Magnified Hope and Love  Good Morning Friends, Soon the anticipation of Christmas will be replaced with the light and warmth of Christ's love with us symbolized in the lighting of candles this Christmas Eve. Indeed Christ coming to take up residence inside us is the reason for this season and is Magnified Hope and Love. Scripture: To [his saints] God chose to make … Continue reading Magnified Hope and Love →

22The Living Hope of Glory Good Morning Friends, When we are suffering as children of God through difficulties, of the dark cold of winter nights, sometimes we have been called to endure them for a holy purpose because we are children of God born anew and waiting to be transformed. Friends, through our faithful witness … Continue reading The Living Hope of Glory →

Cross My Heart and Hope to Die Good Morning Friends, When we were children, there was a saying we would often hear and sometimes say related to promises we were making and the likelihood that if we broke that promise something bad would happen. The last part of the phrase was what I imagined would … Continue reading Cross My Heart and Hope to Die →

Old or New Hope Good Morning Friends, Today is the 4th Sunday in Advent. Here we see that when stories converge power is created. The beauty is that in reading Bible stories we get glimpses of encouragement and insights and compassion that can translate into our current experience of God. The objects of focus may … Continue reading Old or New Hope →

18Finding Hope in Dark Places Good Morning Friends, Think you know what today's topic is really about? Read today's scripture carefully and see if you come to the same conclusions as I that the greater the pain, the more desperate the circumstance, the stronger, more confident this asset becomes. This friends is not just optimism. … Continue reading Finding Hope in Dark Places →

In Hope of a Holiday Filled with Holy History Good Morning Friends, I am thinking this morning about how God works and not just in the act of sending His son to save us but even now in the guiding of the spirit of love and thanksgiving of the seasons of nature and the seasons … Continue reading In Hope of a Holiday Filled with Holy History →

Repentance, Prayer, and Humility before God Are Our Only Hope Good Morning Friends, We are to be continually engaged in God's continued acts of creation even in the face of evidence that sometimes we are not making it the way we expected. Some days I just feel overwhelmed about the state of our collective affairs … Continue reading Repentance, Prayer, and Humility before God Are Our Only Hope →

Songs that Bring Hope Good Morning Friends, My guess is that you at some point will sing or at least listen to a Christmas Carol this season. Some will be old ones like Silent Night but others will be newer ones...secular ones. We may think about it starting with Irvin Berlin and White Christmas, followed … Continue reading Songs that Bring Hope →

Never Alone with Hope Good Morning Friends, Perhaps it is rare for a child to grasp this but somehow early on in my life I discovered that there was something unseen and invisible I could trust. It remains part of me even now. I cannot really explain the deep comfort and assurance positioned in my … Continue reading Never Alone with Hope →

Rejoice in Hope Good Morning Friends, Here is the deal...no one thinks they are the problem with the church but virtually everyone acknowledges there is a problem. Blaming others for the state of the church just robs everyone of energy. So if we are to get better as a church we must learn...we must prepare … Continue reading Rejoice in Hope →