We all need a little hope don’t we? I mean come on. Turn on the news. Listen to the radio. Read the paper and you’ll see it plain as day. There is fear, terror, sadness, death, disease and just plain old evil all around. When life falls apart where do you find hope? Continue reading
Today marks the beginning of a new time in the church called advent. But what in the world do all of these names mean anyway? It can be a little overwhelming, especially if you’ve never really been involved in the church. And to be 100% honest, I would venture to guess that many of you who do attend church on a regular basis might have a couple of questions.
Advent is that time leading up to Christmas. It’s not Christmas. It’s advent. It starts the Sunday after Thanksgiving and lasts until Christmas Eve. Things in the church change a little bit when advent starts. If you’re in a church with colorful fabric coverings on an altar, then these will likely change to blue. You’ll typically see an advent wreath pop up somewhere in the church. And it’s very likely that you’ll have a manger scene somewhere in your worship facility.
Advent is a time of waiting. It’s a time for followers of Jesus to wait for the coming of Christmas. Just like the people of Israel throughout the Old Testament had to wait for the one they called Messiah, so also we must wait.
All too often though we don’t give advent much thought. We try to rush past advent because Christmas is the exciting time. We want to get past all of those candles and jump right into the presents. Each of the candles on the advent wreath are reminders of gifts already given. The candles of hope, love, peace, and joy all point us forward to the day when we’ll see it exactly as it’s supposed to be seen.
So this advent don’t rush. Take your time. Enjoy each day. Live in each moment. Slow down. Breathe. Feel the calm of waiting. For some of us type-A people waiting is pretty rough stuff. Before advent even arrived I was off and planning Easter stuff. The challenge is real but the struggle is worth it. Advent is such a rich time in the life of the church.
This advent season we’re trying to bring back the richness of these days of waiting and preparation. The church I serve, Living Word, is having a little fun this advent by taking pictures of various things throughout the season. Things that remind us of what advent really means. Feel free to head on over to join us for the fun. Or make up your own way to celebrate the season. But whatever you do, slow down through this time and just enjoy every moment because you’ll never get them back.
Be with the ones you love. Love the ones you’re with. Serve the ones you can. Pray for those you can’t serve. But in all things know that this advent the King is coming.
This past weekend I had the wonderful privilege of being the worship leader for the Ohio District Senior High Youth Gathering. The weekend was packed with fun and excitement. We gathered for song. We spent some time unwinding with games. We were able to serve the community in a variety of different ways. We listened to Pastor Matt Popovits bring some terrific news about how God went all in for us. Then we experienced how Jesus is all in for us through worship with communion. Continue reading
Mondays are great days to look back and to look ahead. When we look back, we reflect on where we’ve been. We see the good and the bad. We, at times, relive the mistakes we’ve made. We feel regret over our failures. Shame often takes over and brings us to our knees in what we believe to be a pile of nothingness. But other days when we look back we can smile because we know that through all of it, God was always by our side. Continue reading
Sometimes life just flat sucks. I know that’s not something new but it’s not something we normally say aloud. I know that it can be hard to see how something good is going to come from the current situation you’re facing. I know because I’ve been there myself. Actually, for many of us it’s a daily occurrence trying to bury the past and work through the present. Continue reading
I’m sure you’ve heard the saying home is where your heart is. This simple statement is probably more true than you might realize. There are places that seem to capture our heart more than others. For many of us it is our childhood home. We love that home because it is the marker for protection and safety. It reminds us of all the times when we had little to no cares because our parents took care of everything. Continue reading
Man sometimes I’m just hungry. Not the hungry that you get when you want a snack, but the kind of hungry that if you don’t eat you get cranky. I get hungry for a delicious and juicy hand-pressed hamburger. I also love a good homemade, grilled pizza. I’ve been known to eat a good steak. Well, if you really must know, I just kind of like food. Not sure about you but just writing this is making me a bit hungry. Continue reading
There are times in life when you just pause to reflect on decisions you’ve made, relationships you started/ended, and major endeavors on which you’ve embarked. Have you ever thought of what you would tell yourself at a younger age? What advice do you think a younger you could use? Continue reading
There’s a bible passage that many people know. It’s known by Christians and non-Christians alike. It’s from one of Paul’s letters, 1 Corinthians. This is probably one of those sections that is repeated over and over again and completely pulled out of context. Continue reading
Man life sometimes is pretty rough. There are so many pressures that the world heaps on our shoulders that it can be hard to make it some days. There are days when it feels like we’re carrying around a heavy pile of chains. The further we walk the heavier they get. Continue reading
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