A Real Christmas for Real People 25 Dec 2019 Sometimes, for some people, Christmas can be a sad and lonely time of year. Sometimes loss leaves an empty spot at the table. Sometimes broken relationships make the festive mood…
Tomorrow, I Will Come 23 Dec 2019 The Great O Antiphons invite Jesus to come. Over the course of the week before Christmas, they address Jesus by seven different Messianic titles or names: O Sapientia (Wisdom) O…
For My Friends Travel Plans Not My Own 20 Dec 2019 A number of years ago, when my congregational leaders put out a call for a summer Sunday school teacher, I ignored the call as long as I could. Who wants…
Home for Christmas 19 Dec 2019 “I’ll be home for Christmas, you can count on me…” I’ve had that song playing in my head for a month now. I remember rehearsing that tune with a big…
Should We Expect Someone Else?! 15 Dec 2019 John the Baptist prepared the way. He preached with a fire and conviction that produced repentance. He pointed to Jesus, the Lamb of God. And now, the Baptist wants to…
Discipleship Tools The Stained Glass Prayer 12 Dec 201920 Mar 2020 Sometimes in life you need hacks. Not because you are cutting corners, but because the common way or familiar way is cumbersome, messy, or ineffective. Cleaning hacks, organizing hacks, classroom…
How Can I Be Sure…? 10 Dec 2019 Who knows how long it took for Zechariah’s name to be drawn in the Priest on Duty lottery? I’ve seen some research that suggests this might have been the only…
A People Prepared 9 Dec 2019 I kind of like all the preparations this season of the year brings: planning party menus, shopping for presents, making travel plans, deciding not to send out Christmas cards again…
Holiday Hospitality 8 Dec 2019 Martin Luther once said, “Where the Church is, there is hospitality.” To be the people of God is to extend God’s acceptance and welcome not only to the people we…
Be Still and Know 6 Dec 2019 I remember, like I was there, the wind coming off the Red Sea, the smell of dust and fear in the air, the sound of Egypt’s infamous chariots getting louder,…
For My Friends A Walk through the Secret Code Prayer 3 Dec 20193 Apr 2024 Valerie Matyas, a Visual Faith Coach, gives a brief overview of the Secret Code Prayer in the video, below. I adapted that prayer for one of the discipleship experiments in…
Prepare the Way 3 Dec 2019 As part of their training for geriatric care, local nursing students have to put on special shoes that throw off their sense of balance and make walking across a mock…
Traveling Home for the Holidays 1 Dec 2019 Holidays often mean homecoming, and homecoming often involves home-going. Travel at Thanksgiving and Christmas always seems to rank among the busiest times of the year. Something like that is happening…
Advent: Season of Waiting 20 Nov 20193 Sep 2020 By Kris Bruun Of all the responses from God that I might receive in prayer, no word is less welcome than “WAIT.” During her last illness, I prayed that the…
For My Friends Team Advent 17 Nov 2019 When I went to write an Advent devotion book, I made a conscious decision to do something different; something more. (You can read more about it here: Something Different for…
Discipleship Tools Something Different for Advent 3 Nov 2019 "Why write a book of Advent devotions?" That's what I kept asking myself this summer. And I couldn't come up with a very good answer. I mean, friends and family…
