Mark 1:14-20 Dear Partner in Preaching, I don’t know about you, but I suspect it didn’t look like God’s kingdom had come near to any of the persons Jesus first called to be disciples. I mean, they still had to work, long hard hours to scrape out a living as fishermen. Whatever challenges they had at home were still there. Whatever unfulfilled dreams they entertained were no closer to being realized. Moreover, Rome was still in power. They were still living in an occupied nation. Herod was the brutal puppet leader of their region and Pontius Pilate still governed Judea with an iron fist from Jerusalem. No, I doubt that it looked very...

John 12:1-8 Dear Partner in Preaching, For many years I have very much enjoyed reading this passage because of it’s vivid imagery and dramatic introduction of the passion story that is about to commence. But I have also struggled to preach it. Not only is there the scene of Mary washing Jesus’ feet with her hair, so reminiscent of the scene of an unnamed woman in Luke 7, but also the undercurrent of suspicion about Judas, the significance of the perfume in relation to burial customs, and Jesus’ widely misinterpreted line about always having the poor with us. Lots to talk about, most of which needs first to be unpacked and...