Tag: Faith

Advent Reflections: Psalm 42:9-11

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“I will say to God, my rock, ‘Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about in sorrow because of the enemy’s oppression?’ My adversaries taunt me, as if crushing my bones, while all day long they say to me, ‘Where is your God?’ Why, my soul, are you so dejected? Why are you in such turmoil? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him, my Savior and my God.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Christmas is the happiest time of the year except when it isn’t. During the Advent season everything is supposed to be perfect. For many people, though, this season is hard. They’ve experienced loss or hurt that makes the season anything other than sweet. The cultural pressure to be happy just makes it harder. What do we do when we’re supposed to be happy, but we’re just not. We go to the Scriptures, and especially the Psalms. Let’s talk about this one and what it has to do with Advent.

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Advent Reflections: Hebrews 6:19

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“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

We tried to plant some plants this fall. They died. We tried to keep them alive. We never mean to kill the plants we put in the ground or in pots. We planted these, though, right in the middle of an exceedingly dry spell, and we were so busy that we forgot to water them. Without water, plants don’t tend to make it. Kind of like a plant needs water to make it, our souls need hope. Without hope, we gradually wither up and die. The Advent season is a reminder that hope is available to us. Let’s talk about it as we continue our journey today.

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Advent Reflections: Luke 11:1-4

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“He was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.’ He said to them, ‘Whenever you pray, say, Father, your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone in debt to us. And do not bring us into temptation.’” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Throughout the season of Advent, we are to be preparing ourselves for Jesus’ arrival. One of the best ways to do this is through the spiritual disciplines. Of these several lines of ancient practice intended to put us into a posture of readiness for the action of God in, through, and around us, prayer sits among the most foundational. Knowing how to pray is something we often wonder about. Thankfully, Jesus gave us some instructions. Let’s talk about them.

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Songs of the Season: Matthew 2:22-23

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“Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel,’ which is translated ‘God is with us.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

The Advent season is probably my favorite time of the year with the possible exception of the first real onset of Fall. What makes the Advent season so special is its music. No other season has as much good and classic music associated with it as the season of Advent. The collection of songs it boasts isn’t necessarily all that numerous (unless you are comparing with any other season in which it dwarfs the competition), but the handful of songs are so good that everyone has done their own version of all of them. Indeed, of the making of Christmas albums there is no end. And while you can perhaps try to explain that from all sorts of different angles, without Jesus the songbook itself and a host of good recordings wouldn’t exist. He is inescapably the reason for the season. As has become our tradition around here, Fridays through the season of Advent are for celebrating this great music. We’ll start this week with a reasonably old recording of a music older song that I just recently discovered. Here is O Come, O Come, Emmanuel from the Punch Brothers.

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Advent Reflections: Matthew 2:10-12

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“When they saw the star, they were overwhelmed with joy. Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another route.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

At one point in Jesus’ ministry, a group of mothers were attempting to bring their children to Jesus so He could bless them. The disciples started to scold them for interrupting their master when He was teaching. Jesus stopped what He was doing and immediately scolded the disciples. He told them to let the children come to Him because unless you come to Him as a child, you’ll never get to Him at all. That episode was far removed from the one we see in our passage here. The two scenes, though, are more connected than you might think. Let’s talk about why as we continue our Advent journey today.

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