Advent Devotion for December 3

God of December darkness and Christmas light, … Deepen my longing, heighten my expectation, and make pregnant my hope. I know that within my heart is a Bethlehem: a place where light shines with tender memories. A place where angelic voices sing loud and clear. A place of wonder and awe, delight and calm. … God of December darkness and Christmas light, journey with me during these days so that I may know and prize my Bethlehem moments. Amen.

(Larry James Peacock)

Advent Devotion for December 2

We give out love in boxes

wrapped, tied, tagged.

But the first Christmas gift

was a love that needed no adornment

or disguise;

a love

that wrapped itself

around out tired hearts forever.

(Kari Hill)

Advent Devotion for December 1

Waiting in Hope

Wait in hope, hope in God, believing that we already possess what we hope for. In this season of sacred quiet amidst profane noise; of sacred, patient calmness amidst profane frantic rushing; of sacred contemplation amidst profane activity; of sacred fasting amidst profane feasting— we who have been baptized into new life experience ourselves as strangers in a strange land. We find ourselves drawn away from the tinsel and and carols of our profane world into the sanctuary of sacred time and space, where we might learn what it means to wait for the coming of what has already come.   (John Westerhoff III, A Pilgrim People)

Advent Devotion for November 30

Today is the first day of Advent. It is a season of expectant waiting - of preparing our hearts to once again receive the gift of Jesus. Between now and Christmas we will post a daily Advent devotion here on the blog. We hope that these prayers, poems, and short meditations will help focus your spiritual preparations for Christmas and serve as a quiet oasis in the busyness of this season.

  

We Wait in Advent

"Waiting is the most trying of godly endeavors because it brings a halt to our own individual nature. Ours is to lunge forth with predetermined notions and solutions. Faith in waiting sits still and expects the fulfillment of God’s promises. One promise is that if we sit still, we shall know."  (Donell Crosby, Alive Now! Nov/Dec 1986)

Looking Toward Advent 2014

Advent Sermon Series:
"Christmas at the Movies"

Our favorite classic Christmas movies may be considered "secular", but they contain timeless theological truths. Join us on Sundays during Advent for our 10:30 worship service as we explore faith-related themes in some of the best-known movies of the season:

o   December 7

Movie: How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Scripture: Matthew 3:1-12                                       

Sermon: “How Christmas Stole the Grinch”

o   December 14

Movie: It’s a Wonderful Life

Scripture: Matthew 11:2-11                                 

Sermon: “A Life That Changed the World”

o   December 21

Movie: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Scripture: Luke 1:26-38                        

Sermon: “The Island of Misfits”

See you on Sunday!