It’s one of the most familiar Sunday School lessons, and the subject of countless Bible classes and talks. You can tell it yourself, without looking. A storm on the Galilee lake, and Jesus came walking on the water.

What do you make of these verses from Proverbs? It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife. (Proverbs 21:9) It is better to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman. (Proverbs 21:19)

Jesus used a lot of agricultural metaphors. Many of his parables are built around seeds being planted, plants growing or failing to, trees producing or failing to, harvest, keeping sheep. Which is interesting, because Jesus wasn't a farmer. He lived in town, worked in building trades. Of course it was a small town, and agriculture would have been going on all around, so there's no question he would have had a lot of exposure to farming and the care of farm animals.

Depending on the reading plan you follow (you do follow one, I hope!), you may be reading in the Revelation. The first chapter tells us who is writing: John, at the behest of Jesus, with the authority of the Almighty. And it tells us who he's writing to: the seven churches of Asia. But none of us thinks the audience is limited to those folks. It's clearly from Jesus, through John, to all believers, then and thereafter.

Who's the audience for the Proverbs? Easy answer, right in the opening verses. It's addressed to the simple, the youth, the wise, the understanding. For the purpose of improving them all.

When a meal is supposed to be hot, it’s not nearly as appetizing if it’s allowed to get cold. Our Lord gave some serious warnings about the time right before his return—some of them concerning his own followers. Persecution will cause many to fall away and betray one another (Matthew 24:9-10). False prophets will lead many astray (verse 11). And, I suggest every bit as serious: “And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold” (verse 12).

All my life, there have been famines I’ve heard about. But never experienced. Food insecurity is something that can and does exist anywhere—and when we’re willing, we can and (sometimes) do find ways to help. But famine is something else, something beyond, hunger on a massive scale. So horrifying it staggers the imagination.

The longest public speeches of Jesus that we have on record have nicknames: The “Sermon on the Mount” is recorded in Matthew chapters 5 to 7. The “Sermon on the Plain” is in Luke 6:17-49. They are similar enough that on the surface they might seem to be different accounts of the same event.

As they’d agreed, they meet while it’s still dark. A few of them have brought what spices they’ve been able to locate. Quietly, they take the short walk out of the city to the cemetery. The moon is going down as the sunrise begins.

We are likely comfortable with the language of Hebrews 11, describing Abraham—and indeed all the faithful—as foreigners, aliens, unsettled travelers.

There can be no doubt that Psalm 45 is messianic. We would have figured it out anyway, but the use made of it in the New Testament clinches it. How would we have figured it out? Just look at how it begins: “My heart overflows with a pleasing theme; I address my verses to the king…” Who is the king? It can be none other than Messiah.

“O YHWH, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” Thus begins, and ends, Psalm 8—one of the loveliest passages in scripture. This psalm conveys the awe we all feel when we stop and pay attention to the power and the grace of the Almighty Creator. If we do. Stop, I mean, and pay attention. Something many of us aren’t all that good at.

What do we say when someone asks, “How are you?” Usually we reply, “Fine. You?”

Are we “fine”? Usually not. Something hurts, something is troubling, we have stresses, conflicts, worries.

We don’t want to dump all this on someone else, so…”I’m fine thanks. You?”

Sandwiched between the technical details of completing a Nazirite vow, and the details of the offerings for the consecration of the tabernacle, the Lord charges Aaron and his sons to pronounce a beautiful benediction on the people of Israel.

There is such clamor all around us. Shouting, shooting, looting, lying, demanding, demeaning, denouncing, destroying. Even those who bemoan such clamor are prone to joining it when it’s their issue at stake. There are many who clamor…ironically…for peace!

One of those terms we encounter over and over in scripture is “the arm of the Lord”. Usually it is said to be “outstretched”—active in doing something, not passive. Sometimes we find the Lord’s “right hand” referred to; often enough, in context it’s equivalent to the arm. Here’s a quick look at a small number of passages where it’s used—and some thoughts on what it means to us. I think there’s more to be dug out—go to it!

In the gospel that bears his name, John never actually names himself. He does, however, talk about “the disciple Jesus loved”. Most Bible students conclude he is referring to himself.

How do we know about God, learn what He is like? And not just know about Him, but know Him? We would all respond that He has revealed Himself in the written Word, the Bible. Absolutely true. We might also say He manifested Himself in His Son, who is also referred to as the living Word of God. Also true, however what we know about Jesus comes from what’s written as well.

It’s a long time ago, now. I think I was in my late teens. At a multi-day retreat, I was in conversation with a senior sister, an outstanding Bible student, and she mentioned her love of the Psalms. I confessed to her that I found the Psalms hard to get through, that they seem repetitive. She replied, “Yes, they’re just so psalmy, aren’t they?” And then she smiled at me. She didn’t say it, but clearly she thought that I would change my mind about them once I gained a bit more spiritual maturity.

War. Again. People never cease warring with one another. War is a horrifying thing, as some of you reading this can testify from direct experience. All the suffering, the death, the destruction. Why do people keep doing it?