Watch For The Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas Cover
I once heard a Protestant clergywoman say to an ecumenical assembly, “We all know there was no Virgin Birth. Mary was just an unwed, pregnant teenager, and God told her it was okay. That’s the message we need to give girls today, that God loves them, and forget all this nonsense about a Virgin Birth.” … I happened to be sitting between some Russian Orthodox, who were offended theologically, and black Baptists, whose sense of theological affront was mixed with social concern. They were not at all pleased to hear a well-educated, middle-class white woman say that what we need to tell pregnant teenagers is, “It’s okay.”
I realized that my own anger at the woman’s arrogance had deep personal roots. I was taken back to my teenage years, when the “de-mythologizing” of Christianity that I had encountered in a misguided study of modern theology had led me to conclude that there was little in religion for me. [Read more…] about Advent Table Topic: Be Alert for Announcements
During Thanksgiving holiday, our family of six took the time to prepare for the Christmas rush by
giving thanks
hitting the brakes, i.e., full stop to breathe
catching-up around the house.
not pulling out any of the Advent/Christmas boxes from the attic (and we still haven’t). Gasp!
But on Sunday, we began a simple practice of Advent with devotions, song, and testimony. The focus of our daily Advent dinner devotions is how God the Father worked through (and at times counter) to His people in preparation for the coming of His Son Jesus the Messiah/Christ AND a sharing of daily praises/concerns.
I invite you to join me for an Emerging Scholars Network Advent table where we’ll likewise feed upon some Advent devotions, readings, reflections, and Scriptures. Please consider this a place not only to share comments, prayers, and reflections on the material provided, but also a place for you to share devotions, readings, reflections, and Scriptures through which God is speaking to you this Advent. Be alert. May God give you eyes to see His Presence and work not only in, but also around you each step of the Way.
“Watch For The Light” Cover
[The message of Advent] is for us to be alert, vigilant and industrious, so that his coming will not be a terror but an overwhelming joy.
According to the old saying, familiarity breeds contempt. Of course this is not always true! In particular, it is often not true of people with whom we are familiar. Indeed, with the best of friends, the more we know them, the more we grow to love and respect them. It is only the people who are superficial and at heart unreal who let us down when we grow familiar with them. It is then that our previous admiration can turn to contempt. …