Christmas Day
Wednesday, December 25

Hymn:  Good Christian Friends Rejoice!

Good Christian Friends rejoice

With heart and soul and voice!

Give ye heed to what we say

News! News!

Jesus Christ is born today!

Ox and ass before Him bow

And He is in the manger now

Christ is born today!
Christ is born today!


Good Christian Friends, rejoice

With heart and soul and voice

Now ye hear of endless bliss

Joy! Joy!
Jesus Christ was born for this

He hath ope'd the heav'nly door

And we are blessed evermore

Christ was born for this.

Christ was born for this.



Good Christian Friends, rejoice

With heart and soul and voice

Now ye need not fear the grave:

Peace! Peace!

Jesus Christ was born to save

Calls you one and calls you all

To gain God's everlasting hall

Christ was born to save.

Christ was born to save.

Advent Week 3

Hope For Those Who Are Willing

Tuesday, December 24

Luke 2: 15 - 18

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.  When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

I’m guessing that the shepherds probably weren’t expecting to hear such a powerful word from the Lord that night.  There they were on the hillside watching their sheep.  Many huddled around a fire, telling jokes.  Perhaps they had all settled in, preparing for the longnight a head.  I think they might even have been comfortable, comfortable in the familiar.

But then, suddenly, there were angels all around.  Can you imagine? Wow! Shinningangels all around, a multitude even, singing the most beautiful music they ever heard.  And the message, how exciting! The savior of the world has been born! It is just what they had been waiting for.

And as great as all this is, it is really the next part that strikes me.  

“When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go…”

And they did. They didn’t just hear the message and settle back down into their camp.  They said, “Let’s go!”  They were eager, prepared to leave their camp, their sheep, their comfort and just go.  They were excited about finding the Christ child and then spreading the word to all those who would listen.

But I wonder, if they hadn’t been willing to go, if they had found themselves to comfortable, would we have had a whole different story. Maybe even no story.

As we have spent the last four weeks in excited anticipation of the Advent of Christ’sbirth - the great build up until Christmas day – once it comes, do we just pack it up for the year, settle down into camp OR do we continue the journey spreading the message of the Hope we have found in Christ?  Just as the Shepherds did those many years ago.

Are you willing to go and spread the hope that Christ’s birth brings?

Amanda Langlands

Advent Week 4

Hope For Those Who Are Wounded

Monday, December 23

Wounded Healer

Luke 2: 34-35

    In 1972, a Roman Catholic priest named Henri Nouwen wrote a classic book on ministry called THE WOUNDED HEALER. Speaking most directly to professional ministers, Nouwen said that ministers are called to bandage other's wounds even as they are bandaging their own wounds.

    I had graduated from seminary in 1972, become pastor of my first fulltime church, while trying to be a good husband and father to my young children. As a part of this process, I was learning that not everyone approved of what I was doing and what I was saying as a minister. Fortunately, the church was growing, but I experienced the pain of rejection, disapproval, and the other wounds that every pastor experiences.

    That's why Nouwens book, THE WOUNDED HEALER, was so important to me. Not only clergy but also each of us in the church has been wounded or will be wounded in some way. Perhaps, it's something unexpected that changes our lives. Maybe, it's the pain of misunderstanding, rejection, or something not going the way we wanted. The question is, "Do we stop to bandage our wounds or do we continue to care for others in Jesus' name even as we tend to our own wounds.'

    These words in the second chapter of Luke remind us that the coming of the Christ brings it's own wounds. Simeon had been waiting at the Temple in Jerusalem for the coming of the Messiah. When his parents brought Jesus to the Temple, Simeon was overcome with joy and broke into song.

    After the song Simeon turned to Mary, Jesus' mother, and warned, "This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed--and a sword will pierce your own soul to."

    Since we know the whole story of Jesus' life, we know that Simeon's words prove true. Yet, Jesus and his mother also never stopped their mission. What gave them hope and what gives us hope is that somehow God is in all of it shaping even the worst things for God’s sake.

    Sometimes, we may want to give up. I'll always remember Nouwen's words "Bandage other's wounds even as you are bandaging your own."

Dr. Charles Bugg

Advent Week 4

Hope For Those Who Are Wounded

Sunday, December 22

What enthusiasm and excitement can be found on a playground!  The sound of laughter bounces all around, along with sounds of squeaky swings, squeals of delight, birds singing in the nearby trees and the sound of the wind or rustling leaves.   I see children eagerly running from one thrill to the next.  There is such a wonderful, liberating sense of abandon on a playground.   I can see it in a young child who is proud after having climbed several steps to reach the top of a slide for the first time, or the child being pushed in a swing who keeps screaming, “Higher, higher!”  I notice the child befriending someone who is playing alone, or the parent who puts aside adult “moving and shaking” to enjoy a simple pleasure of life—that of playing with children.   There is so much happiness here.

But, that is not always the case.  Children scrape knees here, break bones on the monkey bars, or feel left out and lonely.  Tears are shed on a playground.  The tears, however, are mixed in with the laughter.  The little boy crying, who fell down, will be back, at the playground at some point, laughing and swinging.   He may have gotten a hug from his father, a band-aid for his knee and a word of confidence and encouragement.  

Life is  like a playground.  There are times of happiness, adventure, anticipation, community, and play.  Sometimes, in the living of our life, we get hurt—hurt feelings, broken spirits, cancelled plans, bruised egos, disappointments, devastating news.   We are wounded.  Let us run to God, as a child to a parent, for comfort and help.  

Advent reminds us that God came to walk among wounded people in a broken world.  Let us turn to the One who came to help the hurting, and to bind up the broken.  Let us cling to the promise of healing and wholeness.    We can’t fix everything; we can’t always keep relationships that have broken; we can’t redo all we wish we could.   We will never have said all we’ve wanted or done all we’ve desired.  But that isn’t the final word.  We can lament and share the wounds of our hearts, and then join in a prayer of gratitude for the God who is faithful—God who will be with us on our own playground of life.    

Glenna Metcalfe

Advent Week 3

Hope For Those Who Are Watching

Saturday, December 21

"When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son.  Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy and they shared her joy." (Luke 1.57-8)

Relatives and Neighbors

The first chapters of Luke are like the beginning of a good novel. It introduces the main characters of the drama and gives us a sense of the time, place, and setting of the action. Like a window shade pulled back so we can look in a room, we read little facts and colors of life that show us the people in whose lives the gospel takes shape. Elizabeth, an older relative of Mary, is unexpectedly pregnant.  I can just imagine the chuckles of her friends and neighbors as they wait for the baby.  In the light-hearted love of good people it was the celebration of God's mercy they were enjoying.   It says her neighbors and relatives heard about her great joy, and I have been in that place -- driving a little out of the way to look at the neighbor's house to see if the lights are on or the garage open, watching for clues that the event we are hoping for has come.

And this is the world in which John the Baptist and later Jesus was born -- a world of relatives, neighbors, friends, people like you and me, watching to see if the moment of God's mercy had come to rest on Elizabeth, on Mary, on the world.  A candle suddenly sputters to life in the dead of night illuminating the faces of women around a bed. The light is seen by those in the room and others, perhaps those neighbors close by, awake and restless in the night, peering through the darkness, looking at the house, hoping.  

Roger Ward

Advent Week 3

Hope For Those Who Are Watching

Friday, December 20

“Arise, shine, for thy Light is Come, Isaiah 60 verse 1”. I learned this verse MANY years ago as I was learning about God and missions through GA’s or Girls Auxiliary.  I believe it was a required scripture to memorize for my very first “forward step”, the Maiden Step.  I remember saying it over and over as a rhyme, which was probably why it was so easy to remember.  I memorized a lot of scriptures andnames to get to the last forward step that I achieved—Queen Regent—but this one is the scripture that I remember the most and it was the verse that suddenly popped into my head when I read this year’s advent theme, “Christ, Be Our Light.”  

The book of Isaiah foretells the coming of Jesus in many places and in this verse we are reminded that He is the Light.  For those who are weary, watching, and wounded –we all wait for the light of Jesus to show us THE way to salvation and eternal life.  In the Old Testament, Isaiah foretold that the “Light is Come”.  

A New Testament scripture  (John 8:12), inspired a famous hymn writer, Philip Bliss, to write the text to a hymn about the Light

“The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin,

“The light of the world is Jesus!

“Like sunshine at noonday, His glory shone in.

The Light of the world is Jesus!

“Come to the light, ‘tis shining for thee;  

“Sweetly the light has dawned upon me

“Once I was blind, but now I can see:

“The Light of the world is, Jesus!”

During this advent season, I pray that we all remember that the Light is HERE!  All we have to do is welcome Him to our lives and to our hearts and to spread that light with everyone we encounter. The Light of the World IS Jesus!

Nina Belle Durr

Advent Week 3

Hope For Those Who Are Watching

Thursday, December 19

but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength;
they will fly up on wings like eagles;
they will run and not be tired;
theywill walk and not be weary. (Isaiah 40:31, CEB)

As Christmas approaches, my thoughts return to the Christmas 2006.  I had just completed my second term at the seminary andhad spent considerable time with my parents talking about our family heritage as part of one of my classes.  That Christmaswas good but things soon changed, with Dad spending nearly a month in two hospitals.  Then in January the diagnosis came and he only had a few months left.  I altered my schedule to take a class that Dr. Glenn Hinson was teaching in London where my parents lived.  Through that arrangement he met my parents and I saw them on a weekly basic.  Then on the Monday of Holy Week, I received a call about Dad.  I left Dr. Hinson a message that I would not be in the class that night.  Dr. Hinson showed up at my parent’s house not more than ten minutes after Dad passed away the next morning. In my time of sorrow there was joy in knowing to know that this man cared so much. We buried Dad on Good Friday, a day of sorrow for Christians. But we also know that Sunday is coming a day of hope and celebration.  Though we are wounded there is still hope, a hope brought by comforting friends and a hope found in God’s love as revealed by Jesus the Son and our messiah.

Don Herd  

Advent Week 3

Hope For Those Who Are Watching

Wednesday, December 18

Someone recently told me that when life becomes overwhelming and you feel like you are drowning, you have to be very careful what you grab on to. This struck me as deeply profound. Destructive behaviors, addictions and unhealthy relationships are often the result of grabbing on to the wrong thing.

Life can be so difficult: a loss, a divorce, a cross. But it can also be surprisingly delightful and beautiful:  a birth, a marriage, a baby in a manger. At these moments we catch glimpses of hope.  May we remember this advent season during both the difficult and beautiful times, to cling to hope. 

Carol Tudor

Hope For Those Who Are Watching

Tuesday, December 17

Morning Prayers in Winter

A lonely new mother of a baby girl,

she lives in a two hundred-year-old log cabin

in the wilds of Owen County KY,

​down a gravel road, down another gravel road,

​across a creek, and up a hill.

This winter morning as usual she treks down to

​the laid-limestone rock well,

​dropping down a galvanized bucket until she feels

​the weight of the water filling it, then

​pulling it up, hand over hand,

​while watching the chickadees, purple finches, and cardinals

​chasing each other away from the feeder

​as the juncos are cleaning up the mess on the ground.

She carries more buckets inside,

​splashing cold water on her boots,

​filling white enameled wash pans,

​watching until she hears them

​groaning with heat on the woodstove.

Like her Grandma before her,

​she is scrubbing yesterday’s diapers on the same

​glass-ribbed washboard,

​creating a rhythm,

​humming a carol softly along.

The swishing, the wringing,

​the rinsing, water dripping up to her elbows,

​getting her rolled-up sleeves wet,

​the fresh smell of soap and bleach,

​watching the clean pile of wet white grow in the pan.

(So far, so good…  baby still quiet,

​not like the inconsolable colic-y cries of last night.)

Hanging them out on the line,

​her fingers freezing even with gloves.

​Stretch, snap, stretch, snap,

​one row, two rows; with each snap

​the long winter stretches on and on in her mind

​like the ice-glazed clothesline.

Back inside, chugging down the cold tea left from breakfast,

​she hears happy gurgling, baby playing in her crib.

​As she lifts little one up, kissing her baby neck,

​up under her soft cheeks,

​she glances out the window watching them—

Rows of white prayer flags, flapping in the wind,

​sending a morning blessing of hope.  ​​

​​​​​​​Jawanna Herd

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:  the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning.  Lamentations 3: 21-23

Advent Week 3

Hope For Those Who are Watching

Monday, December 16

Willow Hambrick

Hope For Those Who Are Watching

Much of how we interpret life depends on how we “filter” our reality.  We are “on watch” literally every waking moment.  We observe others at drive-thru windows, we watch TV, we watch our children grow, and we watch our parents age.  We observe who sits in the pew, and who does not; who takes a radical stand for justice despite great risk, and who sits, sours, and soaks, and merely slogs through life.  We take-in the world, and then make our responses to what we see based on our own unique theological, cultural, political, geographic, sexual, gender-based, and age-based filters.  Therefore, while we are watching, we are interpreting, and judging – and that is reason why we need an infusion of help and hope mixed into all this watching.  We “watchers” inevitably become the “responders”. Theologian Reinhold Niebuhr encouraged us to learn to make the most “fitting response” to life, not just our same tired, bias-stained responses.  PhilosopherUmberto Eco once said, "I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren't trying to teach us. We are formed by little scraps of wisdom."  Little eyes are watching.  Old eyes are watching.  We gain those scraps of wisdom, or the prejudices that bind us – through seasons of observation.  That is how we learn, and that is why we offer either light or darkness to our Jerusalems.  This Advent season, intentionally focus and repair the clarity and purity of your filters.  Doesyour life offer less than fitting responses to both friend and foe because your filters needcleaning or changing?   “Be Thou my vision oh Lord of my heart.  / Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art. / Thou art my best thought by day or by night.  / Waking or sleeping, Thy presence, my light.”

“Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.”

I Corinthians 16:13

Advent Week 3

Hope For Those Who Are Watching

Sunday, December 15

It is virtually impossible to guess what was running through the minds of the Wise Men as they approached the infant Jesus that night in Bethlehem.   Why had they come?  How did they know (or think they knew) that the star was a sign of the birth of a king?  It seems logical that they had read the words of the prophets, or heard from traditions the promises of a coming king, a ruler of the world, a person who would bring peace and justice, a messiah.   Astrological speculation ran rampant, and apparently they had come to associate the advent of this messiah with the coming of celestial signs.   Still, it is hard to grasp, and we wonder.   How could these men, highly involved in astrology, have known that THIS star was THE sign?   On what authority did they make their journey?   What were they thinking?  

We will never know fully what was in the mind of these Wise Men as they approached Jesus.  But one thing seems clear:  The Magi were WATCHING and they CAME with a sense of expectancy.  They came searching for something.  Perhaps they came searching for the peace and justice that this child was promised to bring in scriptures.  Perhaps they came hoping to be a part of some major cosmic event.  Perhaps they came in search of personal meaning or reconciliation with God.  Whatever the case, these magi were watching and hoping, and hope drove the Wise Men to Jesus.  

Hope continues to draw us to Jesus.  Christmas is a time of hope, not just the mundane hopes of life—hopes for the right present under the tree, or job promotions,  Christmasbonuses, or even a white Christmas.  Christmas is the time of deep hope within—hope for restored relationships, hope for joy in living, hope for peace in our world, hope for forgiveness and second chances when it comes to our own moral failures, hope for life beyond death, and hope for an ever-deepening relationship with God.  These are the hopes of Christmas.  And like the Wise Men, we watch, and we hope.   “The hopes and fears of all the years are met in Thee tonight.”

Glenna Metcalfe

Advent Week 2

Hope For Those Who Are Weary

Saturday, December 14

I’m sure someone’s going to tell me I’m too young to be weary, but I’m going to say it anyway.

Sometimes, I am weary. Weary of school and of homework, of work, laundry, grocery shopping, and dishes, and of all the other things that eat away at my free time and my rest.

Yet Advent invites us to remember a different kind of weariness: a weariness of waiting. God had promised the Jewish people a deliverer a long time ago. These people who remembered so well the stories of the glory days of the Exodus, of David’s kingship, and of the rebuilding of Jerusalem longed for God to raise them up again and to set things right for them. And yet I can’t help but imagine that with each passing generation, the flame of hope grew fainter. I can’t help but think that with each defeat, each new government, the doubts in their hearts must have grown a little louder.

And so what lovely, reassuring words the angels speak to the shepherds in Luke: “Do not be afraid; for see -- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah.” (Luke 2:10b-11, NRSV). Scripture doesn’t tell us whether the shepherds are Jews or not, and I’m not sure it matters. Whoever they are, they certainly recognize what’s happening.  How wonderful to hear that the wait was over and to go to Bethlehem and see for themselves that God had indeed fulfilled God’s promise, not only for the sake of the Jews but for the sake of the whole world. 

I’ve always pictured “O Holy Night” set in that field where the shepherds watched over their flocks. The lines “A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices. For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn,” seem to me a perfect description of what happened that night. The whole weary world received a gift from God that would change everything. May all who are weary rejoice.

Amanda Standiford

Advent Week 2

Hope For Those Who Are Weary

Friday, December 13

Hope for the Weary

​Do you ever grow weary during the Christmas season? As soon as the Thanksgiving leftovers are placed in the fridge, the hustle and bustle begins. There’s shopping & wrapping, buying & baking, and Santa Claus letters to be making. From now until the 25th, there’s seldom a “Silent Night” & I can only dream about “sleeping in heavenly peace”.

​Some days in my household we are so busy, we forget to open the doors of the advent calendar. How many times do I fail to open other doors during Christmas? Do I open my heart to those who have lost loved ones during the past year? Do I open my purse for those who may not have gifts beneath the tree? Do I open my mind to the fact that some Christians are persecuted because they worship the Prince of Peace?

​As a Christian, I need to remember that I am meant to be a light for Christ in this world. Ican call a friend in need. I can give a gift to someone in need. I can pray for missionaries and military personnel who will celebrate Christmas, miles away from home.

​Ephesians 5:8 states that “You are the light in the Lord. Live as children of light.” My prayer for you this Christmas is that you will take the time to be a light for the Christ child. Others are seeking the light of Christ. Will they find it in you and me?

Prayer:  Father God help me this day to stop during the rush of the Advent season and look foropen doors. Let us recognize the opportunities that we have to be a light for Christ. We thank you for the gift of eternal light that we were given in a manger, so many years ago. Amen.

Advent Week 2

Hope For Those Who Are Weary

Thursday, December 12

And let us not grow weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart.

Galatians 6:9 Oxford Annotated Bible

The Holiday season is upon us and we are BUSY readying for them.  We are Busy getting our homes ready for company and with decorating.  We are Busy singing in the church Christmas Cantata.  We our Busy collecting toys and food for the less fortunate.  We are simply Busy, going around “doing Good.” The verse cited here is not simply for the Holiday season, but we could do well to remember it during the Holidays.

We are admonished not to grow weary.  Weary is defined as “usingup all one's strength and energy and to be unable to continue”.  When we are admonished, it is usuallyregarding something over which we have control.  But, do we have control over when our energy and strength is gone and we cannot do one more thing?

. This verse implies that we do. But how is this?  

As it applies to doing Good in our walk with Christ, how can we prevent weariness?

1.

Weariness can come from doing every good thing you are asked to do whether or not it fits your talents or spiritual gifts.

2.

Weariness can come from accepting assignments just because you are afraid it won’t get done if you don’t do it.

3.

Weariness can come from taking on tasks that you resentbut are afraid to say “no” to.  You quickly “lose heart” for a job that you don’t want to do in the first place.

In order to not grow weary, don’t accept every task that drops in your lap or swirls around you.  Just because someone has asked you to do it, does not necessarily indicate that God is calling you to do it.  And if the task is one that God wants accomplished, he will see that it gets done. We are not indispensable to God’s work.

Be prayerful, be realistic in making your decision.  Once you have determined that the task fits your gifts, personality, and schedule, then accept it with great commitment.  

Don’t lose heart and you will reap whatever the Lord intends for you and others involved in the endeavor.  This is our hope for not growing weary.

Marolyn Dowdy

Hope For Those Who Are Weary

Wednesday, December 11

1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty! 2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. 3 Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young-- a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty,my King and my God. 4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Psalm 84: 1-4.

I’ll be home for Christmas, you can count on me…I’ll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams.  Of all the secular Christmas songs, this one is my favorite. The word home in this song takes me to my childhood grandparent’s home in Tennessee. It was a humble farmhouse located on top of a big hill along a gravel road. Christmas was a joyous time there filled with smells of holiday goodies, sights of familiar ornaments onthe Christmas tree, and sounds of laughter from cousins, aunts,and uncles.  My memories of this Christmas home are not filled with memories of material gifts; in fact, the only ones who received gifts were my grandparents and I can remember the excitement of watching them open their gifts from the family. But of course we all received gifts. They were gifts of love, of faith, of family—a gift of a true home. It’s been 12 years since my grandmother died and thus 12 years since I’ve been in that home for Christmas and yet, I can visit it vividly each Christmas season in my heart. The gifts of that home continue to bless me and renew me. If I feel lost I can journey there in my mind and feel centered and refreshed. When I hear this favorite Christmas song it makes me wonder how often those of us who are weary are longing for a home---a place of peace, love, and acceptance.  We are tired, worn down, and fed up with life’s injustice.  We may have never experienced a home-- maybe a house with people in it-- but not a home. This home may be so foreign to us that we can’t even dream about it.   I’m grateful for my memories of my Christmas home because God was real there. Ipray that those of us who are weary can find our home in Christ and that we can be renewed by his love this Christmas season.  ​

-ReganLookadoo

Advent Week 2

Hope For Those Who Are Weary

Tuesday, December 10

Our hymns teach us many things.  The words reveal to us how we talk to or about God; the music provides a flow that enriches our learning to worship God; the moments in worship and our lives when we use and remember them bless us as a testimony of God’s persevering love.  

For example, one of the important hymns from my childhood is “Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling.”  The refrain goes:

Come home, come home, / Ye who are weary, come home; / Earnestly, tenderly Jesus is calling, / Calling, O sinner, come home.

What a peaceful, inviting, and warm image of Christ!

However, our hymns also teach us another thing: though we may claim a hymn to be one of our favorites, that does not mean we find comfort in all of its verses.  For example, verse three:

Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing,

Time is fleeting?  Where is it going?  Don’t rush me!

Shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming,

Hold it.  Shadows?  Deathbeds?  Suddenly I feel very uncomfortable about this song and learn why my little Baptist church skipped most third verses during hymns.  

We often avoid concerning ourselves with the things in life that bother us because they make us feel uncomfortable.  With all of the outlets in our lives to fill our day, we are able to break free from the agony of having to wait. When we wait, we begin to think.  And when we think, we are sometimes surrounded byworries, concerns, and what-ifs that drag us down and wear us out.  

When we are weary, we should try to remember that there is truehope and joy.  We find ourselves waiting for the birth of our Lord during Advent, but we know that our promise has been fulfilled: Jesus has come and will come again.  The author of Romans says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace… so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”  

May you find the light of hope this season, even when life getsdark.

Adam Standiford

Advent Week 2

Hope For Those Who Are Weary

Monday, December 9

It was 1999. I had recently graduated from college and, to celebrate, decided it was time to push myself from the 5k races I was used to running as a Centre College cross-country runner to a full marathon. That’s right, 26.2 miles. I signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon through the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team-in Training program and got started.

I ran. I ran a lot. My new fiancé, Jarrod, trained with me, riding his bike (slowly, patiently) alongside me on my long runs—15 miles, 18 miles, 21 miles.

I raised money. I sent letters to family members, friends, asking for donations. I sold doughnuts to many supportive members of Faith on Sunday mornings (thank you!). I set up a personal donation jar in my tiny apartment. Eventually, I met my goal of $3,000.

I traveled to Washington, DC, along with thousands of other runners. I picked up my race packet the night before then headed off to a pre-race dinner where I ate pasta with abandon.

The morning of the race, with butterflies in my stomach, Ijogged nervously to the starting line. The gun went off and I started on a long, slow trek through the streets of Washington, DC—through Georgetown and Rock Creek Park, passing the monuments, the National Mall, the Capitol along the way. At mile 10, my college friend, Ben, jumped in to run beside me, to help keep me going. At mile 15, he cracked jokes with me. Hegrabbed a bagel from a Marine for me at mile 18. At mile 20, as I hit the dreaded “wall,” he persuaded me to push through it.

Onward and upward.

As I trudged through Crystal City at mile 23, my legs began to ache. I climbed the hill from the Pentagon to Rosslyn, battling to put one foot in front of the other. Ben’s pep talks grew stronger.

At mile 26, I knew I was close, though I couldn’t yet see the finish line just 400 meters ahead. I began to cry--softly at first, then in full sobs. Spectators who lined the streets cheered me on, as though they knew I needed each cheer to overcome the exhaustion that had taken hold of my body.

Finally, finally, I saw the finish line. I did it. I fought the good fight and I finished the race.  But I certainly did not do it alone. At each step of the way, there was someone helping me along.  Jarrod. My family. Members of Faith. My friend, Ben. The spectators. They were all Christ to me in those moments of weariness, keeping me going until, ultimately, I crossed the finish line.

In this season of Advent and in this marathon of life, Christ offers us hope when we are weary. When we cannot possibly see the finish line, when we cannot imagine crossing it, He is there, cheering us on, guiding us forward.

Onward and upward.

--Carrie Abner

Advent Week 2

Hope For Those Who Are Weary

Sunday, December 8

An Invitation to Real Rest

The life that Jesus Christ offers us is a life that is marked BOTH by high challenge AND by high invitation into deep relationship. Christ minced no words when it came to the high challenge that he was inviting would-be students of his into: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). “Denying ourselves” is one of the greatest spiritual challenges in life, because every single day our egos creep back in and plot to push Christ off of the throne of our hearts.

And yet, alongside of that deep challenge, we also receive this invitation to walk with Christ in a deep relationship that provides us the REST that our souls and bodies crave. In The Message’s version of Matthew 11:28-30, we discover this invitation from Jesus: “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Hear this Good News. The Lord of the Sabbath is offering you a gift today, and the gift is that God has given you permission to be unproductive. May we trust Christ enough during this Advent season to receive that gift, claim it for our lives, and walk fearlessly in the Lord’s rest each and everyday.

Bryan Langlands

Advent Week 1

Hope For Those Who Wait

Saturday, December 7

Hurry up and wait.

How many times have we used that phrase or heard it repeated at us? A common expression, yet one that rings so true.

Let’s face it. We are a civilization that does not wait very well. We want answers now, so we dial up Siri and ask oursmartphones to tell us where the nearest steakhouse is or what actor played on episode 175 of some obscure sitcom that we just saw. You want me to wait for something? I can’t wait. I have to be on the road NOW!

Our civilization of impatience is not something that just happened. Why even the sleepy town of Mayberry had to wrestle with visitors who just couldn’t fathom the thought of waiting until Monday to get their car fixed. The Man in A Hurry paced on the porch and just couldn’t understand why Barney just didn’t go on and get a pop and then to Thelma Lou’s to watch TV.

How many times do we act like the Man in a Hurry? Nothing good can ever come if we have to wait for something to happen, can it?

Why the Advent season itself is nothing but waiting. Waiting for a few days off from work. Waiting for family and friends to gather to celebrate and exchange gifts. Waiting for that glorious feast of family recipes.

We wait and hope for all of these things to happen, impatiently perhaps, but we wait. Why does it take so long? Maybe God is telling us to take a deep breath, slow down and savor the season. Not in agony or being miserable….but savor the excitement of what is to come, embracing the opportunity to learn and grow.

We must embrace the chance to hurry up and wait for the good that will come. The Man In A Hurry learned to savor a quiet Sunday afternoon in a sleepy town. Surely the least we can do is Hurry Up and Wait and savor the season that brings the birth of a child – a special child that will make it all worthwhile.

Steve McClain

Advent Week 1

Hope For Those Who Wait

Friday, December 6

WAIT?  Really?!

​How many of us have received an exciting package in the mail only to see on the outside it reads, “WAIT UNTIL CHRISTMAS TO OPEN”?  How can we wait?  Later, presents begin to appear under the Christmas tree and again, we read “DO NOT OPEN UNTIL CHRISTMAS!” More waiting!

​In Luke’s first chapter, Mary received news from an angel that she would have God’s Son.  She did not understand, yet she was willing to wait for this miracle to happen.  As she waited, she visited her cousin, Elizabeth, who was also expecting a baby.  Both women encouraged each other preparing for their babies while they waited.

​The gospel of Matthew, chapter 2, tells us wise men travelled from the East to Jerusalem following a star, waiting to see the king of the Jews.  When they arrived in the city, they went to King Herod and asked him where this baby had been born.  They waited while Herod consultedhis chief priests and lawyers for their answer.  “In Bethlehem, in Judea” said Herod.  As they continued following the star, these wise men finally “saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.”  Their wait was worthwhile!

​After this, Joseph had to escape to Egypt taking Mary and baby Jesus since Herod was trying to kill Jesus.  The angel told Joseph, “Stay there until I tell you.”  Joseph waited until Herod’s death and it was safe before he took Jesus and Mary to the land of Israel.  They “rested in the Lord, and waited patiently for him.”  (Psalm 37:7) Jesus grew and was able to do the work God intended for him.

​Waiting is HARD!  However, it is necessary in all parts of life.  Generations before us and after us have experienced and will experience waiting: for exam grades, for school acceptance, for a baby’s birth, test results, and even to open that special gift under the Christmas tree!  

​Advent causes us to wait yet again.  Will we renew the joy of our salvation?  Will we be ready for the light of Christ, God’s only son whom generations before us waited for many years?

“Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”  Isaiah 40:31

Father, waiting is hard.  Help us to wait patiently for you so we will know your will and have a closer relationship with you. Help us to be the light of Christ for others.  In Jesus’ name, Amen

Advent Week 1

Hope For Those Who Wait

Thursday, December 5

If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.  

1 Corinthians 15:19

As Paul tells us elsewhere in 1 Corinthians, the three great virtues of the Christian life are Faith, Hope, and Love.  But what does this mean?  Too often, we accept this claim at face value without truly understanding it, weakening it into a pale shadow of its true power where Faith becomes mental assent, Love becomes niceness, and powerful Hope becomes vague optimism (after all, studies show that this lowers your blood pressure).  God save us from such tepid, nice, intellectual Christianity!  The truth is much harder: Faith is living the difficult truths of the Gospel in every moment; Hope is Faith cast into the future, living at every moment in the confidence of God’s continued work in the world; which leads naturally to a Love that is sacrificial and transformative.    

The result of living out the advent of Hope seriously may not be so healthy as vague optimism – it may raise your blood pressure substantially!  How would we live each moment if we were not vaguely and passively optimistic that God will work in the world, but instead accept by Faith that we must work now through Love to be part of that Hope for the world?  How much more important will every moment of every day be if it is infused with the great weight of such a Hope?  How can we bear to look at other people – and yet how could we look away? – if in every soul around us we see by Hope that this, too, is a soul of infinite worth, participating in the Glory of God when it lives and acts in Love?  Our Hope in Christ is not just for this world or in this world, it is not limited by what is possible or practical, by what will balance the budget or help our church gain a few more members – if it were, we would truly be most pitiful of all people.  Instead, Paul reminds us, our Hope is grounded in an eternal Christ, and in the glow of that Hope our lives, our work, and our world should be filled with that Glory of which the angels sang so many years ago.  Glory to God in the highest, for that eternal Hope has come to live among us and within us.

Advent Week 1

Hope For Those Who Wait

Wednesday, December 4

An Advent Thought

Greg C. Earwood

“…those who wait for the Lord…”

The words of Isaiah, a prophet during the Exile:  “…those whowait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31; for some context, read the whole chapter).

The Hebrew verb “wait” or “trust” also means to “hope.”  I would like to suggest that the prophet encouraged the exiles to wait with a “relentless hope.”

“Relentless hope” is a phrase I “baptized” from a book on leadership by Richard L. Hester and Kelli Walker-Jones, Know Your Story and Lead with It.  Dr. Steve Hadden, good friend, former pastor at Faith, and Assistant to the President at Baptist Seminary of Kentucky, pointed me to the authors’ use of“relentless optimism.”  Borrowing from the language ofnarrative therapy, the authors speak of leading with “relentless optimism” because God is “constantly at work in our personal and collective stories… to offer an alternative narrative.”

Narrative therapy does not ignore the presenting problems or negative issues.  Nor should we as Christians.  And yet we cope with “relentless hope.”

In the season of Advent, let us re-tell the stories of the birth of Jesus as reminders of God’s alternative narrative of light and peace in a world that is too often dark and violent.  May we see the work of God in our stories – our individual stories, our stories together in the life of the church, the stories of humankind made in the image of God.  

“…those who wait with relentless hope in the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

May this be so.