Daily Advent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Sunday, December 5

By Rev. Rick Isbell, Retired Minister of Discipleship

Never Normal Again

Read Isaiah 43:18-19

“Forget the former things, do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

During the last 18 months I have heard the phrase “when things return to normal” many times. I do not know what “normal” means to a lot of people; but I’m pretty sure that all things will not return to what they were or what people define as “normal.” Our health care system has changed and more vaccinations will be a part of our lives. The wearing of our many masks will no longer seem strange. We have gotten used to certain sections of the grocery store shelves being empty and we have changed how we greet those we meet. There is more fist and elbow bumping than ever before. The “normal” things in our lives before March 2020 will never be the same.

But as we enter this Advent season, we must remember that the birth of the Christ child in Bethlehem also changed everything.  Mary and Joseph were no longer the ordinary, normal Jewish couple. The shepherds and wisemen who came to see Jesus were not the same after their visits. Some of Jesus’ disciples never returned to their normal jobs of fishing. Jesus was not the “Messiah” that was expected. The birth of Jesus, his life, his teachings, death and resurrection changed everything that was “normal.” You and I being “born of water and the spirit” are never just normal again. The coming of the Christ into the world turned the normal into something extraordinary. The world was changed. We live our lives in different ways and we prioritize different things. As we prepare for the birth of Jesus, let us remember that nothing should ever be normal again.

Prayer

God, help me not to just live my life in normal ways. Help me this Advent season to expect and do the extraordinary. Help me to see Jesus in new ways and to serve Him by serving my neighbor. AMEN.

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Daily Advent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Saturday, December 4

By Laine Thomas

Silent Night, Holy Night

Read Psalm 62:5

“My soul, wait in Silence for God only, for my hope is from Him.”

It’s hard to imagine silence in the heart of the Christmas season. There is always so much to do.  The season is filled with so many gatherings and traditions that finding quiet can be very hard.  And yet, it’s silence I often find myself craving. Silence becomes a chance to anticipate all that is to come.  

Every year, after I put up my Christmas tree, I love to turn all the lights in my house off, only having the tree lit. It’s a moment to enjoy all the anticipation of the season. To sit, in silence, and know that it will be a special year. While there will always be more to do, the start of the Christmas season is a perfect time to take a moment and breathe in the silent, holy beginning. There is no rush in those first moments.  

I think of Mary during this time, anticipating the birth of her son and all that will come. I see her enjoying her last moments of silence before the world changes forever. “Silent night, holy night.  All is calm, all is bright.”

I hope this season you can find your moments of silence. Let it be a comfort from the noise of the everyday.

Prayer

Lord, as we celebrate this season, let us find moments of silence to take in the moment. Allow us to quiet our minds and hearts and see the true meaning of the season. Let the twinkle of Christmas lights be a reminder of all the special moments this season brings and let the silence be fulfilling. In your name we pray, Amen.

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Daily Advent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Friday, December 3

By Elizabeth Reagon; Reprinted from the 2018 Advent devotional in honor of Murphy Builders Class

Is Your Gift List Complete?

Read James 1:17 and 1 Thessalonians 5:8-20

By now most of us are well along with our plans for Christmas—cards, decorations, gift list. But is your gift list complete? Is God on your list? James tells us that every good gift and every perfect gift is from above. What can we give God? God desires and expects our love and obedience.

Some of the ways we show our love are the time we spend in prayer, meditating on God’s word, worshiping, giving, sharing, especially with the sick and needy. We show our obedience by living according to God’s word. A good review of many rules for Christian living is found in Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonian Christians in chapter 5. Paul tells these early Christians they must have hope, and so must we—a firm hope in God’s promises. This leads us into a brief discussion of Advent.

We are in our church season of Advent (arrival, specifically the arrival of God’s son). During December we recall the faith stories from the Old and New Testament scriptures and prepare our hearts for Christmas. A beautiful tradition is the use of the Advent wreath, which comprises three purple candles, one pink candle and a white Christ candle in the center. Each of the four candles is named to emphasize an important aspect of the obedient Christian life: Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. Beginning four Sundays before Christmas, the Hope candle is lighted. Each following week another candle is lighted in the order of Peace, Joy and then the pink candle of Love. The Christ candle is lighted on Christmas Eve.

And now we return briefly to some of Paul’s instructions: “Be at peace among yourselves,” “Rejoice evermore,” and “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Many of us fall far short of what God desires, but thanks be to God, He is ready to forgive as we ask. And as we study His word, these traits become a natural part of our lives.

Prayer

Holy God, forgive us when we fall short of your expectations. May hope, peace, joy, love and thanksgiving be manifested so vividly in our lives that the world may recognize us as Christians. In Christ Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

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Daily Advent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Thursday, December 2

By Fran Wheeler, Stephen Ministry

Shadows Under the Star

Read Luke 2:35b

“And a sword will pierce your own soul, too.” 

Christmas—a fantasy, all gold and red—excitement and joy! But personal sadness and loss may overshadow Christmas, leaving some adrift and alone, and perhaps feeling guilty for not sharing the joy. Scripture, however, reveals a deeper story, filled with glory, yet also tempered by loss and fear. The story includes circumstances as difficult and heartbreaking as our own might be. Is there a blessing included for those who suffer?

We usually ignore the shadows within the Christmas story, looking only at the glory. Angel appearances mask the fears of a young girl and a man with shattered dreams. Living the hard reality overshadows the joy Mary experienced with Elizabeth. The star, angel choir, and adoring shepherds make us forget that the baby was born far from the comforts of home and family. Even when the child is presented to the Lord, a prophet speaks frightening words: “And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” And soon, as they planned to go home, Herod sent other baby boys to their deaths, forcing Mary and Joseph to flee to Egypt. In spite of exciting moments, Mary indeed had much to ponder in her heart.

What is the lesson for us? Whether we grieve losses or are caught up in the beauty of Christmas, we should remember the sacrifices made: Mary’s fear, the couple’s life forever changed, a difficult journey, a lonely birth, and the prescient words of the pain to come when the baby becomes the rejected Messiah and is crucified. But Christ arose, and his words still ring out: “The light has come into the world and it will never be overcome by darkness.” Whatever our circumstances, Christmas brings to all of us the eternal message of hope.

So for everyone, Hope is the blessing of Christmas.

Prayer

Lord, as we celebrate Advent and Christmas, help us to recognize and give thanks for the sacrifices made, and walk in the Lord’s everlasting light. Amen.

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Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of December 1, 2021

Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. 

(Ps 42:5)

O Root of Jesse and Hope of our World, upon you we depend, for it was you who sent the Promised One to be born and live among us. The love of Christ has grounded us in the hope that whatever is disquieting us at the given moment does not have the final word; for you make room in all our tomorrows for your own surprises. Even in our darkest hours, we are shored up by that stirring deep within us, that root of hope that you planted there so long ago. Fortify that root, we pray, that we might become living examples, moving in your world with that sense of confident expectation.

Forgive us, O God Ever New, that in our search for newness, we often overlook the sacred gifts you have placed on our doorsteps already.  Help us to ponder your sacred messages written upon the morning, afternoon, and evening skies; turn our gaze to behold your love inscribed upon the radiant hills and mountaintops, painted in vibrant colors across the valleys that surround us. Grant, that with every refreshing raindrop, we may hear you speaking our name.  

Companion Most Compassionate, go before us as we travel these days of Advent, showering us with your prevenient grace. May our footsteps take us to the forgotten byways, the roads less traveled, where the dispossessed are huddled. May our hands be the ones that touch the shoulders of the friendless and forgotten, imparting courage.  May ours be the voices that speak kindness to those who have known only harshness and derision.  And may our spirits be those that offer hope in those places where all seems to be lost.  As you have called us, empower us through your grace, we pray, to serve at your command.   

Truly there is much to torment us in our present world: from automatic weapons being wielded by young and old to the continuing fears of the dreaded virus; from the widening gap between the “have” and “have nots” to the rancorous disputes within our nation’s legislative bodies; from the growing aggressiveness of our country’s enemies to the rage carried out in our own neighborhoods. May we, as the Psalmist, turn to God for solace and strength, believing that any work to bring about change is indeed the Lord’s work and is for his glory.

As you are our Eternal Hope, we place our personal concerns before you in this hour, naming in the silence of our hearts, those persons and situations that are closest to us . . . . . . . . . .  And also we share both the praises and worries expressed by your people at Church Street:   

  • Gratitude for all responding to our church’s stewardship effort
  • Son is thankful for his mother’s successful surgery this week
  • Member offers thanks for a new work position
  • Young mother offers gratitude for baby’s health and family happiness
  • Family thankful – paralyzed grandson continued improvement
  • Member thankful her cancer remains at bay
  • Couple offer thanks for a safe trip out of the country
  • One grateful for promising grades in her difficult coursework
  • Gratitude for a peaceful and pain-free death of suffering friend
  • Solace and healing for members grieving recent death of a brother
  • God’s healing presence with couple who remain secluded due to illness
  • Traveling mercies for a son frequently on the road for work
  • Healing for pastor in another church – suffering a broken arm
  • Church families grieving during the holidays
  • Grace to surround two families whose mothers died this week
  • Continued guidance – one enduring physical & emotional trials
  • Healing of a family’s broken relationship
  • Sister facing cancer scans December 3
  • Cherished father in rehab, in failing health 
  • God’s guidance healing for a mother with cancer diagnosis 
  • Continued strength for member in cancer treatment 
  • Four family friends mourning deaths of loved ones
  • Prayers for mother enduring debilitating infection
  • Exhausted daughter caring for mother with dementia

As evening closes in around us, Lord, may we set aside our work, knowing it is enough. And as we rest, may the efforts we have made this day somehow reveal the love you harbor for your people. It is in this assurance that we offer this prayer in the name of your Son, who came to redeem us and who taught us to pray:

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

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Daily Advent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Wednesday, December 1

By Judy Grubb

We Will Be Found

Read Isaiah 11:2-4

“And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. He will not judge people by what he can see on the outside, but he will judge people with righteousness, knowing what is in their hearts.”

I remember the Christmas when our daughter was three years old. Because our extended family lived in Indiana, we had always gone home for the Christmas holidays to visit our relatives. We were loading up the car with our luggage and gifts preparing for the 6 hour trek. Just before we were ready to leave, Jennie said, “Mommy, will Santa Claus know where I am so he can bring my gifts?” My heart just dropped, and I could have cried. Of course I assured her that she didn’t need to worry, and that Santa would know where to bring her gifts. In her mind she was probably thinking, “I went to see him and told him what I wanted for Christmas, but now we’re leaving.” From that year on, we stayed at our home for Christmas.

Four weeks before Christmas, we Christians begin to prepare for the arrival of Jesus. We plan and prepare and worship and sing and rejoice each year. The prophets told us about a Savior and teacher that would come. Isaiah said that He would “preach good tidings unto the meek, bind up the brokenhearted, and proclaim liberty to the captives.” The beautiful scriptures in the New Testament tell the story from the Immaculate Conception to the lowly birthplace where Jesus was visited by the shepherds and the Wise Men. 

Fortunately, we don’t have to worry about Jesus finding us. If we have studied and followed his parables and teachings, he will know where to find us. What will we be doing when he finds us? Will he see us sharing his gifts with his people? Will we be busy helping to right food inequity, correcting racial inequality, ministering to the homeless, protecting defenseless women and children, and welcoming the immigrant? He will always be looking for us, and finding us. What a comfort to know that Jesus will always come, and that we will always be able to celebrate his birth.

Prayer

Dear God, We thank you for the opportunity to share the teachings of your son, Jesus Christ. We pray that we will please you with our efforts to share your ministry with your people. Amen.

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Daily Advent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Tuesday, November 30

By Jenny Cross, Director of Youth & College Ministries

Comfort & Joy

Read Romans 15:13

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” 

Here we are, at the end of another wild and unyielding year. A year of both good and bad, joy and heartache, struggle and hope. We arrive at Advent, harried and a little worn. We are eager and ready for something miraculous to happen—we need the promise of God’s presence with us.

The older I get, the more I see that joy and grief are not mutually exclusive—there is room for both at once. We see it in the laughter around the table after the loss of a loved one, or in the melancholy longing for things not yet to come in the midst of a beautiful day. It’s both/and. Both joy and sorrow, both comfort and pain.  

Jesus comes to us as the ultimate both/and. Fully God and fully human. Tempted and sinless. Bringer of justice and giver of mercy. He offers us comfort and joy while giving us the charge to love and serve others like Him.

I find it easy to miss out on the blessings of this season. But this year, I want to cling a little tighter to those familiar tidings of comfort and joy—reminders that Jesus came to redeem and restore. And He still offers us those beautiful gifts of hope today.

Prayer

Holy God, You are good and gracious, and we need you during this Advent season. Help us to become more aware of your presence as we walk through these days of preparation. We ask to experience both comfort and joy as you remind us of your deep love for us all. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

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Daily Advent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Monday, November 29

By Therese Zaltash

The Wonder of Hope

Read Romans 15:12-14

Advent is “The coming of Christ” and the period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas.

This time of year invites us to step away from the chaotic times of holiday preparation, such as shopping, parties etc. It allows us to prepare our minds and hearts for the celebration of the true meaning of HOPE that comes through the birth of the baby Jesus.

The 1st candle of Advent is the color purple, symbolizing HOPE. It is sometimes called the “Prophecy Candle” in remembrance of the prophets, especially Isaiah, who foretold the birth of Christ. It represents the expectation felt in anticipation of the coming Messiah. The expectation and flourishing of HOPE builds as each day passes.

Our world today is brimming with social issues, in part from the pandemic and lingering isolation. Yet perhaps we could spend this season focusing on our faith, our HOPE of the coming of Christ and all the wonder that includes.

It is very easy to succumb to fear, depression and complacency, since we are more isolated than years past. However, with HOPE we are also more fortunate than generations past. It’s all about the visual lens you choose.

Look to others to spread the gospel of Christ and the wonder of HOPE. Be encouraging to a struggling friend, strike up a conversation with a stranger, check on a neighbor that may be alone … show others that the spirit of Christ forever lives within you.

Prayer

Dear Jesus, You are the HOPE in our troubled world. This Advent help us to slow down, listen to your voice and focus on what’s truly important. Show us how much we have received through your abundant generosity. Ease our hearts with the assurance of your love for us.

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Daily Advent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Sunday, November 28

By Rev. Catherine Nance, Senior Pastor

Wait

Read Nehemiah 9:6-15

“You are the Lord, you alone; you have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. To all of them you give life, and the host of heaven worships you.” (Nehemiah 9:6)

Wait for it … wait for it ….wait for it …  It’s what we say when we know something is going to happen and WHAM! There it was!

I am writing this devotion in mid-September while taking some time away at the beach. It is the perfect setting for thinking of Advent! 

Waiting for a wave. Waiting for the waves to break on the beach. Waiting for the water to come all the way to my toes. It’s an endless waiting – there are always waves. There is always water running up to where you are, spreading out in front of you, sometimes reaching your toes and sometimes deciding at the last second to stop and return.

I love to ride the waves. No, I am not a surfer. But I do walk out just far enough to wait for the right moment and swim ‘on top’ of the wave towards the beach. Sometimes I end up crawling, sometimes I get knocked under, sometimes I imagine I am as graceful as a dolphin! Each one elicits joy! But there is never one that is the final one; the beach is the perfect place to wait, and wait, and wait. The endlessness of the waves, the subtle changes in rhythm, the hypnotic flowing back and forth, and the surprising crash! 

We sometimes countdown Advent … wait for it, wait for it, wait for it, and then hope to experience the most joyful, beautiful, perfect, happy Christmas day. Children will say, “I don’t want Christmas to end.” Adults will say, “I wish I had more time.” My prayer this year is that I do not miss Advent by waiting on the ‘perfect Christmas.’ The scriptures and hymns of Advent are faithful, and the words come at us – sometimes knocking us down, sometimes gently carrying, but always pointing us towards the Christ. This Advent, I will say, “Here it is.” Here it is. Here it is. 

The psalmist says, Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long. While we wait, we are being led and are being taught. God calls for an active waiting!

Prayer

Christ who comes, you are the one who has come, who is, and who will be. May we marvel in all these verb tenses and not miss any of your revelation. Amen.

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Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of November 24, 2021

Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness, come into his presence with singing. Know that the Lord is God. It is he that has made us and we are his; We are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. 

Give thanks to him and bless his name. For the Lord is good, his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. 

(Ps 100:1-5)

Today indeed we make a joyful noise before the Lord and raise our voices in song!  O One of Unsearchable Greatness, we remember how your breath wafted over the chaos, bringing a sublime calm and order.  We remember how you fashioned from nothingness the heavens and the earth, both teeming with life. We ponder your terrifying power that created the mountains and called forth the waters, giving them shape and order and purpose.  And in your own loneliness, you gave life to humankind, counting us as your beloved companions.  How mystifying is your universe, O Lord, and our words fail to touch its grandeur.  And how privileged we are that we might join our voices with all generations past in blessing your Holy Name!

God of All Goodness, hear our prayer.

You have honored us with Jesus Christ, whom you sent to reveal the truth of your love, your hopes and dreams for your people.  And even when he was ignored, abused, and crucified, he told us he understood and that we were forgiven.  How astonishing is the depth of your affection and the wideness of your mercy, O Lord! 

God of All Goodness, hear our prayer.

We give you thanks, O Guide Above and Beside Us, that we can bring our prayers to you, for you are the God who listens to our lives; and we know there have been moments when we have chosen the wrong over the right. We remember those instances when we could have helped others, but we attended to our own priorities.  There were those persons we could have befriended, but we hurried past.  There were times we could have shared a loving thought with someone who was hurting, but we remained silent. There were occasions when we could have expressed our faith in you, yet we uttered mere platitudes. We thank you, Merciful One, that it is not too late for our transformation.  Blot out the sullied parts of our past and cleanse our motivations.  We can never reach perfection, but we trust in your Spirit to take everything that we do and use it for your good purposes.

God of All Goodness, hear our prayer.

Spirit of Wholeness, pour out your balm of healing upon your people who are in pain and sorrow. Heal the divisions and brokenness within our own nation, we pray. Our hearts also break when we hear of migrants from the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Asia who endure freezing temperatures and deprivation as they seek a place to call home; when we learn of the increased violence against the innocents in Sudan; as we receive news that 14 million people in Afghanistan now face daily hunger; and as another Covid19 wave sweeps across Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Russia. Forgive us when we separate ourselves from the suffering of others near and far. May all who are hurting cling to you even when their hope has grown thin. 

God of All Goodness, hear our prayer.

And as we offer petitions on behalf of our friends at Church Street, strengthen our sense of kinship with all whom you love:

  • Church family celebrates a son’s engagement
  • Member grateful for prayers, recovering well following surgery
  • Thankful an ill friend is home from hospital
  • Grateful to all who assembled and delivered 130 Thanksgiving boxes for our hungry neighbors
  • Gratitude for a friend’s successful knee replacement
  • Appreciation for prayers: Dear friend died in peace and comfort
  • One praises God for her multitude of blessings
  • Thankful for prayers: Ill father returning home for Thanksgiving
  • Heart patient thankful for prayers of church on his behalf
  • Gratitude for husband’s healing following heart surgery
  • Husband thankful for wife’s recovery from bronchial infection
  • Thanksgiving for continued healing following surgery
  • God’s healing presence with couple who remain secluded due to illness
  • Safety for a young son, musician who travels widely
  • All who are grieving during the holidays
  • Safe travel to California for soon-to-be-grandmother
  • Courage, guidance for one enduring physical emotional trials
  • A mother who faces another colon surgery and healing of her dangerous infection
  • Healing relationship between a father and his adult children
  • Continued prayers for member with vision impairment
  • Correct diagnosis of Parkinson’s-related illness
  • Peace for a dying brother and the presence of the Spirit with all family members
  • Family sustaining multiple challenges during the holidays
  • Cherished father in rehab, in failing health 
  • Prayers for our church and our 2021 stewardship effort
  • God’s guidance and healing for a mother with cancer diagnosis 
  • Continued strength for member in cancer treatment
  • Prayers for gravely ill daughter and her distraught family
  • Correct diagnosis for member experiencing heart problems 
  • Upholding church family grieving death of young son 
  • Four family friends mourning deaths of loved ones
  • Sister who faces cancer scans December 3

God of Goodness, we celebrate your presence with us and pray you would wrap us all in your peace each night, as you turn down the lights of heaven. May our dreams be filled with memories of your eternal grace. We lay these prayers at your feet in the name of your most caring Son Jesus, who taught us to pray in this way:

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

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