Titus 2:11
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all.
Every day, every single day, has with it the potential for being the first day of eternal contentment anf fulfillment because the grace of God has indeed appeared.
Christmas Eve services at Central UMC in Decatur at 5:00 and 11:00.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Merry Christmas!
We have services here at Central UMC in Decatur on Christmas Eve, Thursday, at 5:00 and 11:00. We hope to see you there!
Colossians 3:12,13
"As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive."
Bring meaning to someone else this Christmas season.
Colossians 3:12,13
"As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive."
Bring meaning to someone else this Christmas season.
Friday, December 18, 2009
God is With Us
Even in the busyness... ESPECIALLY in the busyness.. God is with us. I love this prayer from Robert Wood.
Father God,
Why is it that I think I must get somewhere, assume some position, be gathered together, or separated apart in the quiet of my study to pray?
Why is it that I feel that I have to go somewhere or do some particular act to find you, reach you, and talk with you?
Your presence is here
In the city - on the busy bus, in the factory, in the cockpit of the airplane; in the hospital - in the patient's rooms, in the intensive care unit, in the waiting room; in the home - at dinner, in the bedroom, in the family room, at my workbench; in the car - in the parking lot, at the stoplight.
Lord, reveal your presence to me everywhere, and help me become aware of your presence each moment of the day.
May your presence fill the nonanswers, empty glances, and lonely times of my life. Amen.
- From A Thirty-Day Experiment in Prayer by Robert Wood
Regular services this Sunday at 8:30 and 10:30 am and on Christmas Eve we will be gathering to worship at 5:00 and 11:00 pm. See you there!
Merry Christmas!
Father God,
Why is it that I think I must get somewhere, assume some position, be gathered together, or separated apart in the quiet of my study to pray?
Why is it that I feel that I have to go somewhere or do some particular act to find you, reach you, and talk with you?
Your presence is here
In the city - on the busy bus, in the factory, in the cockpit of the airplane; in the hospital - in the patient's rooms, in the intensive care unit, in the waiting room; in the home - at dinner, in the bedroom, in the family room, at my workbench; in the car - in the parking lot, at the stoplight.
Lord, reveal your presence to me everywhere, and help me become aware of your presence each moment of the day.
May your presence fill the nonanswers, empty glances, and lonely times of my life. Amen.
- From A Thirty-Day Experiment in Prayer by Robert Wood
Regular services this Sunday at 8:30 and 10:30 am and on Christmas Eve we will be gathering to worship at 5:00 and 11:00 pm. See you there!
Merry Christmas!
Monday, December 14, 2009
God Is With Us
What fun we had last night singing the Christmas portion of Handel's Messiah! One more Sunday of the Advent season and then Christmas Eve and the beginning of the Christmas season!
Isaiah 7:14
"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel."
Matthew reminds us that Immanuel, of course, means "God with us." This reminds us that the Christmas message continues to be about God's presence with us in the here and now and not just about a long ago event in a place far from here.
I pray that the meaning of Christmas continues to find it's way into your heart in the midst of your holiday preparations.
Grace and Peace,
Merry Christmas!
Isaiah 7:14
"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel."
Matthew reminds us that Immanuel, of course, means "God with us." This reminds us that the Christmas message continues to be about God's presence with us in the here and now and not just about a long ago event in a place far from here.
I pray that the meaning of Christmas continues to find it's way into your heart in the midst of your holiday preparations.
Grace and Peace,
Merry Christmas!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Zephaniah 3:17
The Lord, your God, is in your midst.
Who do you look like? Do you have your mother's eyes? Who do act like? Do you have your father's sense of humor? One of the powerful messages of Christmas is that Jesus was both like his father and his mother. Jesus is fully God and fully human. And because of his mother, mary, he truly came to be in our midst. Jesus isn't just in a manger somewhere else, but right here in our home or workplace or lunch gathering with friends.
Slow down and look for Jesus this busy holiday season! He's right here!
Children's Christmas program tonight and Chick Filet fund raiser dinner.
Grace and Peace
The Lord, your God, is in your midst.
Who do you look like? Do you have your mother's eyes? Who do act like? Do you have your father's sense of humor? One of the powerful messages of Christmas is that Jesus was both like his father and his mother. Jesus is fully God and fully human. And because of his mother, mary, he truly came to be in our midst. Jesus isn't just in a manger somewhere else, but right here in our home or workplace or lunch gathering with friends.
Slow down and look for Jesus this busy holiday season! He's right here!
Children's Christmas program tonight and Chick Filet fund raiser dinner.
Grace and Peace
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Advent Season
"God presents himself to us little by little. The whole story of salvation is the story of God who comes." - From The God Who Comes by Carlo Carretto
The God who comes is NOT just the God who came...... Sometimes we treat as Christmas as the celebration of the God who came...way back in the past...
But Advent is all about preparing for the God who came and is coming and will come again!!! Are our preparations for our children and relatives and friends more diligent and extensive than our preparations for our Lord and Savior?
Children's Christmas program tomorrow night (Wednesday) here at the church! Food at 5:00 and a program at 6:00.
Grace and Peace
The God who comes is NOT just the God who came...... Sometimes we treat as Christmas as the celebration of the God who came...way back in the past...
But Advent is all about preparing for the God who came and is coming and will come again!!! Are our preparations for our children and relatives and friends more diligent and extensive than our preparations for our Lord and Savior?
Children's Christmas program tomorrow night (Wednesday) here at the church! Food at 5:00 and a program at 6:00.
Grace and Peace
Monday, December 7, 2009
Advent Season
Malachi 3:1-3
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. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?
For he is like a refiner's fire and like fuller's soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness.
Many see Christmas time as an opportunity to unwrap the present of baby Jesus and then simply set it aside as we give thanks to God for His gift. But this passage reminds us that the purpose of that gift is to initiate change. We are to be challenged and thus refined into something better. Jesus is not a picture to hang on the wall and looked at from time to time, but a treadmill to exercise upon until we are indeed changed for the better!
What Advent traditions have you already started this season? Andrea and I attended a nice Lessons and Carols service last night at St. John's Episcopal Church.
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. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?
For he is like a refiner's fire and like fuller's soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness.
Many see Christmas time as an opportunity to unwrap the present of baby Jesus and then simply set it aside as we give thanks to God for His gift. But this passage reminds us that the purpose of that gift is to initiate change. We are to be challenged and thus refined into something better. Jesus is not a picture to hang on the wall and looked at from time to time, but a treadmill to exercise upon until we are indeed changed for the better!
What Advent traditions have you already started this season? Andrea and I attended a nice Lessons and Carols service last night at St. John's Episcopal Church.
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