Category: First Steps

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First Steps – December 25, 2017

If you try to point something out to a dog, the dog will often look at your finger instead of that which you are pointing. This can be  frustrating, but it illustrates a natural mistake we all make from time to time.  It’s the mistake many people make when reading the Christmas story in Luke’s Gospel.  What do people know about Jesus’ birth? The manger—the crib, the most famous animal feeding-trough in all of history is what we know and remember.  It is on every Christmas card and the focus of every Christmas carol.

Tradition has Joseph and Mary knocking at an inn door, being told there was no room, but could lodge in a stable alongside animals.  Actually, in ancient inns the upper floors were for guests while the bottom floor was reserved for animals.  Mary and Joseph most likely were on the bottom floor where the animals were kept.  The scriptures don’t mention animals but we can assume they were there.  But the significance of the manger is not whether animals were present; no, the significance of the manger was to help the shepherds identify where the child being born was located.

Outside of Jesus’s family, the shepherds were the first ones told who Jesus was, the significance of his birth, and where they could find him.  Luke 2:12 says, “This will be the sign for you; you’ll find the baby wrapped up, and lying in a feeding-trough (manger).”  Odds are they would not have been able to find Jesus without that specific clue.  But thankfully they did!  One can only guess what their lives were like afterwards—to behold the King of Universe, the One to Redeem All.  On this Christmas, imagine you are there with the shepherds witnessing God’s breaking into the world with grace and truth.  Merry Christmas!!!

This week’s reading:
Monday – 2 Corinthians 7-10
Tuesday – 2 Corinthians 11-13
Wednesday – Matthew 1-4
Thursday – Matthew 5-7
Friday – Mathew 8-10

Please Pray for:
Ukraine Children—St. Paul’s Winter Mission Trip
Safe travels for all who are traveling this holiday season
For 2018 and all those who will grow in Christ this year
St Paul’s upcoming Marriage Retreat

God Bless,

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First Steps – December 18, 2017

I’m sure you have heard that a picture is worth a thousand words.  Though I’m not sure St. Francis was aware of that saying, he definitely understood the concept when he told his friars to preach the gospel and if needed, use words. There is something about an image, a picture, a scene that can encapsulate our imagination and span thousands of thoughts and reflections.  It is one of the reasons why we use symbols in worship.  A picture is worth a thousand words…perhaps it is worth a thousand sermons.

Recently a friend of mine emailed me a couple of pictures of our church while he ran at sunset.  From a few blocks away, he could see our steeple in the distance. For both of us, the pictures created the image of peace.  Knowing that the world runs at a non-stop pace, there is one place that beckons us to slow down, take in all the goodness around us, and to trust in the God who holds all of us in his hands.  I hope you will look for those pictures, those images, and those scenes that beckon us away for respite.  They are gifts from God.

      

This week’s reading:

Monday – 1 Corinthians 12
Tuesday – 1 Corinthians 13, 14
Wednesday – 1 Corinthians 15, 16
Thursday – 2 Corinthians 1, 2
Friday – 2 Corinthians 3-6

Please Pray for:

  • The upcoming Ukraine Mission Trip.
  • The many who dread this season because of the pain of brokenness, sadness, and grief.
  • Everyone who will attend worship services at this time of the year—may they rest in the joy of God’s gift of salvation in Jesus Christ.

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First Steps – December 11, 2017

We light this candle of Hope as a symbol of Christ.
May the light sent from God shine in the darkness to
show us the way of salvation.
Have you ever heard song lyrics or a line of poetry and then for days have it play over and over in your mind?  Since last Sunday, I haven’t been able to escape the above lines from our Advent reading.  We light this candle of Hope in a world that has enough darkness.  In a world that breads on separation, brokenness, fear, and selfishness, the need for hope is paramount.  Our world needs hope.  We need hope.  Often an inclining of hope can work wonders for it carries within itself possibility.  A possibility that things can be different and the same patterns of the past don’t have to be the future.Christmas in its basic form is hope.  God, in Christ Jesus, a humble innocent infant becomes for all the means of salvation.  He is the possibility that all things can be made new.  That is our hope.  Listen again:

We light this candle of Hope as a symbol of Christ.
May the light sent from God shine in the darkness to
show us the way of salvation
My prayer for us is that we would allow that infinite light to shine in our lives knowing that it will dispel whatever levels of darkness that shadows over us.  We light this candle of Hope…May the light sent from God shine in the darkness—Thanks be to God, Amen.
This week’s reading:

 

Monday – Galatians 5, 6
Tuesday – 1 Corinthians 1-3
Wednesday – 1 Corinthians 4-6
Thursday – 1 Corinthians 7-8
Friday – 1 Corinthians 9-11

Please Pray for:

  • The upcoming Ukraine Mission Trip.
  • The many who dread this season because of the pain of brokenness, sadness, and grief.
  • Everyone who will attend worship services at this time of the year—may they rest in the joy of God’s gift of salvation in Jesus Christ.

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First Steps – December 4, 2017

In the beginning of Luke’s Gospel, people are waiting for the Messiah.  It is not a passive waiting but an active waiting. They know what they are waiting for is growing from the very place they are standing.  Simeon even said, “Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace.  For my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in

the sight of all nations:  a light to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel.”  They didn’t wait with empty hearts.  Something had already happened.

This is the secret for us about waiting.  We wait with the conviction that a seed has been planted and something has already begun.  Active waiting implies being fully present to the moment with the conviction that something has and is happening—God’s Kingdom has come!

As you wait for the coming of Christ, wait knowing that God is at work in you and in the world.  Wait with conviction and confidence that the one who began a good work in you [and in the world] is faithful to bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.

This week’s reading:

 

Monday – Mark 11, 12
Tuesday – Mark 13, 14
Wednesday – Mark 15, 16
Thursday – Galatians 1, 2
Friday – Galatians 3, 4

Please Pray for:

  • The upcoming Ukraine Mission Trip.
  • The many who dread this season because of the pain of brokenness, sadness, and grief.
  • Everyone who will attend worship services at this time of the year—may they rest in the joy of God’s gift of salvation in Jesus Christ.

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First Steps – November 27, 2017

Each morning I start my day with a few daily devotionals and prayerful reflection.  My goal is to begin the day centered in the presence of God.  If I start there, then I can stay centered as the day unfolds.  A few weeks ago, one of my devotionals had this prayer:

“O Blessed God, grant me the grace this day to rest and remember that there is nothing I have to do, nothing I have to buy and sell, nothing I have to produce or consume in order to become who I already am:  your beloved creation.

Release me from my overworked self and help those who cannot rest today from their need to draw worth from production.  Usher me into the liberty of your grace that flows freely from the joy of your love.”

Begin your day with this prayer!

This week’s reading:

Monday – Mark 1, 2
Tuesday – Mark 3, 4
Wednesday – Mark 5, 6
Thursday – Mark 7, 8
Friday – Mark 9, 10

 
Please Pray for:
 
Family relationships during the holidays
Travel mercies for all this holiday season

God Bless,

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First Steps – November 22, 2017

Ready or not, this week points us towards Thanksgiving.  Almost certainly, you will gather with friends and family to give thanks with food and fellowship. Though this day harkens back to courageous men and women seeking a new world and new life.  For Christians, every day should be Thanksgiving. Gratitude isn’t limited to a time of the year or to a certain country’s history.  It should be everywhere and at all times.

With that in mind, if you were tasked with a top-ten list of things/people that you are thankful for, what would they be?  (Make the list)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Gratitude also has a multiplying effect.  When you express your gratitude to another, it causes them to be thankful as well.  So, spread your gratitude—express it and watch what happens.  One of my favorite hymns expresses it this way:
For the beauty of each hour of the day and of the night,
hill and vale, and tree and flower, sun and moon and starts of light,
Lord of all, to these we raise this our grateful hymn of praise.
For the joy of human love, brother, sister, parent, child,
friends on earth, and friends above, pleasure pure and undefiled,
Lord of all, to these we raise this our grateful hymn of praise.

This week’s reading:

Monday – Acts 17, 18
Tuesday – Acts 19, 20
Wednesday – Acts 21-23
Thursday – Acts 24-26
Friday – Acts 27, 28

Prayer Requests:

For all those who have influenced your life – Give thanks.
For the St. Paul Community and the loss of many loved ones.

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