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…
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. Wonderful Counselor, The Word, Prince of Peace, The Good Shepherd. What are some other names for Jesus Christ? [Firstborn of all Creation, Holy One, Judge, , Light 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. Several years ago, on a dark winter evening, in the days that are slowly gaining more light but when darkness still holds sway, the parish where I served created time and space for prayers…
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. At first glance, today’s stories of Naomi & Ruth and the widow who gave all she had to live on, present us with tales of sacrifice. And if we were thinking of the roots 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. So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and…
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. It has been said that there are five basic types of prayer and they can be distilled into five words: Oops. Gimme. Thanks! Wow! Why?[1] Oops for prayers of confession. Gimme for prayers of petition.…
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. One of my favorite seminary words is pericope, which autocorrect always wants to change to periscope. And that’s actually not a bad image to have – a periscope helps you see things that are…