by jakeowensby | Sep 22, 2023 | Calling, Matthew 21:23-32
The first semester of Freshman Year in College was a few days away. My friend J- and I were driving somewhere. I can’t remember the destination. He asked me what I would major in. Too embarrassed to admit that I hadn’t the faintest clue, I said, “Psychology.”...
by jakeowensby | Sep 15, 2023 | Matthew 20:1-16, Proper 20 A
Without Alice, the gears of our society would grind to a halt. You’ve probably seen her hard at work, but maybe you didn’t take careful notice of her. Alice is our neighbor. She cares for our children and for our elderly. She waits tables, checks us out at the grocery...
by jakeowensby | Sep 8, 2023 | Forgiveness, Matthew 18:21-35
J- remembers bits and pieces of that day. Just a toddler, he recalls playing on the floor with his mother, T-. She had bought some cheap plastic dinosaurs for him at the dime store (or the Dollar Store in today’s language), and she looked on as he marched them around...
by jakeowensby | Sep 1, 2023 | Forgiveness, Matthew 18:15-20, Proper 18 A
On August 27, 2020, Hurricane Laura made landfall in Southwest Louisiana with winds of 150 mph. Those winds still exceeded 100 mph as Laura passed through our home in Central Louisiana and traveled north. At dusk the following day, my wife Joy, our daughter Meredith,...
by jakeowensby | Aug 25, 2023 | Holocaust, Matthew 16:21-28
When people first learn that my mother survived the Holocaust, they frequently ask me if she was Jewish.[1] It’s understandable. The Nazi Final Solution targeted Jews. Six million of them died in the camps. It comes as a surprise to them when I explain that my mother...
