Author: Administrador

“Dear Family and Friends, Christmas is upon us once more. We hope that you are well. Let us tell you ALL of the things that our family has done this year.” I suspect that the postman will deliver a few Christmas letters this holiday season. They may include family photos of the family dressed in … Continue reading “1 Corinthians 1:3-9 Commentary by Lucy Lind Hogan”

When we read 1 Corinthians, we are quite literally reading someone else’s mail–in this case, a letter sent in 55 A.D. by Paul to “the church of God that is in Corinth” from Ephesus (1 Corinthians 16:8), a few years after he had founded the church (see Acts 18:1-17). Corinth was a city strategically located … Continue reading “1 Corinthians 1:1-9 Commentary by Dwight Peterson”

Letters typically begin with statements identifying the author of the epistle and the person or community being addressed.  Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth is no different. Paul seeks to establish his own identity and the identity of the Christian community to which he is writing. Notable is Paul’s use of the word … Continue reading “1 Corinthians 1:1-9 Commentary by Mark Tranvik”

As he opens his letters, Paul commonly names others alongside himself. Among the undisputed letters of Paul, only Romans does not have a co-author or other senders named. 1 Corinthians begins by naming Paul and Sosthenes as those from whom the letters comes. The only other reference to a Sosthenes in the New Testament is … Continue reading “1 Corinthians 1:1-9 Commentary by Mary Hinkle Shore”

Paul’s great letter to the Romans ends with a doxology — a moment of praise. (There is widespread scholarly opinion that Paul did not write these verses; however, the person who did and the editor who placed them near the end of the letter [commentaries cite the various placements of the doxology] clearly presumed that … Continue reading “Romans 16:25-27 Commentary by L. Ann Jervis”

The letter to the Romans begins and ends in unusual ways for Paul. That the letter and the community held special significance for him is clear. In the opening chapter (in fact the opening verse!) we already have an extended greeting in which Paul is laying claim to and asserting his status as “a servant … Continue reading “Romans 16:25-27 Commentary by Dirk G. Lange”

These three verses contain a doxology, and they bring the Letter to the Romans to a close. Or do they? They are missing altogether in some Greek witnesses; alternatively, they appear at the end of chapter 14 in some Greek texts; and they appear after chapter 15 in others. (There are even more variations than … Continue reading “Romans 16:25-27 Commentary by Arland J. Hultgren”

Several years ago my pastoral duties included leading a short mid-week worship service at a local nursing home. One week almost all the patients present had some form of dementia. As I stumbled through the liturgy, one woman quietly repeated over and over, while staring into space, “I love you and you love me. I … Continue reading “Romans 15:4-13 Commentary by Susan Eastman”

The vision of the coming Kingdom is broad, wide, deep, and generous. On this Second Sunday of Advent, the text from Romans encourages us to move deeper into the vision outlined on the First Sunday. The unexpected return, the unexpected advent of the neighbor, is not something that should throw a wrench into our daily … Continue reading “Romans 15:4-13 Commentary by Dirk G. Lange”

We are used to, especially in the Advent season, hearing about the coming Messiah and how his birth in a manger in Bethlehem signifies salvation for us, Christians.  Centuries of Christianity have shaped this message for us and, as Christians, we feel like Christmas is an event that has deep and comforting personal significance. In … Continue reading “Romans 15:4-13 Commentary by Valerie Nicolet-Anderson”