By Garrett Vickrey Colossians 3:12-14 Pregnancy isn’t easy. Sleepless nights where you just can’t get comfortable. Endless shopping for everything the baby might need until she goes to college. Binge eating. Guilt for said binge eating. And this is, of course, just the experience of the prospective father! Who could possibly imagine what the mother-in-waiting…
By Susie Edwards Psalm 40:16 In only 17 verses, Psalm 40 seems to capture the essence and our impression of King David: Things start out well – he waits patiently for the Lord, who brings him out of the proverbial pit, putting a new song in the king’s heart, who “delights to do Thy will…
By Daniel Zamora Romans 12:9-12 Today’s reading calls us to be joyful in hope. That is a very nice invitation assuming that whoever reads it or hears about it knows where to find joy and how to replenish it once it wears out. Getting joy is not like buying groceries or clothes or shopping for a…
By Gina Garrison John 1:14 John begins his Gospel by introducing us to The Word. He writes that The Word was there in the beginning, before anything else. The Word was with God, and The Word was God, and all that was created was done so with The Word. Then, this astonishing statement: “The Word became flesh…
By Jean Rodman Psalm 98:4-9 Psalm 98: 4-9 encourages man to “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music.” It reminds me of standing beside a fast running stream in the beautiful mountains of New Mexico or walking along the scenic coastline of the ocean in Maine. Nature exploding…
By Lance Mayes Luke 2:8-10 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good…
By Karen Calhoun Luke 1:46-48 If you had lived in the time of Mary, you would have been very familiar with the long history of your family. Stories of your Jewish ancestry were common conversation. You would be excited about always looking for and expecting the coming of the Messiah. Perhaps your young teen girlfriends…
By Garrett Vickery Colossians 2:16-19 A few years ago at a Christmas Party, my friend Kevin and I were standing near the back of a living room packed with friends with cups of wassail in hand. He and I were chatting and enjoying being at the back of the room watching as the packed house…
By Randy Edwards Luke 2:11-14 Hear the ancient text, which is the basis of one of the Sanctuary Choir’s favorite Advent anthems, composed by Douglas Wagner: Thou Shalt Know Him Anonymous Thou shalt know Him when he comes, Not by any din of drums, Nor His manners, nor His airs, Nor by anything He wears. Thou…
By Diana Bridges John 6:33 The Roman Empire was well known for its bread and circuses strategy. The idea was simple. Keep people fed and entertained and they’ll be easy to rule. Though the term was coined in the century after Christ, some who were attracted to the ministry of Jesus seemed to be looking…