matt tullos: writer
We have more ways to hear God’s Word than any generation before us. Me? I have three Bible apps, several audio bibles, and e-bibles on my phone. That phone also sends me a chime and a verse every morning at 6:00. I have a great church family with access to daily resources, great Sunday worship […]
It was just another day around the pool of Bethesda. The usual crowd of weary hopefuls, lingering by the pool with worn faces, stared daily in anticipation of divine intervention. The word on the street was that if you were the first person to get in the pool when the angels stirred the waters, you’d […]
My friend loves Jesus. That sounds commonplace, doesn’t it? It becomes less pedestrian when I tell you that his Mom died a drug addict and his father was a devout atheist. My friend was gloriously saved at the age of 10 at a Vacation Bible School event and never looked back. This. Makes. No. Sense. […]
Here’s a simple poem that works great as an ending to a sermon on the Healing of the Paralytic in Mark 2:1-12 Dust and shingles fall on the floor Hypocrisy has blocked the door A suffocating crowd around And all of this distracting sound These four guys had no building code To renovate this small abode. To […]
Jesus remains on the cross, suffering unimaginable traumas. He is deserted by fearful disciples, surrounded by tormentors, thieves, murderers, and religious provocateurs. Soldiers gaming over the final scant possessions of the Master of creation, ignore the darkening sky. Jesus cries out: “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?” On this holy day, God’s […]
Worship leaders start early with some creative tools to enhance your Christmas worship. Here is a simple reading that contrasts the Christ’s Birth and Crucifixion. Works great as an introduction to a song. Reader #1: Mankind had wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, Reader #2: And now they stripped him. Reader #3: Wise men had sought Him, to worship […]
It’s Monday evening. The chaos and collision of grace and law appeared in the violent light of day. Those who sought to turn worship into a business met the displeasure of the only One worthy of worship. The crash of coins and cages… Today the Son of Man personified the voice of the ancient prophetic song: […]
It’s Sunday evening. The road is scattered with green branches quickly turning brown, trampled by a festival of triumph. The darkness settles in as shadows fall on the city sky. It seems as if the shouts still echo through its gates. His feet drenched in alabaster and tears. He begins his walk toward the torment […]
And Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart– This phrase has arrested me for years, because pondering to me in a sense is a form of worship. To ponder, in a sense is to daydream about God. A time when the world stands still in quiet moments. There is very little […]
This reading could be used during the Easter season or for a Lord’s Supper service. The voice-over part could be a recorded voice, an offstage voice, or readers onstage. Scripture Reader 1: “Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.” Scripture Reader 2: “The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. […]