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Baptism of our Lord · Isaiah 43:1-7 · January 10, 2010
By Reed Lessing “He Only Has Eyes For You!” Overview of the text The verb יצר creates an inclusio around Isaiah 43:1-7, as it appears in 43:1b and 7b. In the middle is…
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Christmas 2 · 1 Kings 3:4-15 · January 3, 2010
By Travis J. Scholl Wisdom doesn’t seem to come up much in our biblical preaching, despite the fact that the themes and literature of wisdom play a significant role in the Bible, particularly…
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Christmas 1 · Exodus 13:1-3a, 11-15 · December 27, 2009
By Travis J. Scholl “The text is designed so that the memory is a generative event in subsequent generations of Israel, generative of energy and courage for the belated contexts in which God’s…
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Advent 4 · Micah 5:2-5a · December 20, 2009
By Timothy Saleska Background notes (the text in context) 1. Micah 1:1 sets the ministry of Micah in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah. In modern chronology Micah prophesied in…
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New religion and politics center started at Wash U
John Danforth delivering the homily at Ronald Reagan's funeral in 2004 (Screen capture: C-SPAN) The New York Times broke the story on the formation of this new center yesterday, named for one…
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Advent 3 · Zephaniah 3:14-20 · December 13, 2009
By Gerhard Bode Throughout the Church Year the church rejoices in the gracious coming of Christ to itself in the Word of God and in the sacraments. Yet during the season of Advent…
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"A Serious Man": the Coen brothers’ retelling of Job
I recently saw A Serious Man, the Coen brothers new film, at the Tivoli. In between an opening prologue of a Yiddish folk tale and a truly stunning ending is the story…
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Advent 2 · Malachi 3:1-7b · December 6, 2009
By Wallace Becker This is the Old Testament reading for Advent 2. “He comes.” Prepare for his coming. The reading from Malachi says that God will send his messenger to prepare the way…
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Public confession as "atonement": Mark McGwire, Andre Agassi, and now Tiger Woods
Will he talk or won’t he? It’s a question St. Louis sports fans have been talking about for weeks now. The “he” in question is the new hitting coach for the baseball…
