Luke 3:2b-16 – The Advent of JOY, "Jesus is coming. Look busy!"

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Luke 3:2b-16 – The Advent of JOY, "Jesus is coming. Look busy!"

Jesus calls us to a more personal, more immediate, and more intimate expression of sacrifice. When we share with others, we are worshiping; we are thanking God for what we have AND for the opportunity to bless others.

Putting our faith into action is a critical part of a healthy, functioning spiritual life. As someone in our Bible Study asked, “What outward expressions would be worthy of the change we’ve felt inside of us?”

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Luke 1:57-80 – The Advent of PEACE, Shalom

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Luke 1:57-80 – The Advent of PEACE, Shalom

Christmas is truly the season of looking forward to new additions to our lives that arrive as unearned gifts from others. In a nation torn apart by politics, in a community still staggering from the blows of economic challenges and wildfire recovery, in a culture that tells us we always need to have more and be more... Peace, Shalom, may be the greatest gift of all this year.

Remember, the word peace we’re using today is our translation of the Hebrew word Shalom – a word that includes the concepts of being in a state of wholeness, completeness in our relationships with God, with ourselves, and with each other. This is far deeper, far more encompassing than “have a nice day.”

Thankfully, God offers us a never-ending supply of peace, shalom, if we simply accept and participate in that gift of peace. Every day, we have opportunities to re-gift that shalom to others so they can benefit as well. During this Christmas / Advent season, I encourage you to gift and re-gift shalom freely and with wild abandon... to yourself, your families, your coworkers, your classmates, and anyone else you meet.

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1 John 3:16-24 – Debbie Abbott – Love: The Act of Receiving and Giving

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1 John 3:16-24 – Debbie Abbott – Love: The Act of Receiving and Giving

We cannot bring about change in our community only by what we preach. Our actions must portray what we say and believe. Doing good, by its definition, is never complete. God’s love is a never-ending stream that we can tap every day. All of us have a role in both receiving and giving love. It’s ironic that when dealing with these positive commandments, we don’t ever come to a point when we can say, “I’m done.”

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Nurturing Our Childlike Faith – Mark 1:21-39

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Nurturing Our Childlike Faith – Mark 1:21-39

Whatever Jesus preached, He backed up with undeniable demonstrations of His message put into action. Today, our actions of service should reflect our words of faith. As our faith grows deeper, we can expect our actions to grow bolder as we share the Good News that EVERYONE is a precious child of the living God created in God’s loving image, designed to serve as God calls each of us.
Today’s story presents us several challenging questions.

  • First, listen: are we listening for God to speak to us in new ways and, perhaps, through unlikely people?

  • Second, grow: are we open to letting God’s activity in our lives increase our childlike faith – our willingness and capacity to believe in the mysterious?

  • Third, share: when we do experience God’s activity in our lives, are we willing to share that to encourage each other and attract others?

  • Fourth, reconnect: as much as we believe we are called to put our faith into the actions of serving others, are we willing to disconnect from everything so that we can reconnect with God through intentional one-on-one time?

  • Finally, clarify: are we willing to let the lure of God’s Spirit guide our lives rather than the lure of what our culture seeks from us?

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Accepting God’s Invitations – Mark 1:16-20

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Accepting God’s Invitations – Mark 1:16-20

When God calls us, it’s an invitation to become a more active participant with God as we, together, strive to live into Jesus’ command for us to love God, love ourselves, and love each other (Matthew 22:34-40). Every time we answer yes to God, we grow the Kingdom of God in our hearts and in our communities. In the coming days and weeks, I encourage each of you to pray, “Lord, I am available and willing. What do you have in mind for me?” With that as our prayer and God as our partner, our future is filled with incredible possibilities!

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Tempted and Moving On – Mark 1:12-15

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Tempted and Moving On – Mark 1:12-15

As individuals and as a faith community, I encourage all of us to address whatever tempts us. And I encourage us to do this with each other. By doing so, we can genuinely look out for and support each other.

With Jesus as our role model and with God actively supporting us, let us bravely address whatever tempts us so that we can confidently move on and move into new seasons of loving God, loving ourselves, and loving others.

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Our Mysterious and Intimately Loving God – Mark 1:1-11

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Our Mysterious and Intimately Loving God – Mark 1:1-11

We can use today’s last two verses to remind ourselves that…
1) God is not way out there; God is intimately close to us and has gone to great lengths throughout history to demonstrate that.
2) God’s presence is mysterious, and that’s ok. We must learn to embrace what we can’t capture, control, or fully explain. Nevertheless, we must explain our faith and our spiritual experiences (as best we can) so that others may be drawn to God through us.
3) God loves passionately, and we can learn how to love others by seeing how God loved Jesus – Himself in the flesh.

When we keep these verses in the forefront of our hearts and minds, we are FAR more likely to deeply experience God’s love and peace within ourselves. These verses ALSO push us to follow God’s example and make God’s love – through us – up close and personal to the people around us. That is how we create Kingdom of God moments in our homes and in our communities!

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The Advent of LOVE – John 1:1-9, 14

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The Advent of LOVE – John 1:1-9, 14

John’s story tells us that the essence of Jesus has always existed and plays an ongoing role in the creation of the universe, our planet, and every person who has ever lived.
John describes Jesus as being light in darkness. John’s words challenge us to acknowledge the darkness in our own lives and in the lives of others AND find ways to bring a helpful light into those dark places.
No matter who or where we are; no matter what we have or have not done, we fundamentally believe that the light of God’s love IS with us through it all helping us see hope in the midst of despair, helping us see faith in the midst of uncertainty.
What price are we willing to pay to be light in darkness, to bring God’s love to people who desperately need it?

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