Piecing Advent Blessings
The Road Isn’t Straight
Too often, we’ve been told that a successful life is a linear one. But in reality, our lives unfold with many unexpected twists and turns. The Magi follow a star, embarking on a long journey in a foreign land in order to honor the newborn Christ. Instead of returning to Herod as commanded, they trust their dreams and go home by another way. Their road isn’t straight, but God “makes a way in the wilderness” (Isaiah 43:19) as they follow…
Don’t Forget To Laugh
We welcome Rev. Jorge Domingues back for a very special post Christmas Message. Worship online with thetable.live. CCLI #805699 / CCLI Streaming #094804
Love Knows Your Name – 11pm
Christ’s birth makes the vastness of God personal. The God who made the seas and the stars is also the God who made your beautiful hair and your striking eyes. The God of creation takes on flesh, which means you are fully known. When the angels visit the shepherds in the fields, their message is global but also personal: “To you . . . a savior is born.” This birth is good news for everyone, especially those who are ignored…
Love Knows Your Name – 5pm
Christ’s birth makes the vastness of God personal. The God who made the seas and the stars is also the God who made your beautiful hair and your striking eyes. The God of creation takes on flesh, which means you are fully known. When the angels visit the shepherds in the fields, their message is global but also personal: “To you . . . a savior is born.” This birth is good news for everyone, especially those who are ignored…
Hope is Worth the Risk
Hope is vulnerable and can feel like a tremendous risk, especially if you’ve experienced loss or trauma. But Mary shows us a resilient hope that takes risks—she risks her body to bear a son who will become the hope of her people. Similarly, Joseph makes a risky choice to stay with Mary; dismissing her quietly would have kept him safe. But instead, he chooses hope. He chooses to trust the angel, and it makes all the difference. It can feel…
Do the good that is yours to do
The Gospel of Luke introduces John the Baptist as not just a primary character in Jesus’ birth story, but also a key player in his ministry. He is not the Messiah, but he paves the way for the One who will baptize with water and spirit. He does the good that is his to do. John harshly denounces the perpetrators of economic disparities, but he also provides them paths for redemption—for even they have good that is theirs to do.…
We Can’t Go Alone
One of life’s most essential lessons is that we are never meant to go alone. And yet, modern culture pushes us more and more into lonely silos. If Ruth had followed her culture’s norms, she would have gone home to her family of origin after her husband died, but instead, she commits herself to her mother-in-law, Naomi. Together they form a new family and covenant. Ruth and Naomi travel together to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest, foreshadowing…
Piecing Advent Blessings
Advent is a season of endings and beginnings. As the calendar year comes to a close, a new church year begins. Christ’s birth ushers us into new ways of living and loving; and yet, the world as we know it spins madly on. When we ourselves navigate seasons filled with endings and beginnings, we need reminders. We need words that can feel like steady ground, like a path for our feet to find as we step forward into the unknown.…