This Christmas looks different, an empty seat where my grandfather sat. Another Christmas feels “off,” again in the shadow of the pandemic......
Peace is a wonderful theme for Advent, and the Bible has much to say about it......
I know little of hope, except perhaps the shadowy thing that normally takes its name......
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts of the earth” (Acts 1:8 NET)....
We near Easter as the disciples neared the resurrection. Indeed, we near our own resurrection as they neared his. Christ has gone, and yet we walk. But like those pinks and oranges, like the stars that break the black, the Spirit now breathes Christ into all the empty spaces....
“Yet even now,” the Lord says, “return to me with all your heart...
"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you" (Matthew 6:16-18)....
Psalm 62:5 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him....
Ash Wednesday recently fell in the middle of an historic winter storm in Texas......
"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry" (Matthew 4:1-2)....
Most of us reflect on 2020 as a year that rarely felt safe. So, what does the theme of Salvation have to do with Advent? What are we being saved from exactly?...
Advent signals the “take off” of the Church’s liturgical year at a time when I’m simply struggling to guide my calendar year to a “safe landing.”...
Reframe. Reorient. Recenter. These are good words. They describe how God can use Advent in our minds and hearts....
US political parties promote themselves as sources of calm within turmoil......
Christ shattered that spiritual wall, and He calls us to forgive and seek reconciliation because He reconciled us to the Father. Allow for space, but don’t let tension build at home during this season of isolation....
The highlight and habit of my days during COVID-19 is taking walks. Can you relate?...
"Resilient: able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions; strong, adaptable, flexible."...
Adapted from Rev. Daniel Adkinson, former member of TFC and current Rector of St. Thomas Anglican Church - Athens, GA...
For most of my life, I’ve equated Lent with practices which help us to be “ready” to celebrate Easter......
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation (Romans 5:10-11 ESV)....
“So then, if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother and then come and present your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24). ...
Teaching and modeling prayer for our children. ...
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts of the earth” (Acts 1:8 NET)....
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Psalm 103:13-17[13] As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. [14] For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. [15] As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; [16] for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. [17] But the steadfast love of ...
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Perhaps it's because I didn't grow up observing Lent that I seem to find it in the oddest places.Like in the bottom of a sinking boat filled with flopping fish.When I think of Lent these days, I think of three thingsself-reflection, repentance, and giving something upand Luke 5:1-11 has all three.Peter finds himself in an awkward situation.A carpenter/rabbi is giving him f...
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