'rooted in grace' Tagged Posts (Page 10)
Toward Sunday
This week our worship will focus on remembering our story and setting The Table for God’s unfolding future. Worship will be grounded in Isaiah 44.1-8. Dr. Juliana Claassens writes, “Isaiah 44:6-8 as part of the larger context of Isaiah 44 seeks to reestablish a new identity for the broken exiles by reminding the exilic community that their own identity should be understood in relation to the character of God. Having received a new name in vv. 1-5, the exiles are reminded…
Wise Women
The Shimmering Hours by Jan Richardson There is so much I want to say, as if the saying could prepare you for this path, as if there were anything I could offer that would make your way less circuitous, more smooth. Once you step out you will see for yourself how nothing could have made you ready for this road that will take you from what you know now to what you cannot perceive except, perhaps, in your dreaming…
Morning prayer.
God of this new morning, you have awakened me to the brightness of your dawn. I begin this day in gratitude, recalling your mercies through the night, anticipating glimpses of your glory in the hours ahead. Make my face shine today with the joy of your grace, so that another is helped to see your presence and find hope. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. (from the worship companion to Feasting on the Word, Vol 1, year A) How might…
Toward Sunday
This week our worship will be rooted in Matthew 2.1-12 and the Magi’s arrival at the birthplace of Jesus. We will celebrate Epiphany which is the day after the twelve-day celebration of Christmas (or, in some liturgical calendars, the twelfth day of the Christmas season). The English word “Epiphany” comes from the Greek word epiphaneia, which means “appearing” or “revealing.” Epiphany focuses on God’s self-revelation in Christ. On this day, many Christian traditions pay special attention to the visit…
Love
Advent is a time to practice loving every little bit that we can, trusting the holy that we can’t yet see, loving the holy child in each beautiful, dear, precious, screwed-up person, every one a beloved child of God, so far from home. ~Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Imagine
We commend this video and website to you this week as you imagine walking and turning on the The Advent Way. How does the way in which God moves to turn restore justice and set right the world make a place for you? Take time to move from scene to scene. Read the text. Imagine. The Boy
Toward Sunday
We are grateful for our time together on The Advent Way. We hope this worship series, rooted in the book of Isaiah and Matthew’s Gospel, invites reflection on how the Advent way prepares us for the beauty and mystery of Christmas. Our privilege as Christians is to receive the gracious gifts of God’s presence in Christ. Our task is to prepare for his coming so that we will not miss life’s greatest gift. Outline of The Advent Way December 1:…
God the Accompanist.
Here is an image of God. Playing along. Waiting for you to approach. Knowing your tune before you are aware. Accompanying you. What would it be like if you understood that this is how God is with us on The Advent Way?
The more we are open…
Worship this Sunday is rooted in Isaiah 35, 1-10, where the prophet describes the coming Servant of Yahweh. It is precisely this quote that Jesus first uses to announce the exact nature of his own ministry (Luke 4.18-19). In each case Jesus describes his work as moving outside of polite and proper limits and boundaries to reunite things that have been marginalized or excluded by society: the poor, the imprisoned, the blind, the downtrodden. His ministry is not to gather…
Turn
God leads through all the events, all the circumstances of your life. Nothing in your life is so insignificant, so small, that God cannot be found at its center. We think of God in the dramatic things, the glorious sunsets, the majestic mountains, the tempestuous seas; but God is the little things too. God is in the music, in laughter and in the dance…. how might you turn toward God, and let God lead you in your dance of…
Toward Sunday
We are grateful for our time together on The Advent Way. We hope this worship series, rooted in the book of Isaiah and Matthew’s Gospel, invites reflection on how the Advent way prepares us for the beauty and mystery of Christmas. Outline of The Advent Way December 1: Walk. Isaiah 2.1-5. December 8: Turn. Matthew 3.1-3. December 15: Imagine. Isaiah 35.1-10. December 22: Love. Matthew 1.18-25. Christmas Eve: 5:00pm & 11:00pm Read the poem from Isaiah 35.1-10. Noel Leo Erskine writes, “Although the people are in a place…