Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Couple of things before I share the devotional I read on Tuesday. I would like to give the Worship Assistants the month of January off. I need the rest of the congregation to step up and choose a Saturday or Sunday in January. Please let me know so I can hold your date.
Also, don’t forget the Musical Cantata this weekend. It is always enjoyable to hear them during the Christmas season.
Felt this was such a beautiful devotion especially around Thanksgiving time. It comes from God’s Still Speaking from the United Church of Christ. Enjoy!
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1-800-4GRATITUDE (God Still Speaking Devotional 11/26/24) Chris Mereschuk |
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I eat my fill of [turkey] and gravy; I smack my lips. It’s time to shout praises! If I’m sleepless at midnight, I spend the hours in grateful reflection. – Psalm 63:5-6 (MSG) Every Thanksgiving, the Butterball Turkey Helpline receives thousands of calls from panicked home cooks. Questions about internal temperature (175º) or if you can thaw a turkey in the dryer (no). They’re the ones to call. But who do we call for all the other aspects of Thanksgiving that can make it hard to feel grateful? What if you’re not quite thawed out, not prepared to meet your cousin’s boyfriend or hear your uncle’s fascinating theories? What if you haven’t stocked up on courage to try your sister’s new questionable casserole? Or if Grandma’s not there with her old signature dish? Or your brother? Or the other empty chairs? Alongside all the joy of gathering and feasting, holidays are a cornucopia of mixed emotions smothered in expectations. Gratitude can get buried under all that mess. Maybe we need a Gratitude Helpline for when our stomachs are full but our hearts feel empty. Someone to dish out a heaping spoonful of grace when there’s too much other stuff on our plates, bring a serving of inner peace for our sleepless midnight snack. Maybe God is on the other end of that line. Ready to answer, toll-free, day or night, year-round, never a busy signal. Clarity, healing, patience, forgiveness, compassion—God knows the not-so-secret ingredients in the recipe for gratitude. Need turkey help? Call Butterball. For everything else, call God. Prayer We give thanks for your steadfast presence that keeps us coming back for seconds, O God, with leftovers to sustain us for days. Amen. |
What God mostly does is love you. (excerpt from Mostly What God Does by Savannah Guthrie)
Pastor Tom
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Readings for 2nd Weekend of Advent – December 2 to the 9
Malachi 3:1-4 Luke 1:68-79 Philippians 1:3-11 Luke 3:1-6
Reading the Bible in a Year- Monday, December 2 to Sunday December 9
Day Numbers Psalms Proverbs Luke
Monday Ch 31:25-Ch 32 40:1-8 Ch 8:40 – Ch9:9
Tuesday Ch 33 – Ch 34 8:22-31 Ch 9:10-27
Wednesday Ch35 – Ch 36:12 40:9-17 Ch 9:28-56
Deuteronomy
Thursday Ch 1 – Ch 2:1-12 41:1-6 Ch 9:57-Ch 10:24
Friday Ch 2:24-Ch 4:14 41:7-13 Ch 10:25-Ch 11:4
Saturday Ch 4:15-Ch 5 8:32-36 Ch 11:5 – 32
Sunday Ch 6 -Ch 8 42:1-6 Ch 11:33-54
In our Bible study at the YMCA, we have been talking about singular words that change the tone of the passage. One of those words is the word “but.” This three-letter word changes the whole direction of what is being said. You will see this word in Deuteronomy and the Psalms. In Deuteronomy, I see this often in following God’s ways. If we follow them, things will be good. “But” if you don’t, it will not go well. In the Psalms, the psalmist describes how bad things are going, “but” they will still trust in God. There is certainly a lesson in there.
Proverbs: Be tempted and caught in the throes of sin. The phrase “and goes to an ox with slaughter.” Pretty much sums that up.
Luke A potpourri of things. After reading Matthew and Mark, it seems like the order of things are different. We have Jesus predicting his death twice already. We also see Jesus sending out, not the twelve but the seventy-two. The seventy-two were successful but Jesus is rejected by a whole village. The last chapter is an important chapter about prayer. Jesus teaches us the Lord’s prayer. Jesus finishes the chapter with many woes.