Always

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Daily Advent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Friday, December 17

By Judy Vest

Always

Read John 1:1,10 and 14 (CEB)

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; The light was in the world, and the world came into being through the light, but the world didn’t recognize the light; The Word became flesh and made his home among us. We have seen his glory, glory like that of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.”

Before anything else existed, there was Christ, with God.

Although He made the world, the world didn’t recognize Him when He came.

And Christ became a human being, lived here on earth among us, and was full of loving forgiveness and truth. And some of us have seen His glory — the glory of the only Son of the Heavenly Father.

Once a year as Advent approaches, there is hope of good tidings of great joy with peace on earth; and understanding, kindness and acceptance of others that may not be quite like ourselves, but children of God nonetheless.

As we kneel and pray, giving thanks for all our abundant blessings, we should remember that our Savior, Jesus the Christ-child born in a manger, has always been with God and will always be there for us.

God sent his Son to live among the people of the world, all of them, regardless of gender, station in life or any of the other lifestyles we view as wrong because it differs from what we call normal.

Prayer

Lord, please give us an understanding and loving heart for one another, always. Keep us mindful that we only pass through this world for a short time. You have been and always will be with God. Amen.

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An UnMerry Christmas

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Daily Advent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Thursday, December 16

In Honor of Our Stephen Ministers

An UnMerry Christmas

Read Philippians 4:4

“The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ.”

Advent and Christmas are upon us — usually a time of excitement and celebration! But what if you aren’t feeling that way this year? The pandemic has affected all our lives. You may have lost a loved one; you may have had Covid yourself. Almost certainly, you have been separated from the people you love most. This year many of us are lonely and wondering how we can celebrate.

Even in December, everyone is vulnerable to all kinds of ordinary losses, and now we have added the danger and loneliness of Covid. These situations and feelings can’t help but spill over into the holidays. It’s unavoidable. For many people, this may be a sad Christmas. If you’re feeling blue instead of festive this year, what can you do?

  • Remember you are not the only one feeling this way.
  • If you are grieving, don’t hide or be ashamed. 
  • Treat yourself with kindness. Remember that you are okay.
  • Consider the reasons for your feelings; acknowledge them; accept them. 
  • Call upon the Lord in prayer; perhaps write down your feelings and your prayers.
  • If you are alone, observe the season in any way that feels right to you. 
  • If you will be separated from family members, think about how you might safely celebrate with them.
  • Ask for help. A Pastor or Stephen Minister will gladly listen and pray with you.
  • If you need to cut back on activities or presents or customs, do so.
  • Attend the Service of Healing and Hope at Church Street on Sunday, December 19 at 4 p.m. in the nave, for meaningful worship with people who share your feelings.

Whatever you are going through, always remember that Advent and Christmas reminds us of God’s love. Rest in that love, and trust the Lord to carry you through.

Prayer

Dear Lord, Please draw near, and calm the hurt and sorrow I am feeling. Please envelop me with your love and peace that is beyond all understanding. Thank you for the miracle of Christmas and help me to embrace its meaning during this difficult time. Amen.

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A Gift of the Spirit

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Daily Advent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Wednesday, December 15

By Suzanne Matheny

A Gift of the Spirit

Read Luke 4:40 (NLT)

“As the sun went down that evening, people throughout the village brought sick family members to Jesus. No matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed every one.”

Maurice (not his real name) is an elderly man I’ve recently met. He is bright and a proud U.S. Navy veteran, having faithfully and willingly served sixteen years defending our democracy, even when the color of his skin prohibited the full exercise of his rights. Now confined to assisted living and suffering from an illness manifested in part by a shuffling gait, aphasia and jumbled speech, conversing with him can be challenging. Yet his warm smile, gentle, forgiving nature and grateful appreciation for the smallest of gifts far outweigh any fear or hesitancy of conversing with him. 

Our brief conversations consist of a lot of smiles and nodding of heads; but one evening at dinner something miraculous happened. When I arrived at the dinner table it was evident he was waiting to ask – albeit in his labored style – if he could say grace. From his tongue and voice came a most beautiful, poetic and clearly enunciated Spirit-led prayer. I understood every word; but more than that, I recognized this was sacred ground and the Kingdom of Heaven was near.

I don’t recall his words, but the spirit of the moment is unforgettable; and wrapped up in all of this was the mysteriously healing power and presence of the Spirit. For that moment, Maurice and I experienced healing, both in his ability to speak and my ability to understand his words, and also spiritually; and that, dear friends, is a gift to be celebrated this Christmas.

Prayer

Omniscient God, for the gift of the baby boy, Jesus, who grew to heal the sick and empower his disciples to heal; and for today’s miraculous moments of healing – some mysteriously through your Spirit, some through the gifts of ministers, caregivers, and loving family and friends, we are indeed grateful. And when healing as we understand or hope it to be is not evident, we humbly ask for strength and peace, and the assurance of your love and presence. In the name of Jesus, the healer, Amen.

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Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord

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Daily Advent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Tuesday, December 14

By Dan Kelley

Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord

Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-20

In 1967 I was a freshman at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. I had several classes in Swain Hall East in the southwest corner of the campus. I lived in Teter Quad in the northwest corner of the campus. As I would walk home after class I would take a shortcut through, rather than around, the Music Arts Center. The MAC was a huge building that took up two blocks and was home to a quarter of the IU undergrads who were Music majors.

The MAC had large and small auditoriums for concerts, recitals, and performances. It had scenery and costume shops for opera. It had a longer season, with more operas performed, than the MET in New York. And it had classrooms to teach music.

My favorite rooms were the individual practice rooms. There seemed to be hundreds of them in a long hallway. They were soundproofed, but if you listened closely you could hear music coming out of them. If the musicians were playing a lead instrument – like a violin, piano, organ, or trumpet – you could pick up the melody and identify the piece. 

Many times you would hear the instruments like the viola, the double bass, the oboe, the flute, the bassoon, or the French horn playing the bassline, the harmonies, the descants, or the counterpoints; the parts that the baroque musicians called the continuo. You could not easily identify the piece. But these musicians practiced their instruments daily and perfected their parts diligently.

It is only when the orchestra comes together, under the baton of the maestro, that all the parts blend together. Without the continuo parts the piece of music does not have the fullness, the richness, and the complexity that the composer intended. 

The Bible has many unknown and unnamed people who played important parts in Jesus’s ministry, such as the woman who washed his feet and the one who anointed his head with nard. Unknown but important.

The church is much like an orchestra. There are lead parts like clergy, staff, and committee chairs. And there are continuo parts like the rest of us that work in the church. We must practice, perfect, and perform our parts, so that under the baton of Jesus, the church may have the fullness, the richness, and the complexity he intends for us. We must prepare to play our part.

Prayer

Dear Lord of Mercy Divine, Help us to identify, learn, and practice to perfection our part in the building of Your Kingdom. Help us to be in tune with others in your church. Help us follow your direction and live our lives in the fullness and richness that you intend for us.

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What If?

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Daily Advent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Monday, December 13

By Doug Mason

What If?

Read John 13:34

“A new command I give you; Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

Agreed. I, too, cannot recall associating this scripture with Advent; but, what if…? What if this year we approach Advent more like we approach Lent, as a season of reflection and sacrifice? What if during Advent we spend less time anguishing over the hustle and bustle of holiday schedules, tree trimmings, mindless shopping, gift exchanges, and the pure lack of enough hours in a day, and instead we focus on just one thing? What if we begin each day of Advent reminding ourselves of God’s love for the world and Christ’s command to love one another, and then focus our every thought and deed in the hours dawning before us on doing just that?

The pandemic has frayed everyone’s sense of well-being and negatively impacted everyone’s daily life in one way or another. We all are battle worn and exhausted. Tempers flare and tongues scorch. Life is hard. The future and better times seem forever away. If ever there was a time to love one another, surely this is such a time.

What if, after a season of focusing on how to better love one another, we rediscover on that glorious Christmas morning that we ourselves have been gifted with God’s love? Might our souls be revived? Might our hearts be warmed with the fellowship of family and friends? Might we then once again experience joy in the world? Like the shepherds, might we hear the angel with the multitudes proclaiming “peace on earth and good will towards men”?

Prayer

O Lord, in the birth of the Christ child you gifted the world with your love. Calm my angst, steady my soul, and open my heart so that I may love others just as you have loved me. Amen.

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Tidying Up

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Daily Advent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Sunday, December 12

By Tim Best, Senior Associate Pastor

Tidying Up

Read: Isaiah 54:4-10 (NRSV)

“Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; do not be discouraged, for you will not suffer disgrace; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the disgrace of your widowhood you will remember no more. For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. For the Lord has called you like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, like the wife of a man’s youth when she is cast off, says your God. For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great compassion I will gather you. In overflowing wrath for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer. This is like the days of Noah to me: Just as I swore that the waters of Noah would never again go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you and will not rebuke you. For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you.”

Every year before vacation I have as my highest goal to clean and organize the house from top to bottom. I promise myself that THIS year I will actually get it done. The idea is that anyone who has to come in and feed the dogs or the fish will see a tidy house. It never seems to happen as I hope. Each year I still try. And each year I learn something about what matters, what doesn’t, and how to slowly make progress the rest of the time. 

Advent is a season of preparation, too. When I read passages like this one from Isaiah I am reminded the preparation of Advent is far more vital than making sure the dust bunnies are swept out from behind the couch. Advent is about preparing our hearts for the promises of the incarnation. There is a very real sense in which we cannot ever be prepared for Jesus. Advent and Christmas serve as annual reminders that Jesus comes to us in whatever condition our lives or our souls may be in. Isaiah reveals that the heart of God is not vengeance, but compassion. Isaiah names God as our redeemer. I pray this will be a season where we might discover the redemptive work of God going on in our lives. May you find joy, no matter the condition of your house or lives, in the discovery that God is with us.

Prayer

Almighty God, may your spirit clean out the cobwebs of our hearts and open us to renewed joy in Christ. Amen.

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The Christmas War

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Daily Advent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Saturday, December 11

By Dona Bunch, Director of Beacon of Hope

The Christmas War

Read 1 Peter 3:3-4

“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”

My father loved Christmas. He loved the music, the decorations, the gifts under the tree (although he didn’t personally care for gifts). He loved everything about the holiday. Yet every year, a few weeks before Christmas, my parents had the worse fight of the year. 

It involved the tree. We never bought a tree; my father cut one down from somewhere on our land. It was always cedar, so it smelled wonderful, but cedar trees are rarely as symmetrical as fir or spruce trees. Each year, my mother would describe exactly what she wanted: not too tall, wide and fluffy, straight trunk, good top for holding the star, and so on. And every year, my father went out and cut the first cedar tree he saw. When he brought it in, the pandemonium began. My mother hit the roof. “It’s crooked as a dog’s leg!” my mother would say. “It’s too skinny, it’s half dead!” All of us kids, looking on big-eyed at the fracas, tended to agree with our mother. The argument was on, as mother pleaded for a different tree and my father, who usually had to go back to work, allowed that it was fine. Every year he said the same thing. “When you get all the decorations on, you won’t even notice. It will look great.” And out the door he went, leaving my mother to fume as she considered the crooked monstrosity before her. For a few days, the atmosphere was as cool as a Christmas snowfall.

But my father, who was rarely right on issues of design, turned out to be correct. Mother got out the lights and ornaments and icicles; all the kids picked out their favorites – balls with glitter, a pumpkin made in Bible school, a little stuffed cat – and we talked and laughed as we worked on turning the ugly little tree into a Christmas beauty. And it happened. Maybe it wasn’t going to be featured in Good Housekeeping, but it was beautiful to us because it signaled the start of the best season of all. The presents went under, the anticipation built, and the joy of the season was right there in our living room. 

Jesus’ arrival has some similarities with our little tree. For 400 years the Israelites had been waiting for a savior. They were a ragged group of persecuted, disenfranchised people. They were waiting for a grand warrior king to defeat their persecutors. But God knew that wasn’t necessary. Jesus’ birth happened in a roughhewn manger in a humble stable. Yet when Jesus was born, the world was transformed forever. And despite the ragged surroundings, there was no more beautiful place on earth.

Prayer

Lord, thank you for sending your son to change us from ordinary people with all our flaws and imperfections to inheritors of everlasting life. We praise you for seeing past the crooked and broken places in us and giving us the blessing of your love.

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Welcome, Jesus

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Daily Advent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Friday, December 10

By Nancy Carmon

Welcome, Jesus

Read Luke 2:15-16

“When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.” (NIV)

Do you display a nativity set in your home? It might be a simple one, a family treasure, or one purchased at the nativity shop in Bethlehem. You might even have a collection! The custom of the creche began with St. Francis in 1223 with simple, unadorned characters representing the Holy Family and the visitors and included a live ox and donkey. The largest nativity scene was in Mexico City in 2011 and contained over 5000 figures, and the smallest one can fit into the eye of a needle.  

What figures do you have in your creche? Mary, Joseph, the Baby Jesus, the Kings, shepherds, animals? In Italy and France nativity scenes include many other characters: a beggar, a blind man, a gypsy, orchestra players, women following the Magi, tarantella dancers, tartar warriors, village characters. There is even a special street in Naples where artisans sell nativity characters. The custom in France is to add new characters to the scene each year. 

Do you put everything in the scene at once? In one country the custom is to set the stage or build the background the first week of Advent, add the animals during the second week, then the shepherds come, and then Mary and Joseph appear walking toward Bethlehem. With no room in the inn, they find the stable. Jesus is placed in the manger at midnight on Christmas Eve. Finally the kings arrive with their special gifts. 

Perhaps add more characters to your manger scene, or set it up in stages this year. How can you use your creche, nativity set, or manger scene and make it a special part of your Advent celebration this year, and welcome the Christ Child into your home?

Prayer

Dear Father God, Thank you for the nativity story. Let it help us to welcome this Holy Child into our hearts and lives this year. Amen.

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Confronted by God

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Daily Advent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Thursday, December 9

By Linda Cox

Confronted by God

Read Job 38:2 (The Message)

“Why do you talk without knowing what you’re talking about?”

I love chapters 38-42 of Job. After suffering his ‘friends’ and their harangue about why he has lost everything, Job got in a few licks of his own. He became angry at God, and wanted to take Him to court to answer for the agony he was experiencing. Brought to attention with one of the first questions God asked him: “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?”, Job was subjected to a flood of questions: “What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed? Does the rain have a father? Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades? Can you loose the cords of Orion? Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me.”

Who is willing to argue that statement? Job said he knew God could do anything, that His plans couldn’t be thwarted and that he had spoken of things he didn’t understand, “things too wonderful for me to know.” God asserted that Job had maintained his integrity; his health and wealth were restored; he fathered ten more children and lived another 140 years.

Our confrontation with God is more subtle, more like a whisper, sometimes a nudging. In this Advent season, we are confronted by a baby who came into the world without riches but who can now declare, “Everything under heaven belongs to me.” Praise His name!

Prayer

Lord, thank you for coming to us as you did and for all you’ve done for us since. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

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A Recipe for Morals

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Daily Advent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Wednesday, December 8

By Beth Cooper-Libby, Preschool Director

A Recipe for Morals

Read Judges 21:25

“In those days there was no king of Israel.
Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

A boy in Sunday school had been taught by the same teacher for a number of years. She had a way of telling stories and she always ended them by saying: “And the moral of the story is …”Eventually, he was promoted in Sunday school and had a new teacher.

After a few weeks, his mother asked on the way home from church how he liked his new Sunday school teacher. He replied: “She is great; she does not have any morals.”

From the beginning of time, people have been interested in ethics, attempting to determine the basis for what is right and wrong. Although there has been abundant disagreement over what creates the standard of ethical judgments, most people believe there is some sort of objective standard to which human beings are accountable.

Where do your morals, values and ethics come from? This is an essential question, because, whether we realize it or not, each one of us has a defined moral and ethical framework, and many of our ideas come from what we choose to put into our hearts and minds.

Like ingredients in a recipe, you are responsible to pick and choose what goes into your morals.  Are you kinder to strangers than you are to your co-workers? Do you give work your best focus, time and energy, leaving the left over scraps for your family? Do you give God the opportunity to offer you the ingredients for your morals or do you select from other informational channels such as gossip, negative media and entertainment? If you reflect on the choices you make during the day, at bedtime can you honestly say, “I was kind.” “I made good choices.” “Did I do what was right in God’s eyes?” Fortunately, God has already given us what is right and wrong. We do not have to wonder or guess. The answers are found in His Word. He tells us, many times in story form, what we can and should do. What ingredients for your recipe can you find there? Parables are easy to understand and rich in guidance. Proverbs also gives us some solid food-for-thought to consider in our seeking guidance for our morals, values and ethics.

Prayer

“For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds success in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.” Proverbs 2:6-8 (NIV)

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