Genesis 18 We begin today the four Sundays of Advent. Very early in the history of the church there was a focus on the two big events in the life of Christ that were celebrated: his birth, and death and resurrection. By the fourth century, the church marked a period of time of preparation for…
Acts 9:1-19 When Saul set out from Jerusalem to Damascus, he had no idea his life would be turned upside down, shaken and reordered. Saul was a Pharisee who was zealous in his protection of Torah, the law of God, that was being rejected by the Jews who followed Jesus. He had stood as witness…
Luke 1&2 My daughter Caitlin gave birth nine months ago today (so Sam has been out of the womb for just as long as he was in the womb) and my other daughter, Elizabeth, will give birth at the end of January. And I have to tell you that it is a very strange feeling…
John 14:27 The night Jesus was born, angels appeared in the sky to shepherds out in the fields with their flocks. This heavenly concert announced the birth of Jesus and what was it that the announcement said? “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” What…
Colossians 1:13-27 Peter Lee preached last week about Immanuel, God’s gift to us of his presence. He reminded us that Immanuel is a Hebrew word meaning, God with us, and that this word came from Isaiah to a nation troubled by the imminent prospect of war. Immanuel, God with us, came into a time of…