Numbers 21:4-9 and 1 Corinthians 1:18-24

The Hebrew people’s rescue arrives in a bronze serpent lifted high — a foolish, absurd, unexpected deliverance. And now, for us today, we find a life of faith that is still beckoning us to foolish, absurd, unexpected deliverance in the cross of Christ.

PENTECOST | 1 Corinthians 12:4-13 and Acts 2:1-21

As the Holy Spirit descends, things don’t get tidy; they get really, really messy. In fact, the disciples’ ways of life fall apart. The status quo—the way things have been, the 'good old days'—it splinters into pieces.

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

We are incubated in the love of Christ, constantly moving from adolescence into adulthood, constantly becoming increasingly alive and awake through the power of the Spirit. Patience, kindness, forbearance, hope: these will not let us stand still.

1 Corinthians 12:12-33a

Like our own physical bodies, we don’t get to choose when our muscles work, or our vision remains, or our mental health reaches equilibrium. We don’t get to choose if we’re weak or not, and despite that inconvenience, it is a gift, because that is where the presence and hope of Christ enters into our lives.