About Christian Practices
1970-01-01 00:59:59
"Christian
practices are not activities we do to make something spiritual happen in our lives. Nor are they duties we undertake to be obedient to God. Rather, they are patterns of communal action that create openings in our lives where the grace, mercy, and presence of God may be made known to us. They are places where the power of God is experienced. In the end, these are not ultimately our
EXCERPT: St. Nicholas: Mirror of God's Love
1970-01-01 00:59:59
Advent is a time for repentance, a time to dismantle, to prepare the way of the Lord. It is a time when we are asked to hold a mirror up to ourselves and see if the reflection in it reveals who we are called to be. If we are unsure, let us take as our example good St. Nicholas
.
In whatever he did, Nicholas reflected the calling of all of us to be "other Christs." And that possibility, as
Advent
1970-01-01 00:59:59
See more of Sandy Carlson's incredible work at Writing in Faith or YouTube.
Read more: Advent
Redeemed During Advent
1970-01-01 00:59:59
A.J. Gordon, the Baptist pastor of the Clarendon Church in Boston, one day met a young boy in front of the sanctuary carrying a rusty cage in which several birds fluttered nervously.
Gordon inquired, "Son, where did you get those birds?" The boy replied, "I trapped them outin the field."
"What are you going to do with them?" "I'm going to play withthem, and then I guess I'll just feed them to
Read more: Advent
You Lavish Us
1970-01-01 00:59:59
Sandy Carlson has churned out another wonderful multimedia piece that captures the seasons of Advent, Christmas and winter. The writer acknowledges how God lavishes us and then asks God for forgiveness. Yesterday's post discusses how Advent is a time of redemption, so this is a perfect follow-up.
Advent Calendar
1970-01-01 00:59:59
A reading from a poem by Rowan Williams, as published in Celebrating the Seasons, Daily Spiritual Readings for the Christian Year.
He will come like last leaf's fall.
One night when the November wind
has flayed the trees to bone,
and earth wakes choking on the mould,
the soft shroud's folding.
He will come like the frost.
One morning when the shrinking earth
opens on mist, to find itself
Read more: Advent
, Calendar
Glory Streaming
1970-01-01 00:59:59
A wonderful multimedia presentation by Sandy Carlson.
See more of Sandy's inspiring work on YouTube.
Read more: Streaming
Christmas Wars
1970-01-01 00:59:59
In the Waterbury, Connecticut area, there has been a rash of thefts of Baby Jesus figurines from public creches.
The Republican-American ran a story this week about one of the figurines being returned to the City of Waterbury by a "friend" of the thief. As the story wound down, reporter Steve Gambini noted that Mayor Michael Jarjura had received correspondence from an atheists group asking that
Read more: Christmas
Spirit of Giving
1970-01-01 00:59:59
By Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle
www.donnacooperoboyle.com
'Tis the season for satisfying all of our cravings and desires - or so it seems. Everywhere we look, we're bombarded with bold advertising, and endless promises prodding us to buy the best, most unique gift yet.
At such a "Gimme, gimme, I want, I want" time, how can we get our kids to think of others and be more giving?
Read Donna's
Read more: Giving
I Can Believe
1970-01-01 00:59:59
Often I stand on the edge of the light, afraid to believe, afraid to act, afraid that this story is too good to be true.
But then in my better moments, when I listen closely to the story, move closer to the light, my fears seem to evaporate like an early morning mist, and I can believe again.
I can believe that God who made all that is became clothed in our human flesh so that we might become
Silent Night
1970-01-01 00:59:59
The St. John's Parish Choristers are learning sign language for their Christmas Eve service. Here is Silent
Night
, with the Choristers singing in the background as their instructor signs the carol.
The Ideal Gift
1970-01-01 00:59:59
The ideal gift is... yourself. Give an hour of your time. Give a note of encouragement. Give a hug of affirmation. Give a visit of mercy. Give a meal you prepared. Give a word of compassion. Give a deed of kindness.From the "The Quest for Character" by Charles Swindoll as published in SOUND BITES, a five-day-a-week e-mail ministry of the Rev. Dave Wilkinson, pastor of First United Methodist
Merry Christmas!
1970-01-01 00:59:59
By YouTuber JSB777...
Suppose that God was truly and supremely and, above all else, the great Giver; just that, the great Giver. Just suppose that God, who devised this whole creation in the first place, knew all along that giving is really much more fun than getting. God knew that nothing in all creation can quite match the joy of seeing someone else unwrap a gift that you have chosen with
Read more: Christmas
, Merry
, Merry Christmas
From Unceasing Thinking to Unceasing Prayer
1970-01-01 00:59:59
From the Rev. David Peters, Roxbury Congregational Church...
"Our minds are always active. We analyze, reflect, daydream, or dream. There is not a moment during the day or night when we are not thinking. You might say our thinking is "unceasing." Sometimes we wish that we could stop thinking for a while; that would save us from many worries, guilt feelings, and fears.
Our ability to think is
Read more: Prayer
Community Outreach is Tough
1970-01-01 00:59:59
By Michelle Vu, Christian Post: "A new research study found that 39 percent of American pastors are not highly interested in offering more community outreach programs. The finding is from a study conducted for Facts & Trends, a bimonthly magazine by LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention...
Ellison Research conducted the study using a representative sample of 811
Read more: Outreach
, Tough
Religious Freedom or Not?
1970-01-01 00:59:59
From Reuters News Service Jan. 3: "The first Muslim elected to the U.S. Congress, attacked for planning to use the Koran at his swearing-in instead of a Bible, will use a copy of the Muslim holy book once owned by Thomas Jefferson, an official said on Wednesday. Representative-elect Keith Ellison, a Minnesota Democrat, requested the 18th century copy of the Koran for the unofficial part of his
Read more: Freedom
Portraits and Prayers
1970-01-01 00:59:59
From Religion and Ethics News Weekly: Netherlandish diptychs, featuring some of the most beautiful and intriguing paintings of the 15th and 16th centuries produced under the umbrella of the Roman Church, is currently on display at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
The exhibition, "Prayers and Portraits
: Unfolding the Netherlandish Diptych," consists of religious paintings by
A List to Check Out
1970-01-01 00:59:59
The Church Report has once again published a list of The 50 Most Influential Christians in America. It's the result of more than 200,000 nominations from readers of the magazine and our online visitors.
For one, I'm amazed at how many names I'm familiar with, names like Billy Graham, Luis Palau, Max Lucado, Charles Stanley, Chuck Swindoll, Jerry Falwell, Sam Brownback, T.D. Jakes, James Dobson,
Read more: Check
Lazarus: A Stunning Meditation
1970-01-01 00:59:59
This stunner is by Sandy Carlson...
See more of Sandy's work on her website, or on YouTube.
Read more: Meditation
, Stunning
, Lazarus
The Changing Household
1970-01-01 00:59:59
In recently released 2005 Census Bureau data, statistics show that for the first time, the traditional marriage is no longer the preferred living arrangement in the majority of US households. There percentage of married families is down more than 2 percent from 1999.
Married couples comprise 49.8 percent of the 105.5 million American households. Of the 50.2 percent of "other" households, 36.7
Read more: Changing
, Household
Could Have Been You
1970-01-01 00:59:59
This is a very powerful multimedia presentation by Sandy Carlson.
Check out more of Sandy's videos at YouTube.
Super Bowl Ads
1970-01-01 00:59:59
"The neglect of the spiritual cannot be laid directly at the door of advertising. It may be better laid at the door of the church [that] has failed to preach the God of the Bible, heaven and hell, repentance, faith, and eternal life. It can be argued that a society only gets the advertising it deserves. Yet the power to commend certain patterns of spending behavior to millions with regularity is
Read more: Super
, Super Bowl
Proposed Bush Library Divides U.S. Methodists
1970-01-01 00:59:59
by G. Jeffrey MacDonald
Religion News Service
When United Methodists weigh what's at stake in a plan to put a George W. Bush presidential library and policy institute at Southern Methodist University, they see a lot more than politics.
For the faithful on both sides of this hot-button issue, it's about the integrity of the church. More specifically, it's about what the church represents and
Read more: Library
, Divides
On NOT Praying for Victory
1970-01-01 00:59:59
In church a few Super Bowl Sundays ago, a young teenager asked the pastor during "The Church at Prayer" if we as a congregation would pray that the New England Patriots would win later that night.
The congregation chuckled, some shocked that a 13-yer-old would make a mockery of our prayer time. The pastor handled it, praying for everyone who was invoved in the event and that the game came off
Read more: Victory
Can You Preach Eco-Justice?
1970-01-01 00:59:59
The National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA is encouraging submissions to its first ever eco-justice sermon writing award as part of its eco-justice work.
The award, which is a celebration of God's creation in the proclaimed gospel, is open to clergy, lay leaders and other religious leaders, and entries can focus on a variety of environmental issues such as sustainability, global
Read more: Justice
For Valentine's Day: Forgiveness
1970-01-01 00:59:59
From the daily e-mail of the Rev. David Peters of the Roxbury (Conn.) Congregational Church:
"There are two sides to forgiveness: giving and receiving. Although at first sight giving seems to be harder, it often appears that we are not able to offer forgiveness to others because we have not been able fully to receive it. Only as people who have accepted forgiveness can we find the inner freedom
Read more: Valentine
, Forgiveness
Religious Identity No Longer Given
1970-01-01 00:59:59
A recent article by Andrea Useem of the Religion News Service discusses how, for many Americans, switching religious identities is common. "According to experts who study the phenomenon," she writes, "believers are exercising their freedom of choice more than ever before."
In 1996, shortly after I met the woman who is now my wife, I started attending services with her at a United Methodist
Read more: Given
Help Make Vital Churches
1970-01-01 00:59:59
The United Methodist Board of Discipleship is initiating the "Romans 12 Project," a year-long initiative that involves exploring best practices in United Methodist congregations to mine ideas, concepts, practices and principles that help form vital churches.
The project is designed to study vital United Methodist churches with the goal of revitalizing the denomination and expanding its
Read more: Vital
, Churches
'U2charist' - U2 music and Eucharist....I Don't Get It
1970-01-01 00:59:59
From the United Methodist News Service 02/23/2007
When the Rev. Mitchell Hay heard that local café owner Jay Ekis was starting an '80s cover band with three musician friends, he asked the guitarist if they knew any U2 music. "It sounded like a good idea," said Ekis about playing the songs of the popular Irish rock band. "We love the music, we love U2, and we definitely wanted to share it with
Read more: Eucharist
Anglican Prelates Snub Head of U.S. Church Over Gay Issues
1970-01-01 00:59:59
From the this week's Pew Forum Weekly Newsletter, as it appeared in the New York Times: "Seven archbishops who say they represent more than 30 million Anglican
s worldwide refused to take Communion here (Tanzania) on Friday with the new head of the American Episcopal Church
, to protest her support of gay clergy members and blessings for same-sex unions."
COMMENTARY: With help from my wife, here's
Read more: Issues
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