What should a farmer do with a fig tree that doesn’t produce figs? Or a peach tree that doesn’t produce peaches? Or a pecan tree that doesn’t produce pecans? Or, what should God do with a Christian that produces no fruit? Fortunately for Christians we can change.

The Bible has a few feminine images of God. Jesus described God as a mother hen trying to protect her chicks. They scurried about unaware danger was nearby. They represented the people of Israel who were unaware of the dangers they faced. Next Sunday will take us from the wilderness temptations to the holy city of Jerusalem.

This Wednesday our Lenten journey begins with these words: “Remember, you are dust and to the dust you shall return.” It is a sober reminder of the fleeting nature of life and a challenge to engage the things that matter most. This Sunday will take us to the wilderness and the temptations of Jesus

People of my generation likely think of Charlton Heston descending Mt. Sinai as Moses in the movie The Ten Commandments. His hair and beard had turned white. His face shone brightly. What were the biblical writers trying to communicate about Moses? And God? And then Jesus?

We often hear it at weddings: “Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous….” But this instruction was not just for marriage. It was intended for all of us. And there is great power in it.

The theme for Christian unity this year comes from Christians in the Middle East: “We saw his star in the East, and we came to worship him.” It is a message of hope and joy, something we need desperately today.

The wedding at Cana of Galilee was more than a wedding. It was a prophetic moment. Jesus was telling the people that their dry as dust experience of religion could be more. It could be life giving. It could be nourishing. It could be made alive with living water.

As our name Baptist suggests, baptism is a big deal for us. Early Baptists were accused of child abuse because they would not allow the church to baptize their infant children. There’s a reason for this.

He was the “Word” that became flesh, John writes. The fullness of God came to abide in the man from Nazareth, Jesus. John knew. When they looked at Jesus, they saw the human face of God.

How should we respond to wonderful news? Sing, of course! And pray. That’s what Mary did. We now call her song The Magnificat. It is a song and a prayer.

The people responded to the message of John the Baptist. “What then should we do?” they asked the eccentric wilderness preacher. His response was simple: bear fruit. The same is true today.

The Advent theme for this year is drawn from one of our beloved Christmas carols: O Come, All Ye Faithful. Advent opens with a warning. Be on guard, we are cautioned. Watch. What should we be watching for?

From time to time, the picture of God becomes blurry. We begin to think God is a mean tyrant. Or we think God favors our team over another. The picture of God had become blurry in the time of Jesus, so Jesus had to redraw it, reminding the people of who God really is.

The people were accustomed to sacrifices being repeated. On holy days, especially the Day of Atonement, they presented their animals to be sacrificed. They would do it again the next year. And the next. That ended with Jesus. The writer of Hebrews says Jesus’ death was “once for all.” It never has to be repeated.

If our earliest forefathers and mothers saw some Baptist churches today, they wound not recognize them as Baptist. They paid a heavy price to be free from religious coercion—floggings in the town square, imprisonment, exile, and death. They embraced a gospel that insisted on freedom of conscience, freedom from the king, freedom from the pope, freedom to relate directly to God. We could call it the gospel according to the Baptists.

We call him blind Bartimaeus. The text calls him “a blind beggar.” Many people with disabilities in ancient cultures were reduced to begging. What we learn of Bartimaeus, though, is that despite his blindness he could “see” quite well.

The book of Job addresses the issue of human suffering. Why do the righteous suffer? It also addresses this important issue: why are the righteous righteous?

The book of Hebrews may have been a sermon originally. The preacher was addressing Christians who had been Jewish. They were under persecution. Some were leaving their Christian faith. Others were considering it. The preacher urged them not to leave, arguing for the superiority of Christ.

Esther was a Jewish orphan. She found favor with the king of Persia and became his queen. She used her position to save her Jewish people. The book of Esther is the only book in the Bible that does not mention God, but it still has some important lessons for us.

It wasn’t complicated for Jesus. It was not theoretical. It was as simple as taking a little child into one’s arms. When you welcome one little child in “my name,” Jesus said, you welcome me.