By Jonathan Davis Cultural Christmas time is full of sentimental things, like decorating the tree with the same meaningful ornaments year after year, making Christmas cookies with the family (with grandma’s secret recipe), and even singing tunes reminiscent of childhood….
Winter’s here, but Christ is near!
By Elijah Zehyoue My friends, I hate to be a downer, but someone must say it: It’s December, and for where I live that means winter is here. Prepare yourself for winter. Prepare yourself for the snow, the cold weather,…
Toggling between abhorrence and appreciation
There are numerous variations of the song. The one most frequently bellowed in my house is, “Jingle bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg.” It is maddening. Not only are my children (and their friends) butchering a delightful Christmas tune,…
Advent story filled with drama and stress, says minister
By Jeff Brumley Many who observe Advent struggle finding balance between its call for quiet joy and anticipation in a culture exploding with revelry and unbridled consumerism. That tension is one of the reasons ministers of formation have jobs. But…
Now thank we all our God
By Scott Dickison It was around the year 1636, in the town of Eilenburg, in present day Germany, during what is now known as the Thirty Years’ War — the longest and what many believe is still the most destructive…
Portal of praise: Praise as presage to Advent’s treason
The Manger’s trailhead opens at the portal of praise and genuflecting thanks. Not because heaven arises to piety’s incense. But because Advent’s brush with mortal flesh is a perilous journey, fraught with insurrection’s threat, pregnancy’s scandal, birthed from stabled bed,…
Online Advent devotionals start Friday
By Bob Allen “Following the Star,” a series for Advent and Christmas, returns to Passport, Inc.’s devotional website d365.org Nov. 27. Daily entries will feature Scripture, prayer and meditative thoughts accompanied by gentle music. This year’s writers include Mihee Kim-Kort,…
Gold, frankincense and espresso
By Bill Leonard When the church’s Christmas witness wanes, let’s blame Starbucks. When our Advent hope falters, let’s fault the “war on Christmas.” When the “Gospel of Wealth” (Andrew Carnegie, 1889) fails to undergird our Bethlehem-borne faith, let’s whine about…
Christmas music continues
Yesterday morning in worship we sang three Christmas carols because, officially, the season does not end until January 6th. It is always fun (but strange) singing carols into January even though much of the decorations are gone and everyone else…
Christmas – remembering the stable
I really can’t say Christmas better than this. “On one night of all nights Christ did it, coming down the stairs of heaven with a child in his arms.” –Paul Scherer, Love is a Spendthrift “Almighty God, who now in…
There’s something about Mary
Women have had a long, rich, and complex relationship with Mary the mother of Jesus since the beginning of Christianity. As we prepare to celebrate Christmas, this collection of reflections invites us to pause and ponder the young woman at…
How God changes our neighborhood
Have you ever driven through an old neighborhood and thought, “Why haven’t they just bulldozed this whole place? This is a mess! This is an eyesore! The people still living here should get a medal.” How do we respond to a…