Connected Christianity

I’m intrigued by the healing events near the end of Luke 4, where crowds of people are amazed at Jesus’ authority, and a demon submits to it. You don’t usually hear the word “authority” in reference to a good speaker or teacher. You usually hear words like “impressive,” “inspiring,” or “powerful.” But Jesus was not […]

I’m going to start picking up speed in my Bible blogging again. I wanted to go slowly through the first two chapters of Luke since they’re so important to Christianity. I won’t take time to write about every verse, but I’ll stop to reflect about every few chapters. Today’s chapter: Luke 3.
The truth hurts, and […]

The story in Luke 2:41-52 is an odd one. First of all, it is incredibly unique because it’s the only New Testament story about Jesus after his birth and before his adult baptism. More remarkable than its uniqueness, in my opinion, is how unexplainable it is. The story starts out normal enough: a child and […]

Simeon offers a very interesting blessing and prophecy when he holds the baby Jesus in Luke 2. Luke says that Mary and Joseph “marveled” at what Simeon said (2:33). Seeing as how a man they had never met walked up to them, took their baby, and proclaimed a not-completely-pleasant destiny for him, I would think […]

To me, the first part of Luke 2 is the heart of the Christmas story. More than any other passage, these verses conjure up all kinds of Christmas imagery. I remember when I had to memorize them for church when I was a kid. I can hear Linus reciting them in A Charlie Brown Christmas. […]

I really like this passage. I like it so much that I chose to use part of it when my son was dedicated as a baby. Yes, I know it was pronounced specifically over the birth of John the Baptist, but I think it is a wonderful pronouncement for any birth.
When a child is born, […]

I’m always surprised at how early the Christmas shopping season starts each year. Fortunately the ritual of amassing gifts for supposed religious reasons is on hiatus right now. The flood of consumerism makes it impossible for us to forget when it’s almost time for Christmas. That’s why it’s ironic that the secular world would push […]

In Luke 1, Elizabeth seems to have a knack for knowing things without being told. In verse 25, she recognizes that her pregnancy comes from the Lord. In verses 39-45 she recognizes that Mary will give birth to the Christ and that Mary believed the angel’s birth announcement when it was issued. How did she […]

Seeing as how most of my life revolves around my son who’s a toddler (or at least it revolves around what he breaks), it’s no surprise that this passage in Luke 1 makes me think of him. It also makes me think of the story in Genesis 18, which also made me think of him. […]

To get back into the groove of reflecting on Bible passages, I’ll start with one of the Gospels. Because the first few chapters of Luke are so important to the Christian faith (viz., birth of Jesus), I’ll read those slowly. Luke 1 is a long chapter anyway, so I’ll spend a lot of time in […]