-
“O Come Let Us Adore Him” – Advent Week Four
O Come All Ye Faithful Joyful and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem. Come and behold Him, Born the King of Angels; O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord! Come Yesterday, I attended the funeral of a friend’s father. While I had only met the man once, I shed many tears during the service as friends and loved ones shared, especially hearing about his passionate love for Christ and others. The church was overwhelmingly filled with people who had been recipients of that love, and it was truly humbling to see the impact…
-
“His Law is Love and His Gospel is Peace” – Advent Week Three
Truly He taught us to love one another; His law is love and His gospel is peace. Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother; And in His name all oppression shall cease. Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we, Let all within us praise His holy name. Won by Love Though I grew up in a Christian home, I did not become an official follower of Jesus until I was in middle school. Sure, I had begged Jesus many times to come into my heart to save me from Hell, but that fear-based decision wasn’t a conversion at all. It wasn’t until I was an…
-
“Amid the Cold of Winter, When Half Spent Was the Night” – Advent Week Two
Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming From tender stem hath sprung! Of Jesse’s lineage coming, As men of old have sung. It came, a flow’ret bright, Amid the cold of winter, When half spent was the night. Darkness Eight years ago, I went through a dark night of the soul. As a result of an unusual circumstance in which my safety was compromised, I began to descend into a deep valley, one overgrown with anxiety, loneliness, and doubt. The worst of it was around Christmastime. Instead of the love, hope, joy, and peace characterized with the season, I was experiencing incapacitating fear, hopelessness, depression, and unrest. And I endured…
-
“Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room” – Advent Week One
The Christmas story is familiar to many of us. We know that Mary delivered Jesus and laid in him a manger because there was no room for them. This reflection is focused on what it means to make room in our hearts for Jesus.
