Four weeks of Advent anticipation brought us to this moment, Christmas is upon us. Many of us will gather for worship tonight, celebrating the birth of Jesus. Many families will make time for private worship to bless one another in celebration of God’s great love. Many people will not see the spiritual reality playing out before them. Like the multitudes in Bethlehem two millennia ago, […]
There are times when comfort is a blessing. The things that make us comfortable make us feel at ease, just like we are home. Just the word conjures images of the comfy chair, classic comfort foods, and the routines that bring peace to our lives. Yet, too much of such comfort leads to unhealthy situations. Often, we need discomfort to move us out of our […]
We can easily miss what is happening in our midst. Caught up in our daily routine and distracted by the flurry of activity around us, we become too occupied to see the valuable things surrounding us. The Christmas season seems to amplify this struggle. In the weeks leading up to Christmas Day, we are busy wrapping up year end reports, shopping for family and friends, […]
Waiting goes hand-in-hand with pondering and, though not always easy to do, the results are certainly worth the effort. The story of Jesus unfolds one day at a time, just as our lives do. There was no button Jesus or his family could press that would leap them forward in the story. They had to walk out the plans of God in their lives like […]
We are half-way there! Today is the sixth day of Christmas, the one with the six geese a laying. Our culture has been selling Christmas so long this season that it already feels like it should be over. In fact, most of the stores I’ve been in have already shifted their merchandise and sales to Valentines Day. It is easy to feel like there has […]
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” […]
“And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told to them.” Luke 2:1:20 ESV The shepherds responded to the angel’s message by immediately going to Bethlehem to see the Promise of God in person. They arrived and told everyone what had happened to them, and what was told to them about the precious child […]
May you enjoy God’s richest blessings on this glorious day! Merry Christmas!
Today is Christmas Eve, and we are busily cramming for Christmas. A few things happening in our personal life required us to put off some of the planning we typically do much earlier, and from what I am seeing around me, we are not alone. Just as the birth of Jesus was for Mary, Christmas is coming, ready or not. We all like to have […]
This morning, I am preaching from Mary’s response to the angel’s news that she was to be the mother of the Promised One. Luke’s Gospel captures her words in the first chapter, “And Mary said, my soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant….” She goes on from there […]