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, […]
How did you spend New Year’s Day? We spent it together as family, enjoying some of our traditions and taking time to appreciate one another. Most of what we did would be considered boring by many people, but the day was filled with a sense of meaning and family, even the nap I took to catch up on the sleep I lost watching the ball […]
Happy New Year! Does anything say new beginnings better than a birth? Even our cultural celebration of New Year’s Eve and Day represents the New Year in the form of a baby taking over for the aging Father Time. I, for one, am profoundly struck by the celebration of beginnings right in the middle of the Christmas season. It there is a new beginning worth […]
“But to all who did receive him, who believed on his name, he gave the right to become the children of God.” – John 1:12 The impact of Christmas is both cosmic, and personal. Jesus was born for all of creation, and he was born for me and for you. In this holy child, God was beginning the greatest work of redemption and healing. This […]
“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 […]