Matthew 6:3-4, Acts 20:35, Proverbs 19:17, James 1:27, 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, 1 John 3:17, Matthew 25:40
The man behind the unlikely tradition of Christmas stockings is usually thought to have been Nikolaos of Myra. He was a Greek Christian who became bishop of Myra, a city of Asia Minor. Nikolaos, or Sa...
Acts 16:30-33, Romans 8:38-39, Hebrews 7:25, John 5:24, John 15:6-8, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Ephesians 6:18, Jeremiah 33:3, Psalm 86:3, John 15:1-10
For the most part, when we think of saints or heroes of the faith, we think of people who are altogether different than we are. They seem to embody a quality of communion with God that is impossible f...
Matthew 25:31-46, Matthew 7:12, Luke 10:25-37, Matthew 5:43-48, Matthew 18:21-22, Mark 2:1-12, Hebrews 13:2, Matthew 5:7, Acts 4:32-35, John 6:1-14
Want to keep Christ in Christmas? Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, forgive the guilty, welcome the unwanted, care for the ill, love your enemies, and do unto others as you would have done unto you.
[Saint] Valentine was a priest in Rome when Emperor Claudius II began his hostile reign. Valentine was arrested for performing Christian weddings. While imprisoned, Valentine befriended the jailer’s d...
Luke 2:1-20, Matthew 1:18-25, John 1:1-15, Romans 8:14-16, Acts 1:8
Pastor: As the shepherds told everyone what had happened in Bethlehem on that first Christmas, we declare what we know and believe about God. People: I believe in God, the Father Almighty,...
Matthew 22:37-39, Luke 10:25-37, 1 John 3:18, John 13:1-17, Matthew 25:31-46, 1 John 4:7-12, Acts 2:44-45, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Mark 6:30-44, Galatians 5:22-23
It is Christmas every time you let God love others through you.
God, you come to us and meet us in the strangest ways: sometimes in the stillness at the eye of the storm or in the midnight of our lives; sometimes in the raging whirlwind or in the high noon of our ...
Luke 2:8-14, Acts 2:42-47, Matthew 14:13-21, John 2:1-11, Romans 15:7, 1 Peter 4:9, Luke 14:15-24, 2 Corinthians 9:7-8, Luke 10:27, Hebrews 10:24-25
Now Christmas is come, Let us beat up the drum, And call all our neighbors together, And when they appear, Let us make them such cheer, As will keep out the wind and the weather.
Colossians 1:15-17, Hebrews 1:3, John 1:1-5, Matthew 16:13-20, John 14:6, Acts 4:12
There’s Republican Jesus who is against tax increases and activists judges, and for family values and owning firearms. There’s Democrat Jesus who is against Wall Street and Walmart, and for reducing ...
Daniel 3:16–18, Daniel 6:19–22, Acts 7:54–60, Hebrews 11:35–38, Psalm 116:15
Two thousand years ago, Christians were often hunted down and killed. Amid this darkness, the church began a radical practice. When a brother or sister was martyred for faith in Jesus, the Christian c...
Luke 2:29-32, Luke 1:78-79, Isaiah 9:2, John 8:12, Matthew 4:16, Acts 13:47, Psalm 98:2-3, Luke 2:10-11, John 1:9, Revelation 21:23
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people, To be a light to lig...
Luke 2:29-32, Luke 1:78-79, John 8:12, Matthew 4:16, Acts 13:47, Psalm 98:2-3, John 1:9, Revelation 21:23, Isaiah 42:6-7, Isaiah 9:2, Luke 2:10-11
Lord, you now have set your servant free to go in peace as you have promised; For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, whom you have prepared for all the world to see: A Light to enlighten the nat...
Luke 2:22-35, Romans 8:14-16, John 14:26, Acts 1:8, Matthew 1:23, John 1:14
Leader: Today, we declare what we know and believe about God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in the words of a special creed, known as the Christmas Creed. People: I believe in God, the Fat...
John 1:14, Galatians 4:4-5, Micah 5:2, Matthew 2:1-2, Acts 17:26-27
The Christian faith can never be separated from the soil of sacred events, from the choice made by God, who wanted to speak to us, to become man, to die and rise again, in a particular place and at a ...
2 Corinthians 5:17, Luke 2:8-14, John 3:3-8, Acts 2:1-4, John 11:38-44, Ezekiel 36:26, Isaiah 9:6-7, John 1:9-13, Colossians 1:19-22, Revelation 21:1-5
The message of Christmas, then, is not about manufacturing sentimental feelings in vain hopes of a miracle. It’s about believing the reality that God has birthed something new in Jesus and because of ...
If I am asked to break the gospel and a gospel culture down into simple statements, I would borrow imagery from the man from Northern Ireland, from Belfast, C. S. Lewis. From The Lion, the Witch and t...
Isaiah 43:1, John 14:16-17, Proverbs 3:5-6, Exodus 13:21-22, Isaiah 43:16-19, Matthew 19:26, Acts 17:26-27
Gracious and faithful God – our Creator, Redeemer and Comforter: When we don’t know the way – You show us the way; and When we can’t find a way – You make a way. Thank you! Thank you for Your gif...
Isaiah 40:3-5 , Malachi 4:5-6 , Matthew 3:1-12 , Luke 3:1-18 , Jonah 3:1-10, Jonah 2:12-13, Acts 2:37-41
Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy th...
John 20:29, Romans 10:17, Luke 24:31-32, Acts 9:1-6, 1 Corinthians 15:17-20, Hebrews 4:12, John 20:24-28
From his start in life, you would not have expected Andrei Borisovich Bloom to have ended up Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh, founder of the Russian Orthodox diocese for Great Britain and Ireland. Bo...
Summary The lectionary texts since Easter have focused on the accounts of the spread of gospel after Pentecost. There has been opposition in Jerusalem, to the point of imprisoning apostles. But the b...
John 1:14, Acts 4:12, Matthew 16:13-17, Philippians 2:6-8, Romans 5:8, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, John 20:24-29
We must continue to affirm the uniqueness and finality of Jesus Christ. For he is unique in his incarnation (the one and only God-man), unique in his atonement (only he has died for the sins of the wo...
Isaiah 9:6-7, Luke 2:1-20, Luke 2:13-14, Luke 2:8-20, Romans 15:13, Luke 1:46-55, Psalm 96:11-12, Luke 2:20, John 1:9, Luke 2:29-32, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Matthew 4:16, Matthew 5:14-16, Acts 2:1-4, Isaiah 11:6-9
Leader: Tonight old dreams die and new dreams come to life. The Promise is fulfilled! People: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace. Leader: Hope gives way to joy and prayer to proclamati...
Saint Aidan was an Irish monk who later became bishop of Northumbria (Northern England and Parts of Scotland) in 635. He also founded the famous monastery at Lindisfarne. There is a story told of his ...
Preaching Commentary Ancient Lens What can we learn from the historical context? Israel’s State of Mind The Book of Isaiah is a remarkable accounting of the history of the relationship people o...
*it is possible this story is apocryphal, we were unable to find the original source of the story. Admiral Nelson of the British Navy was renowned for his mastery of naval strategy, a genius fro...
Summary The gospel has been spreading in Acts and the gospel is meeting resistance, with apostles being imprisoned. By the Holy Spirit, they are released from jail. The Spirit then instructs them to ...
Galatians 5:22-23, Romans 8:26-27, Acts 10:44-46, John 14:26, John 14:16-17, John 3:5-8
Many years ago a great Arctic explorer started on an expedition to the North Pole. After two long years in the lonely northland, he wrote a short message, tied it under the wing of a carrier pigeon, a...
Matthew 6:19-21, Malachi 3:10, Acts 20:35, Luke 6:38, Proverbs 3:9-10, 2 Corinthians 9:6-7
John Chrystostom was an early church father and Bishop of Constantinople from 347-407. The name “Chrysostom” is not a surname, but rather an epithet “golden tongued,” given to him because of his excel...