Tag: advent

Luke 1:38 “Behold, I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her. n

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Mark 12:30-31 ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
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nOver the past year I’ve gotten to hear this passage quite often. You see, every Sunday I had the privilege of being in a room full of middle school kids, learning about God from Mr. Jere Johnston and his family this past school year. Mark 12:30-31 was one of Mr. Jere’s favorite verses, and he reminded his students of the greatest commandment on a regular basis. Pastor Jay preached on this passage for All-Saints Sunday, where we honored the saints who have gone before us, including Mr. Jere.n

Ephesians 1: 3-6 How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.
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nRecently, the Lively class was studying Ephesians. One Sunday, our discussion led to each of us relaying how we came to accept God’s invitation of a personal relationship with Him. It was very interesting to hear how we each had a unique story. Every one of us was at a different point in our lives when we made the decision to accept Christ into our hearts and follow Him. One was about 12, one was in her late teens, a couple were in college and another was in her late twenties. We all had very different stories to tell of exactly what was going on when the decision was made or the realization of His call on our lives became real.
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nThis Advent season, remember your story. Remember when you accepted Jesus into your life. Was it a gradual understanding of His presence? Or an event going on around you that prompted you to say yes to God? A sudden moment in time when you just knew He was speaking to you to follow Him? However it happened, praise God! We are uniquely created for Him and are all called by Him to love and be loved.
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nAs the scripture above says, he lavishly gifted us by giving us Jesus Christ. Let’s remember to celebrate the Advent season with God, remembering when we accepted Him into our lives, and remembering why God sent His only son to be with us and for us. He wanted us to be made whole and holy and to enter into his celebration. That is certainly something to celebrate this Advent!
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nPrayer: Jesus our Savior, this Advent season help us to focus on you and remember our love for you. Thank you for coming to the earth for us and for the opportunity to have a personal relationship with you. Amen.
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nKathy King

Matthew 3: 1-3 In those days John the Baptist appeared in the desert of Judea announcing, “Change your hearts and lives! Here comes the kingdom of heaven!” He was the one of whom Isaiah the prophet spoke when he said: “The voice of one shouting in the wilderness, Prepare the way for the Lord; make his paths straight.”n

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Luke 3: 7-18 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” “What should we do then?” the crowd asked. John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same. “ Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher” they asked, “what should we do?” “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them. Then some soldiers asked “What should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely-be content with your pay.” The people were waiting expectantly and were wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am unworthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.n

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Lighting of the Advent Wreath for the Home – Week 3

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Luke 3:7-18 Then John said to the crowds who came to be baptized by him, “You children of snakes! Who warned you to escape from the angry judgment that is coming soon? Produce fruit that shows you have changed your hearts and lives. And don’t even think about saying to yourselves, Abraham is our father. I tell you that God is able to raise up Abraham’s children from these stones. The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be chopped down and tossed into the fire.”
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nThe crowds asked him, “What then should we do?”
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nHe answered, “Whoever has two shirts must share with the one who has none, and whoever has food must do the same.”
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nEven tax collectors came to be baptized. They said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?”
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nHe replied, “Collect no more than you are authorized to collect.”
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nSoldiers asked, “What about us? What should we do?”
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nHe answered, “Don’t cheat or harass anyone, and be satisfied with your pay.”
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nThe people were filled with expectation, and everyone wondered whether John might be the Christ. John replied to them all, “I baptize you with water, but the one who is more powerful than me is coming. I’m not worthy to loosen the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. The shovel he uses to sift the wheat from the husks is in his hands. He will clean out his threshing area and bring the wheat into his barn. But he will burn the husks with a fire that can’t be put out.” With many other words John appealed to them, proclaiming good news to the people.
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n1. Take a few moments in silence to center yourself. Consider what you desire from this encounter with God.
n2. Read the scripture passage twice, slowly, so the details become familiar.
n3. Close your eyes and imagine what is going on. What do you see? Hear? Smell? Taste? Touch?*
n4. What emotions rise up for you? Does anything in particular cause a reaction for you?*
n5. Where do you see yourself in the scripture?*
n6. What questions or thoughts bubble up?
n7. Close this time by talking honestly to God about your experience.
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n*If you are practicing this with children, offering them crayons and paper to draw the scripture is a good way for them engage with the scripture.

Matthew 2:10-11 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy. They entered the house and saw the child with Mary his mother. Falling to their knees, they honored him. Then they opened their treasure chests and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
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n“Advent” makes us think of:
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nChristmas
nAdvent Festival
nHoly
nCandles
nWreaths
nPrayer
nCalendars
nWise Men
nPreparation
nIsrael
nBirth
nCamel
nJesus
nMary
nGold
nFrankincense
nMyrrh
nHosanna in the Highest
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nHow we practice Advent:
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• Lighting candles in the Advent Wreath in Sunday School

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• Praying when we are together in worship services

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• Going to Church and actively participating

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• Lighting the Christmas Tree

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• Setting out the Nativity scene

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• Read Bible Stories

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nI hope this Advent season that I will:
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• Stop being preoccupied with school because it stresses me out, and I don’t want to be stressed

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• Be closer to God

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• Focus on the true meaning, not on possessions and all the social stuff

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• Focus on the more spiritual part of Advent and Christmas

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• Devote more time to the meaning of Advent and Christmas

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• Get closer to other people and help people

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• Keep Christ in Christmas

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• Focus on having everlasting life

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Revelation 1:8“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Advent is a time of waiting for Jesus to be born, so all the things on the Chrismon tree have to do with Jesus being born. Each Chrismon has a symbol on it that represents Christ. What is your favorite Chrismon on the Chrismon Tree? Mine is the crown on top. The crown represents Jesus our King. There are a bunch of Chrismons on the Chrismon tree:

Seashell—A seashell makes me think of water, and in the Church we use water for Baptism. The seashell represents Baptism.

Fish—The fish represents Jesus. It is one of the oldest Christian symbols and some of Jesus’ disciples were fishermen.

Butterfly—A butterfly is for new life. A butterfly is on the Chrismon Tree because during Advent we are waiting for Jesus to be born. Also, when butterflies are around, it’s during the spring which is a time of new life. When we believe in Christ, we have new life in Him.

Manger—We put a manger on the Chrismon Tree because Jesus was born in a manger. The manger was a humble place to be born, and Jesus came as a humble king.

Alpha and Omega—When Advent ends, we have a new beginning when Christ is born at Christmas. Alpha and Omega are the beginning and the end. As Christians, we believe that Christ is the beginning and the end of all things.

Chrismons are Awesome Sauce! Chrismons help us remember the life of Jesus Christ and help us focus on Jesus as we wait for him to be born at Christmas.

Prayer: Dear God, help us be patient as we wait for Jesus to be born during Advent. Let the Chrismons remind us of your Son’s birth, and help us be focused on Him. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 

Elizabeth Shoup, 8 

Mark 9:36-37He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.’

‘Van’ and his brother were the first to arrive at Grace Camp, dropped off an hour and a half early by a relative – cute little boys, nine and ten, with closely cropped hair and bright eyes. The children who are invited to come to a week of carefree summer fun are children from families shattered by incarceration. The Grace Camp staff rarely knows the back story of any child, only that Daddy or Mama or maybe brother is in prison, and things at home and school are very sad and difficult. 

As soon as the other campers began to arrive, Van began acting out in very aggressive ways. He looked for opportunities to shove another child or jump ahead in line. The energy he poured into antagonizing his fellow campers was profound, and in the cabin at night it seemed that he was playing the starring role in his own personal nightmare. Reasoning and reprimanding had no effect on Van. His errant behavior indicated deep-seated troubles.

The staff was totally perplexed as to how to help Van adjust to and enjoy the week of fun that had been so carefully and prayerfully planned for him and the others. One of the support staffers, a child herself, a child who has suffered the deprivations of love and security for many years, led the way.

Macie took Van into her lap, held him tight against his desperate struggles, and gently ran her fingers through his short hair over and over.
Van surely sensed through those gentle strokes the love and compassion for a fellow sufferer that Macie offered. He also began – very slowly- to recognize the understanding and acceptance in the faces of both staff and fellow campers.

Van enjoyed his week of swimming and games and singing. It wasn’t always smooth. There were renewed instances of shoving and hitting, but Macie stood in the gap each time and showed him the way back to peace and calm.
When his relative loaded Van and his brother into the truck to drive away that last morning, the Grace Camp staffers waved until the truck was out of sight. Five minutes later, however, the truck roared back down the camp’s gravel road. The driver jumped out, and with a bit of hostility approached the director asking what terrible thing had happened to Van at this camp. He said that the little boy who NEVER cries was weeping inconsolably. After a brief conversation, everybody realized that Van simply didn’t want to leave camp. Little Van, wounded in ways we will never know, had felt his heart opened by the love of Jesus shown to him at Grace Camp.

Prayer: Loving Abba, father of all, at this special time of the year, as we anticipate the joy of family gatherings filled with love and mutual support, fill our hearts with concern and compassion for the children of our community and the world who long so desperately for love and stability in their lives. Amen.

Betty Schroeder

O God,I have never known you to coerce, to punish, or to condemn, but you have made me wait.It was the waiting of a pregnant Mother sensing a new birth.

You have made me wonder, But it was the anticipation of one longing for a vision of the next great gift of love.
You have made me cry,but it was the cleansing of an
inner soul too full of itself.

So, Dear God, when next the night comes and the wind howls, I will remember that waiting has been worth it, wondering has been fulfilling, crying has made me deeper. In the name of the One who is Mystery itself.
Amen.

Rev. John Winn
in For All Seasons