Fulfilled

Fulfilled (4th Sunday in Advent) Preacher: Jeff Davidson Scriptures: 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16    Luke 1:26-38 When you watch an entire series of some TV show, or when you read an entire series of some book or other, sometimes there are events early on that kind of foreshadow or hint at things that will happen later….

Adorn

Adorn (3rd Sunday of Advent)Preacher: Jessie Houff Scriptures: Isaiah 61:1-4…8-11 and Psalm 126 Now we are going to go back in time…for most of us at least. This section of the service isn’t just for Ayuba. It’s for all of us and the children we used to be. There’s something about Christmas that turns me…

A Way in the Wilderness

A Way in the Wilderness (2nd Sunday in Advent) Preacher: Jennifer Hosler Scriptures: Isaiah 40:1-11; Mark 1:1-8 Throughout the four weeks of Advent, our lectionary scriptures are rife with images from the natural world. The image of wilderness is present in both of our biblical texts, Isaiah and Mark, so I decided to make today’s…

STARTLING, UNEXPECTED, STRANGE

Luke 1:26-38; Luke 1:46b-55 Jennifer Hosler The fourth Sunday in Advent Last year at this time, our nephew was acting in a stage production of It’s a Wonderful Life. The theatre version was not a typical re-enactment – but was re-framed as a live, 1940s radio production, complete with sound effects created by Foley artists….

JOY

Psalm 126   Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11   1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 Jeff Davidson The third Sunday in Advent Happy Gaudete Sunday! What, you didn’t know this was Gaudete Sunday? Nobody told you? You may even ask, “What is Gaudete Sunday anyway?” Gaudete Sunday is the third Sunday in Advent. The word “Gaudete” is from the Latin word for…

JUSTICE IS COMING (IT IS JESUS)

Human Rights Sunday 2 Peter 3:8-15a, Isaiah 40:1-11  Nate Hosler The second Sunday in Advent Anticipation. Waiting. Agonizing? Uncertain. Advent—waiting for the promised One. On Thursday we rose early for our 3-4 hour drive and hit the road. Rutted. Through dry, mostly flat land with low trees except for the palms. Security checkpoints with men with…

O THAT YOU WOULD TEAR OPEN THE HEAVENS AND COME DOWN

Isaiah 64:1-9, 1 Corinthians 1:3-9, & Mark 13:24-37 Micah Bales The first Sunday in Advent   I’ve been accused of many things. But I’ve never been accused of being without imagination. When I was a child, I had what you could probably describe as an overactive imagination. Every book I read, every cartoon I watched,…

ARE WE THERE YET?

Matthew 1:18-25 & Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18 Micah Bales It’s starting to look a lot like Christmas. As an American, I have a stereotyped vision of what Christmas ought to look like. It’s a cold, dark, wintry time. We’re bundled up, rushing from our warm houses to gathering places like this one, and back to our…

THERE WE WERE (HERE WE ARE)

Luke 1:46-55, James 5:7-10, Isaiah 35:1-10 Nate Hosler There we were, Jacob and I, sitting in the jurors’ lounge waiting to get called in to wait to see if we will get picked to serve on a jury. Jacob brought a hymnal. I brought a Bible. If we are going to be waiting we might…

PREPARE THE WAY

Matthew 3:1-12 Jeff Davidson Now that Thanksgiving has passed, I have let myself start listening to WASH-FM at 97.1. They are the local “all Christmas music all the time” station. They started with the Christmas music in early November, and while I look forward to the music that was too early for me. I look…