Advent resonates deeply with people of various backgrounds and economic realities. But many have grown weary of the holiday ad campaigns that seem to start sometime around 4th of July and last until Christmas Eve. It has almost become a wearisome as political campaign season. Kids struggle to find the connection between their Christmas wish list and the story of Jesus’ birth. Parents search for the Hope, Love, Joy, and
For many of us, the time of year when focusing on Christ should be the easiest, is often times the most difficult. Our calendars are full of activities, the to-do lists are getting longer, the stores are getting busier, and an overwhelming stress has creeped into our hearts. So how do we get back to the heart of the Christmas narrative? —For starters, WORSHIP. We believe that when our hearts are
Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His loving kindness is everlasting.” (Psalm 136:1) This phrase is one of the most famous in the whole Bible. The first time we see it in biblical history is in 1 Chronicles chapter 16, when King David is bringing up the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. They sang and praised and thanked God, and we read in verse 34
“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. . .” (Ephesians 1:18) Most of us love the holiday season, and especially Christmas. But the weeks leading up to it are often the busiest and most demanding of the year. We usually begin the
This week at Sedona United Methodist Church, we’ll be looking at Revelation 7:9-17. We may often feel confused and mystified as we read Revelation, but we can learn so much about our faith with some reasoning and by not letting the symbolism overwhelm the message. Do you ever wonder, “Am I really secure in my salvation?” or, maybe you struggle with accepting God’s grace. We’ll dive into this text, and
It’s an Old Testament story you have likely heard many times. But you might be tempted to dismiss it as just another “Big Fish Story”. But don’t miss this important story—God commanded the prophet Jonah to go and preach a message of warning to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, a pagan nation and an enemy of Israel. Jonah so opposed the idea that he ran away in the opposite direction,
Moses answered, “Don't be afraid! Stand your ground, and you will see what the Lord will do to save you today; you will never see these Egyptians again. The Lord will fight for you, and all you have to do is keep still.” (Exodus 14:13-14) Have you ever found yourself in a predicament? I think for everyone reading this message the answer is yes! Who hasn’t! We have a lot of word pictures in the
If you have ever experienced doubt because your prayers seem to go unanswered, then you can probably relate to a prophet named Habakkuk. Habakkuk prophesied during an era when he saw evil raging both near and far. Nineveh was being destroyed and Babylon was rapidly rising as the world’s next superpower. An eyewitness to violence and injustice all around him, Habakkuk cried out to God. Habakkuk never stopped believing in
Break one and the same bread, which is the medicine of immortality, the antidote which prevents us from dying and a cleansing remedy driving away evil so that we should live in God through Jesus Christ. –Ignatius, A.D. 110 in his letter to the Ephesians The story is told of a little girl whose parents had taken her forward to receive Holy Communion—After receiving the small piece of bread she
