Come celebrate the birth of Jesus at worship!

Christmas Eve Candlelight worship  – 5:00 p.m. Family Worship

8:00 p.m. – Traditional worship with Holy Communion

Christmas Day worship with Holy Communion – 10:00 a.m.

 

Devotions: Use this resource at home to guide your household’s daily devotions. You can do this alone, as a couple, as a family; in the morning, during the day, or at night. Find a routine that works best for you.

Pray: Light a candle and open your devotion time with a prayer.

Emmanuel, God-With-Us, Heaven Born on Earth, let us wonder and dream with you. Place peace and hope, love and joy within us. Let us hear the sacred story of the nativity as a fresh gift on this night. Amen.

Reflect: Reflect on the key verse from today’s reading.

And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. (Luke 2:7)

Study: Study the reading and consider the background.

This passage has been told in Christmas specials and children’s books. It has been sketched, painted, and versified. Even those not familiar with the scripture may find themselves familiar with the words. “In those days, a decree went out…” putting the holy family on the move. Mary gave birth to her child in an unlikely place. Angels bore witness to “good news of great joy,” and called the shepherds to their own witness and worship. Make haste to the manger. Treasure all these things. Ponder them in your heart.

Read: Read the following daily readings to deepen your understanding of Sunday’s text. After the reading, ask the follow-up questions.

Sunday, Luke 1:5-13 (57-80), Zechariah’s Song

Monday, Luke 1:1-4, Dedication to Theophilus

Tuesday, Luke 1:14-25, Zechariah’s Encounter

Wednesday, Luke 1:26-38, The Birth of Jesus Foretold

Thursday, Luke 2:1-14 (15-20), The Birth of Jesus

Friday, Luke 2:8-20, Shepherds Visit

Saturday, Matthew 2:1-12, The Magi

How are John’s birth announcement and Jesus’ birth announcement similar? How are they different?

Connect: Connect in conversation with others in your household. Discuss the following questions, or simply check in with “Highs” and “Lows.”

What was a high point of your day? What was a low point?

Who in your community is in need of extra care and attention this season? What could you do to bring joy into their lives?

Have you ever experienced a message from God in an unusual way? What happened? How did you know it was God speaking?

Do: By acting on what we learn, we make God’s word come alive. Do the following activity this week.

Make a special gift to your church in honor of the day.  During your household’s Christmas meal, share what you are grateful for.

Bless: Close your devotion with a blessing.

May God bless you with all the joy and fullness of Christ’s birth. Amen.

As the day draws near God’s promise is about to be fulfilled for all!  We hear the praise of Zechariah at the birth of John, who we will come to know as the Baptist.  The way is being prepared for the coming of Jesus! 

Worship this week:

Saturday at 5:00 p.m.  — Worship with Holy Communion in the chapel

Sunday at 8:30 a.m. — Traditional Worship with Holy Communion

9:30 a.m. — Sunday School and Adult study.

10:30 a.m. — Sunday School Christmas Program

Devotions for this week:

Zechariah’s Song                                                    December 20, 2015

Zechariah and Elizabeth fit the profile of a Biblical couple unexpectedly expecting: older, unable to conceive, an angelic messenger, and an incredulous response. Zechariah, a priest of the Lord, received an angelic visitor while he was serving in the temple. Startled, overcome with fear, he did not at first believe what he had been told concerning the boy that would be born, seeking additional assurances. Because he didn’t believe, the angel told him he would be unable to speak until this good word was fulfilled. Zechariah remained silent from the day he was told this news, until the day the child was named.

Read: Sunday, Luke 1:5-13 (57-80), Zechariah’s Song

Monday, Luke 1:1-4, Dedication to Theophilus

Tuesday, Luke 1:14-25, Zechariah’s Encounter

Wednesday, Luke 1:26-38, The Birth of Jesus Foretold

Thursday, Luke 2:1-14 (15-20), The Birth of Jesus

Friday, Luke 2:8-20, Shepherds Visit

Saturday, Matthew 2:1-12, The Magi

• How are John’s birth announcement and Jesus’ birth announcement similar? How are they different?
• Who in your community is in need of extra care and attention this season? What could you do to bring joy into their lives?
• Have you ever experienced a message from God in an unusual way? What happened? How did you know it was God speaking?

Do: Spend time serving others this Christmas season. During your household’s Christmas meal, share what you are grateful for.

Bless: May God bless you with all the joy and fullness of Christ’s birth. Amen.

 

As the Christmas celebration grows nearer we hear words of new beginnings.  This season brings both a powerful new hope, but stirs memories of times past as well.  Our joy and hope,  tears and fears sometimes are very close.

Worship this week:

Saturday – 5:00 p.m. in the chapel

Sunday – 8:30 a.m.  Traditional worship

9:30 a.m. Sunday School and Adult class

10:30 a.m. Contemporary worship

Devotions for this week:

A new beginning                                                            December 13, 2015

Sometimes departures are voluntary; sometimes they are forced. So many of God’s people left the Holy Land under duress, carted off to captivity in Babylon. But every empire has its time, and the Persians eventually took their place at the top of the worldly heap. Even far from the Holy Land, God proved faithfulness. God is not bound by place or time, ethnic origin, age, insider or outsider status. God will use whom God will, to be a bearer of good news. In this astonishing case, the people were set in motion, led home to Jerusalem and the Holy Land through the involvement of one foreign emperor, Cyrus, the ruler of Persia, who listened to the stirrings of the spirit.

Read: Sunday, Ezra 1:1-4; 3:1-4, 10-13, Rebuilding the Temple

Monday, Ezra 3:5-13, Foundation Laid for the Temple

Tuesday, Ezra 4:1-5, Resistance to Rebuilding the Temple

Wednesday, Ezra 4:6-24, Rebuilding of Jerusalem Opposed

Thursday, Ezra 5:1-17, Restoration of the Temple Resumed

Friday, Ezra 6:13-18, Completion and Dedication of the Temple

Saturday, Ezra 6:10-22, The Passover Celebrated

• Why do you think it was important for the people to rebuild the temple? Why did some shout with joy and some weep?
• On what foundations is your community built? What ideologies shape your community?
• What gives your faith strength and a strong foundation? How can you strengthen your faith’s foundation?

Do:  Look through a variety of magazines for images and words that appeal to you. (You don’t need a reason… just choose what you like.) Cut out the images and glue them to a poster board. Use this vision board as inspiration for strengthening the foundation of your faith.

Bless: May God build a strong foundation of faith in your life. Amen.

 

 

 

In the midst of a time of discouragement and distress, God’s prophet speaks a word to remind them, and us, that God’s power will still be at work to bring comfort, healing, and a future!

Worship this week with Holy Communion

Saturday – 5:00 p.m. in the chapel

Sunday – 8:30 a.m. Traditional worship

9:30 a.m. – Sunday School and Adult Class

10:30 a.m. – Contemporary Worship

Devotions for this week:

Isaiah speaks the promise                                                           December 6, 2015

 Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. (Isaiah 40:1-2)

For all of the hard words we hear from the prophets, there are also passages of heartrending grace and beauty. This passage from Isaiah is among those. God is leading God’s people home, overcoming every obstacle. Good tidings abound.

 Read: Sunday, Isaiah 40:1-11, Isaiah of the Exile

Monday, Isaiah 41:1-20, Israel Assured of God’s Help

Tuesday, Isaiah 41:21-29, The Futility of Idols

Wednesday, Isaiah 42:1-9, The Servant, a Light to the Nations

Thursday, Isaiah 42:10-20, A Hymn of Praise

Friday, Isaiah 42:21-25, Israel’s Disobedience

Saturday, Isaiah 43:1-7, Restoration and Protection Promised

• How do you think God felt toward the people of Israel?
• What words of comfort could your community use? How might prayer and a commitment toward God help your community?
• Do you think God is more likely to comfort or condemn people? Why do you think so?

 Do: Quilt or tie a comfortable blanket for someone in need. Pray over the blanket as you make it. Give your blanket with a message that your prayers envelop the blanket and the people who use it.

Bless: May God comfort you in your times of need. Amen.

As we begin the Advent season which prepares us for Christmas, we are encouraged this day to rediscover the story of God’s great love for us.  Sometimes we are so consumed and overwhelmed by all the distractions and concerns of the world around us that we no longer hear that powerful word of grace and purpose that God speaks.

Worship this week:

Saturday – 5:00 p.m. in the chapel

Sunday – 8:30 a.m. Traditional Worship

9:30 a.m. – Growing in Faith Together – a learning and sharing time for all generations!

10:30 a.m. – Contemporary worship

Devotions for this week:

Josiah discovers a new hope                 November 29, 2015

The king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to follow the Lord, keeping his commandments, his decrees, and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. (2 Kings 23:3)

King Josiah’s righteous rule was an unlikely exception, lodged amid a sequence of unfaithful kings ruling in Jerusalem and Judah. He managed to take this faithful road, somehow, without even having access to the book of the law. The day it was found must have been a mixed blessing: delight at rediscovering the holy, grief that so much had been set aside and forgotten. It was a blessed day when the people, led by their king, recommitted themselves to the Lord.

Read: Sunday, 2 Kings 22:1-10; 23:1-3, Josiah’s Reform

Monday, 2 Kings 22:11-13, Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law

Tuesday, 2 Kings 22:14-20, Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law

Wednesday, 2 Kings 23:4-14, Josiah’s Reformation

Thursday, 2 Kings 23:15-20, Josiah’s Reformation

Friday, 2 Kings 23:21-27, The Passover Celebrated

Saturday, 2 Kings 23:28-30, Josiah Dies in Battle

• What did Josiah do to reconnect God with God’s people?
• What Bible stories most closely reflect your community’s values? How do you live out those values?
• Do you think you can make a difference in the world? Why or why not? How?

Do: Think of an activity that you or members of your household did as kids that you no longer do, but wish you would? Spend some time in intentional play every day this week.

Bless: May God entice you to play every day. Amen.