Posts with the category “advent”

Merry Christmas!Mele Kalikimaka! (Hawaiian) Maligayang Pasko Po! (Filipino) Merii Kurisumasu! (Japanese) Feliz Navidad! (Spanish) Felis Pasgua! (Chamorro) Haengboken Keurisemaseu Doesipsio! (Korean) Shengdan Jie kualie! (Chinese) Merry Christmas, Mate! (Australian) Merry Christmas Ya’ll! (Texas) During this season you will hear such greetings and more throughout our community. From the islands to ...  Read More

This fourth week of Advent we have considered an Extravagant Love and an Expressive Love. As we come near the end of this Advent season and prepare to celebrate Christmas I want us to consider an Eternal Love. This love is an abiding love that does not change with the frequent ripples of temporal circumstances (Heb 13:8).Charles Wesley, probably the most well-known hymn writer of all time. It was ...  Read More

This week of Advent calls us to recognize God’s love. It is an expressive love in which the Father gave the Son, the Son gave Himself, and then the Son gave the Holy Spirit. Now, the Holy Spirit is the agent of the Trinity to disburse gifts for the edification and building up of the Church. The Church is designed to make known God’s expressive love by living out an expressive love. We call it livi...  Read More

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) It is considered one of the most popular verses from the Bible and is a summary of the Good News; Jesus came into this world to give eternal life to anyone who believes in Him. God’s love is always in action.The supreme example of this love is revealed in...  Read More

“I just want to be happy.” When was the last time you heard someone verbalize this desire? When was the last time you told someone or yourself that you simply wanted to be happy? Seeking happiness is something common to humanity. It is a cry of the soul that acknowledges we were not made for pain, despair, betrayal, and death. We were made for something greater than what we are presently experienc...  Read More

Our last devotional began with the words of that powerful hymn, “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee.”  What a world-defying truth it is to know that God is the “Giver of immortal gladness.” Jesus reminded his disciples that even sinful earthly fathers are able to give good gifts. He challenges them then to realize an eternal truth, “how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ...  Read More

“Joyful, Joyful, We adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love” is the opening line of one of the most recognize hymns sung in the church. Even Hollywood presents a rendition of this joy-centered hymn for the Finale in Sister Act 2. There is something powerful about joy in the human soul. This third week of Advent we are invited to celebrate the joy that is found in Christ alone.What is the difference...  Read More

I pray you have sensed the Holy Spirit speaking to you this week through these short devotions. Today, as we continue to consider peace from a biblical viewpoint let’s take a short in-depth look at the word “peace.”In the Old Testament the word generally used for peace is “shalom.” Shalom is a broad concept found in covenant. It holds the idea of harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfa...  Read More

Now that we have discovered the prophecy of Jesus was fulfilled, we can rejoice that He  is our peacemaker with a Holy God. The Apostle Paul informs us that there is no other mediator between mankind and God other than Christ Himself (1 Timothy 2:5). The good news is this peace proclaimed by the prophets and angels is a peace that is promised to every disciple.“Peace I leave with you; my peace I g...  Read More

To have hope without peace will leave us with mere wishful thinking. However, Advent does not leave us with just hope. It does not simply ask us to hope that everything is going to make sense in the end. The second week of Advent declares to the one that is hopeful an assurance that God is for us. He is not only for us but He alone offers a peace that is beyond our understanding. (Philippians 4:7)...  Read More

This first week of Advent we have been looking at the theme of hope. We have recognized that hope founded on Christ is greater than wishful thinking. As we conclude this first week of Advent I invite you to consider another aspect of hope. Let’s reflect about what is it that hope brings into our lives, community, and world. The Apostle Paul writes, “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three;...  Read More

When was the last time you heard a friend say, “I’m just too busy!” Maybe you have said it this past week. We live in a world where busyness is the norm. And being too busy seems to be the rule and not the exception. Life can be too busy, especially, during the holiday season. Advent can be a response to such busyness. Advent invites us to pause and consider someone not of this world. He was once ...  Read More

When was the last time you were caught off guard? When was the last time you were amazed? Advent is about being, simply that, amazed!Have you heard the one about the angel, the priest who won the lottery, the disregarded carpenter, and two Jewish women; one barren and the other a virgin? Such is how the first advent story begins. In Luke’s gospel, chapter one, we are introduced to such characters....  Read More

What are you expecting? We look forward more to Black Friday sales than we do to the second coming of Jesus. Why? We have been conditioned to expect great benefits from the “special” one day sales. Our greed-based anticipation and expectation is what makes Black Friday an annual event which can no longer be limited to one day. So, what does Advent have to do with Black Friday? Probably nothing. Ad...  Read More