Isaiah 40:1-5 It is very easy to over sentimentalize Christmas. And it is because we tend to over sentimentalize Christmas, that elements of today’s service may seem a bit odd, a bit out of place. Our reading for the lighting of the Advent Wreath came from Mark’s Gospel. Where is the Christmas story in that?…
Hebrews 12: 14-29 When reading any of the epistles, letters written to specific churches at a specific point in time, always keep in mind the circumstances that caused the letter to be written. Never read the Epistles in a vacuum. Many misunderstandings have come from reading these letters out of context. Hebrews is written to…
Hebrews 11:1 – 12:3 Faith, says the guru in the American comic strip B.C., is a condemned prisoner eating his last meal asking for a doggie-bag. Faith, said one cynic, is believing what you know ain’t true. Faith, says the writer of Hebrews, is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what…
I Thessalonians 4:13 – 5:11 Pope John XXIII was asked what he would say to the Church today if he knew that the Second Coming of Christ was going to happen tomorrow. With a wry smile and a twinkle in his eye, the pope answered, “Look busy!” A popular bumper sticker in the US read:…
Hebrews 4:14 – 6:12 One of the reasons the letter to the Hebrews has always attracted me is that there are such wonderful gems to be found. You read through Hebrews and there are parts of the letter that make you want to hurry through because the logic doesn’t seem to connect or the discussion…