Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. In Jeremiah’s day, the work of a prophet was often a life or death matter – it was something you did because you loved God, and you loved…
Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. If Advent is a season of waiting, and Christmas is a season of pure celebration; if Lent is a season of repentance, then Epiphany is a season of doing. The anticipation and climatic celebration of…
Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. Today we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord, one of the four times in the church year set aside specifically for baptism, and with it we will baptize Emil John Ostrander and Henry Parks…
Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. Today’s Gospel just has so much going on, it’s hard to know what to pay attention to. King Herod and the Temple authorities in Jerusalem, the Magi journeying from the East, a wild star,…
If in your heart you make a manger for his birth, then God will once again be born on earth. Possible things are easy to believe. The Glorious Impossibles are those things that bring joy to our hearts, hope to our lives, songs to our lips. The birth of Jesus was a…
Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. Once there was someone who did such amazing things and told such wonderful stories, that people wanted to know who he was. One time he said, “I am the Light.” (light the candle) That person…
Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. Blessed is she who believed there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord. Today we finally arrive at the doorstep of Christmas. And our hope, our preparation, and our anticipation…
Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. Sing aloud, O daughter Zion, Shout, O Israel! Surely, it is God who saves me; I will trust in God and not be afraid. Rejoice in the Lord always; again I…
And you child, will be called prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways. Zechariah was silent for nine months. No word did he utter, no question did he ask, no prayer did he voice. You see, unable to comprehend that his most fervent personal prayer might be answered – the seemingly…
Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. Now the days are short. The darkness comes early. It looks as if the light is just about to go out. Right at this time, when the light seems to be coming to an…