It is a song about Israel in exile. It is a song not only for them, but for us, because we are still in exile. We live in […]
Author Archives: richiehalversen
Luke 15:13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.” It is easy for some to disassociate themselves from the prodigal story. And yet if we looked just a little below the surface we would find we […]
We were made to love. Love God, our spouses, our children, our community—everyone. But sin changed everything. What God created to be a blissful experience of mutual trust became a lifetime of suspicion and jealousy. Adam and Eve’s lack of trust is inherited by their children. Culminating in Cain’s jealousy, and eventual murder, of his […]
Luke 23:46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. Jesus did not say this because his spirit was about to become some disembodied vapor leaving His body on it’s way to heaven. Ecclesiastes 9:5 is clear, “for […]
When I was a kid, growing up in the church, I heard a lot of phrases like: “Walk softly in the sanctuary.” “Talk quietly in the church.” “Be reverent” There was always a strong emphasis on reverence, (which basically just meant being quiet). I have since learned reverence is so much more than that. I […]
“In the Episcopal order of worship, the priest sometimes introduces the Lord’s Prayer with the words, ‘Now, as our Savior Christ hath taught us, we are bold to say…’” (1). In Hebrews 4:16 it also connects prayer with the act of being bold. “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we […]
Just like Jesus promised to remember the nameless thief he died next to, Jesus promises to remember you. No matter how long it’s been since you last spoke He remembers it like it was yesterday. Regardless of how far away from Him we drift he remembers us long after we have forgotten. “I will never […]
Ezekiel 43:4–5 As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple. When Ezekiel was given a vision of a new temple. His heart must’ve skipped a beat. […]
1 Corinthians 9:20–23 20To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21To those outside the law I became as one outside the law […]
Amos 8:11 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord God, “when I will send a famine on the land— not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. Whether we want to admit it or not preaching is a vital element to the life, and […]
