For the past three weeks here, we’ve been listening to the angels of Christmas. First actually before he appears to Mary the angel Gabriel appears to Jesus’ uncle Zechariah with the good news that he and his wife Elizabeth, though they are VERY old, will have the son they have longed for their…
Today is the second in a 5-part sermon series on the angels of Advent and Christmas. We are looking at stories within the Christmas story which contain angel appearances. A little review from last week: Angels appear all through out the Bible, both Old and New Testament; and especially it seems in the stories of…
Today we begin a series about the Angels of Advent and Christmas. Today – Gabriel appears to Zechariah to announce the birth of John, Jesus’ cousin. Next week Gabriel will visit Mary to announce Jesus’ birth The Sunday before Christmas – an unnamed angel visits Joseph Christmas Eve – the angels visit the shepherds the…
This Thursday the church celebrates the Ascension of Jesus. It’s an important day and an important thing – that Jesus went back to Heaven. Since Easter, he’s been walking around with his disciples in his resurrected body – teaching them more about who he is and his relationship to his Father…our heavenly Father; and encouraging them as to what to do in…
Expectations – Expectations have everything to do with how we experience the world around us and the events we encounter. Sometimes our expectations will miss the mark and we’ll be surprised – either for the better or for the worse. Other times our expectations can serve as a self-fulfilling prophecy and we’ll get just what…
Sometime within the last 15 or 20 years a shift took place in the church. What was forever Palm Sunday, focusing on Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem the week before his death, became Passion Sunday. The reason for the shift is sad really. Realizing that most people won’t go to church on Maundy Thursday or Good…
Today we are wonderfully “out of season” as we hear the stories we typically hear on Christmas Eve, sing a Christmas hymn, hear a Christmas anthem and ponder what it means for God to be born in the world in the way in which He was. And while the two versions of the story I…