Each Sunday of Advent, we have been lighting a candle. Whether it’s Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, all four candles have been lit, and the only one remaining is the center candle, which is usually white. This candle represents the light that the Son brought into the world when He was born a little baby, […]
Did you know that Methodists used to be called “Swaddlers”? One of the first sermons preached by a Methodist in Ireland was based on the angel’s gospel word, “Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:12) Charles Wesley went on to write some 6,000 hymns on the birth […]
Advent is the season in which believers eagerly anticipate the celebration of Christ’s birth. On the fourth Sunday in Advent, we meditate on the peace that Jesus brings our hearts and our world. II Thessalonians 3:16 says, “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The […]
In Genesis 22:1-14 we find the account of Abraham and Isaac. God graciously provided a ram in place of Isaac but it was not “the Lamb.” Later, hundreds of lambs were sacrificed on the night of the Passover to celebrate God’s people being delivered from slavery in Egypt. Isaiah prophesied that the people’s true salvation […]
If you started the family Christmas tradition of having an Advent wreath, you might like to use these words to celebrate the lighting of the third candle this Sunday. The shepherds in the Christmas story (Luke 2:12-14) were out tending their sheep. They were outcast and mocked. Shepherds banded together as they shared in the […]
The Advent wreath first appeared in Germany in 1839. A Lutheran minister created a wreath out of the wheel of a cart. He placed twenty small red candles and four large white candles inside the ring. The red candles were lit on weekdays and the four white candles were lit on Sundays. Eventually, the Advent […]
The word Advent is derived from the Latin word adventus, which means “coming.” This is a translation of the Greek word parousia. Advent is a season of preparation for the baptism of new Christians – the January feast of Epiphany. Epiphany is the celebration of God’s incarnation represented by the visit of the Magi to […]
When my parents were living, Thanksgiving was a big deal. I had three brothers and a sister. We all had families, and when my mother and father said to show up at their house, that’s what they meant. There was always turkey and dressing and in my home that meant “oyster dressing”. There was ham […]
Thanksgiving is upon us! I’ve been thinking about gratitude recently. What is it? When should we show it? What does God say about gratitude? Paul wrote in Thessalonians 5:18, “Give thanks in all circumstances.” The reality of this is that most of us are thankful for very little. The Bible commands us to give thanks […]
November 5th started out as any other day. The sun was shining, we had another hurricane on the horizon, and the weatherman said snow was coming in from the west. I went to work and that too was usual, but during the morning we got word that Dr. Lee B. Scheaffer had died. Lee had […]