Category: Wesleyan Accent
Ken Loyer ~ Remembering Christ’s Presence with Us
December 15, 2014
“How is memory significant for us as God’s people? Why is it important for us to remember, and what specifically should we remember most?”
Maxie Dunnam ~ Disciplines for Spiritual Formation: Study
December 11, 2014
“We are what we think. We are transformed by the renewal of our minds. So study is a necessary discipline for spiritual growth.”
Elizabeth Glass Turner ~ Reveal
December 10, 2014
“Who is God? Emmanuel, Word-Made-Flesh, Jesus Christ the fully divine, fully mortal. And the Book of Revelation is understood through Emmanuel, God with us, who makes all things new – new, say, as a newborn, fists tight, eyes blinking, with that delicious newborn smell and tiny tufts of hair. Our world needs to be new again: reborn, pressed against the chest of its Creator.”
Kevin Watson ~ Expectant Waiting
December 8, 2014
“In Advent we are waiting for the return of Jesus the Christ, the coming King. In Advent, we anticipate the return of Christ. Advent is about the future, the end, the “Christ shall come again in final victory” part of our faith. And so in Advent, we practice waiting. We remind ourselves that Jesus is coming back and that we don’t know the day or the hour when he will return. It might even be before Santa reappears.”
Jeff Rudy ~ If Only (Or, the Sermon I Couldn’t Deliver but My Wife Did)
December 6, 2014
Simon and Garfunkel quipped that “the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenement halls and whispered in the sound of silence.” At the beginning of the song, they sang, “hello darkness, my old friend, I’ve come to talk with you again.” Advent meets us in the darkness, in the silence. So do the prophets.
Ken Loyer ~ Communion as a Prayer of Thanksgiving
December 4, 2014
“There I was, the new pastor of a church that had a strong, proud heritage but more recently had experienced several decades of slow decline while nobly carrying on, a congregation like so many others these days. I was trying to envision through hope-filled eyes the potential for renewal and growth in that setting, but as I stepped into the prayer chapel that day almost all I could see was a bunch of clutter in a space that was supposed to be devoted to prayer.”
Tammie Grimm ~ Advent Adjustments
December 3, 2014
“Advent bids us to a posture of getting ready for Christ. We prepare our homes and our hearts not only for the celebration of the nativity inaugurating the twelve days of Christmas, but also for the constant way Christ breaks into our lives each and every day, and for the eventual, expected and awaited second coming of Christ in history.”
Cole Bodkin ~ Advent: Thy Kingdom Come
December 1, 2014
“Christians may forget that Advent marks the beginning of the Christian calender year. It entails celebrating two events simultaneously: Jesus’ first coming and his second coming. The lectionary texts during Advent orient themselves more towards the latter, and it might be worthwhile to suggest that we do likewise. It’s high time that we get back to celebrating the Christian New Year with as much anticipation as watching the ball drop at Times Square.”
Carolyn Moore ~ The Secret of Joyful People
November 29, 2014
“The Bible tells a story of a people who lost their connection with God. They were like a country that used to have electricity running through its wires. The Law that was supposed to build their character, teach them holiness and define boundaries in their relationship with God, became nothing more than one more oppression in an oppressive society. Rather than a goal of being perfect in love, they’d become sticklers for perfection. That pursuit made them angry and bitter people. They were starving, spiritually. Imprisoned by a system of obedience that stole their smiles.
Live like that long enough and either your heart grows hard or you start longing for life beyond the borders. Paul didn’t exactly long for that life, but when he encountered it on a road between cities he found it irresistible. Jesus himself walked Paul across the border into freedom, where Paul discovered those things like love, joy and peace that make life worth living.”
Maxie Dunnam ~ Generosity
November 27, 2014
“There are things that you and I can never do for Christ and the kingdom by ourselves. We have to be a part of a body, a community. This is especially true in the use of our money.”