Uphill idealist

From Mike Flynn... Saturday December 10, 2016:  Psalm 146:5-10; 1 Samuel 2:1-8; Luke 3:1-18 Hannah praised God for being protected from many dangers and for providing her a son.  God is also praised for helping the poor and needy and generally lifting people of faith to a higher level.  In the last reading, John the Baptist strongly encourages us to respond to God's grace by actively being responsible in our Community of Faith.  We accept God's grace, but we are also obligated to respond in the same way to others.  

Psalm 146:5-10, Ruth 4: 13-17, 2 Peter 3:11-18 By Paula Hofgren In this season of Advent, we watch and wait………… “Happy is the man and woman who has God as his/her helper, whose hope is in the Lord God.” God keeps his promises to every generation, forever. Advent is a season that emphasizes this hope and waiting for those promises to be fulfilled for each of us through his birth then death, resurrection and eventual return when everything around us will someday melt away and in its place a new earth and heaven where only goodness will reside. Jesus’ promises, to give justice to the poor and oppressed and food to the hungry, freedom to the prisoners, protection to the immigrants, and care for the orphan and widow, must be accomplished through the good deeds of the people who love and carry out those promises for him and with his help. Peter warns that God loves and desires goodness in men and women person to person. Peter says that while you are waiting for these things to come we ...

By: Janet Thom Readings: Psalm 21; Genesis 15: 1-18; Matthew 12:33-37 Prayer after reading all three... Lord, giver of life, I praise you. Through the ages you have given men reason to hope. Your love for us has been never ending in spite of our shortcomings. You have kept your promises. Because of your never ending love I can have hope even when all around me there are many dark and scary events unfolding both near and far. Let me learn to better reflect that love in my daily living so that I too can share the hope you have given so many.

Some reflections from Dale Ann on today's readings... God cares about our lives                                                                                            I Thess 4:1-12 God is deeply concerned with our daily walk, and how we live the Christian life. The Lord came, not just to make us children of God and to get us into heaven; but also, to enable us to live as the children of God should live, in a dark and sinful world that does not know Him. We must not only persevere to the end, but we should grow in our faith, and walk even more closely with God.    We are encouraged to live in Holiness, and cautions us against uncleanness. We are instructed to love each other in brotherly love, live a quiet life, and to honor God . God gives...

When I think about a stump - I recall a grove of trees and plants that was at the center of our rural driveway growing up. It was filled with rhododendron bushes that bloomed in the warm months. But somewhere in the midst of all this growth there was a stump of an old tree that had been cut down, probably to make way for the new plants. This stump wasn't much of anything to look at, but became a place for me to sit and ponder the world around me as a child. Stumps are for sitting on, right? The "stump of Jesse" referred to in Isaiah 11 is an old fashioned way of defining the Messianic line that began with King David and from whom the Son of God - the Messiah - would come. This "stump" will grow a branch and from that branch, according to chapter 11, true peace will come to pass.  In this second week of Advent - we focus on the theme of Peace, and how God is the one always coming to us - and came to us in flesh and blood in the person of Jesus Christ. Be...