Advent Archives - Page 2 of 4 - First United Methodist Church

Sunday, December 16

Experiencing God as Joy: Consumerism Scripture: Zephaniah 3:20 “At that time I will bring you home, at the time when I gather you; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, says the Lord.” Zephaniah is one of the most […]

Advent: Introduction to Week 3 Devotions

Experiencing God as Joy: Consumerism In our culture, we’re often made to believe that we need things—things that tell others who we are, what we’re made of, what we value. “If I don’t have X (that car, these jeans, those shoes, this house, etc.) people will think I’m Y (bad, poor, lazy, unsophisticated, etc.).” We […]

Saturday, December 15

Experiencing God as Light: Immigration Scripture: Philippians 1:9 “And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight.” Loving others is sometimes hard to do. Praying for others to become loving people is also hard to do. This verse from the letter to the Philippians reminds us […]

Friday, December 14

Experiencing God as Light: Immigration Scripture: Baruch 5:5 “Arise, O Jerusalem, stand upon the height; look toward the East, and see your children gathered from west to east at the word of the Holy One, rejoicing that God has remembered them.” The gathering of the children is a much-used phrase in the Bible when it […]

Thursday, December 13

Experiencing God as Light: Immigration Scripture: John 8:12 “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.’” Light is life. The light of the sun warms our planet and all things living upon it: plants, insects, […]

Wednesday, December 12

Experiencing God as Light: Immigration Scripture: 1 John 1:5 “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.” Dick and I are both avid genealogists. We have traced our heritage back to the early 1600’s when our ancestors […]

Tuesday, December 11

Experiencing God as Light: Immigration Scripture: Luke 3:4 “[A]s it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, ‘The voice of One crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’” In the United States we are mostly all immigrants whose ancestors came here to […]

Monday, December 10

Experiencing God as Light: Immigration Scripture: Ephesians 5:8–9 “For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light — for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true.” The families walk. A father with a toddler on his back, […]

Sunday, December 9

Experiencing God as Light: Immigration Scripture: Malachi 3:1 “See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.” The Bible is the ultimate immigration […]

Advent: Introduction to Week 2 Devotions

Experiencing God as Light: Immigration There are moments when I find it quite hard to think about the juxtaposition of experiencing God as Light and the complex and long-standing issues of immigration. When I think about God as Light—when I feel what this is like in my body—I think of the warmth of the sun, […]