For the next few months, I’m reading a chapter from the Gospels each day. This is part of the Summer in the Scriptures reading plan sponsored by the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church. Click Here for the reading plan.
As part of the Facebook group, I’ve been supplying prayers based on the day’s reading. I realized today, I should be posting them here as well. (where’s my brain?) I’ll spend the next few days catching up here and then the posts will be sync here and there.
Feel free to post your prayers and observations based on the readings here or there as well.
May the grace of the Gospels, the challenge, and the call, inspire us to great faith and great good works in Jesus’ name. – Lisa <><
Prayer Based on Matthew 1 This prayer was inspired by Joseph’s story- his choices, heartbreak, and change of heart.
You are near when my dream dies
You are near the brokenhearted
Thank you for a new dream and a future beyond my imagining
You are near when I cannot see your will
When a good choice, even a merciful choice,
is not your choice
Thank you for correction and clarity
You are near when I dismiss the holy
When I say, “no” to your call
Thank you for your patience,
your persevering grace,
and second chances
O come, O come, Emmanuel
Strengthen me with the promise of your steadfast presence
Inspire me with your saving love
Set my heart and step to your righteousness ends
Amen
Prayer based on Matthew 2
Like Mary and Joseph
Circumstances beyond our imagining
Beyond our control
Take us far from home
Jesus, you are with us
You are our help and home
Like the Magi,
Quests for wisdom and direction
A truth we can trust
Take us far from home
Jesus, you are with us
You are our help and home
Like King Herod
Our desires for security, pleasure, and power
Lead us down destructive paths
Take us far from home
Turn us, Jesus
Turn us toward you
Turn us toward each other
Help us all home
Prayer Based on Matthew 3 Sometimes prayers come out as poems, which can be turned into hymns/songs. If you were to write another verse for this hymn/song, what would you write? You only need three lines, two with 3 or 4 syllables, and one with 6. Like Jesus, we are named and claimed and anointed in our baptism. Hallelujah!
Be Still, Remember a hymn for reaffirming the baptismal covenant Suggested Tune- ONE BREAD, ONE BODY (United Methodist Hymnal #620)
Refrain-
Be still, remember, who you are.
Come touch the water
of your birth.
Be dead to sin, alive to God.
Remember who you are in Jesus.
Verses-
You are beloved.
You are an heir.
You are a child of God. (Refrain)
You are claimed.
You are marked.
You are named by God. (Refrain)
Chosen and blessed
Gifted by God
Witness through word and deed (Refrain)
Do You Hear What I Hear? The Songs of Christmas
December 9: O Little Town of Bethlehem by Phillips Brooks
Scripture References: Micah 5:2; Matthew 1:20-23
These are the notes from a message offered Sunday, 12/9/18 at Trinity United Methodist Church, Sarasota Florida.
Micah 5:2 (NRSV)
2 But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel,
whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.
Matthew 1:20-23 (NRSV)
20… an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.”
History of O Little Town of Bethlehem
In 1868, Phillips Brooks (1835-1893), an Episcopal priest, wrote the beloved O Little Town of Bethlehem for the Sunday school children of his Philadelphia congregation. He was inspired by a horse ride he’d taken a few years earlier on Christmas Eve. He’d ridden from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to assist at the midnight service in the Church of the Nativity.
The lyrics are far more than a description of a sleeping Bethlehem on the first Christmas night. They offer the meaning of Christmas itself, God’s gift of our Savior Jesus Christ and our receiving that gift with thanksgiving and hope.
O Little Town of Bethlehem by Phillips Brooks
O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie;
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth the Everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.
For Christ is born of Mary, and gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep their watch of wondering love.
O morning stars together, proclaim the holy birth,
And praises sing to God the King, and peace to all on earth!
How silently, how silently, the wondrous Gift is given;
So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His heaven.
No ear may hear his coming, but in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him, still the dear Christ enters in.
O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel!
Its Christmas time and I’m longing for hope and home.
Where are you home? Home is…
a place where you grow up, discover your calling and voice
a place of wonderful memories
where you spend a great deal of quality time
where you are safe, known, valued, belong
In A Chorus Line, three women each talk about their troubled families, then they sing about finding a home in ballet class. Up a steep and very narrow stairway to the voice like a metronome Up a steep and very narrow stairway,
It wasn’t paradise, it wasn’t paradise, it wasn’t paradise but it was home
Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz says it over and over again- There’s No Place Like Home
Its Christmas time and I’m longing for hope and home
The world feels so far from home
so fast when home is a place of rest
so violent when home is sanctuary and peace
so divided when home is a place where we come together
so lonely when home is a place where they know your brokenness and still love you
We search for deep relationship in this world and often find disappointment, sometimes even abuse and betrayal.
Then there’s that voice.
You are not enough
You will never be enough no matter how much you own or achieve
If you reveal your true self you will be rejected; you will be abandoned and alone forever
My friends that is not the voice of God. It’s a voice from your past, or the voice of your inner critic, or the voice of the accuser. It’s the voice of sin and shame, not God.
Hear the Good News! God offers us another story, another voice!
Joseph’s dream of a home is shattered when his fiance announces she’s pregnant with the long-awaited Messiah. He decides to end the engagement quietly but is visited by an angel in his dream. The angel tells Joseph, “Mary will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” And that’s exactly what happens.
God is coming for us. This is Good News of Christmas. This is God’s story of hope and home.
When we place our trust in Jesus, when we say, “yes” to follow him, Jesus saves us from sin- what we have done, what we have left undone, broken state of creation itself. Jesus saves us from isolation, separation, brokenness, disintegration, shame.
Jesus doesn’t just save us from. Jesus also saves us for– for relationship, redemption (good from the bad), for hope and an eternal home.
Henri J.M. Nouwen, with John S. Mogabgab, in a Spirituality of Homecoming says: God is not in the distant heavens or in the hidden depths of the future, but here and now. God has pitched a tent among us. Even more than that, God has made a home in us so that we can make God’s home our home. We find our way home by following Jesus.
Story of Quinton’s Moore’s conversion after hearing the story of the Prodigal Sons
Its Christmas time and I’m longing for hope and home We find our way home by following Jesus
O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray; Cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today. We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell; O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel!
*********** CLICK HERE for a pdf of the Christmas Song Devotional Readings.
The Christmas Story is full of singing. Mary sings. Zechariah sings. Simeon sings. The angels sing. Over the centuries we’ve continued to celebrate with songs of our own, songs born from the joy of Christ’s coming.
This holy season, to prepare our hearts again for the coming of Christ, we’ll reflect on the poetry of these meaningful songs. Some will be old friends. Others will be new. My prayer is that their beauty and power draw us closer to Jesus, the babe of Bethlehem, the Risen King. And that the grace of drawing near fulfills in us Christ’s power of new life.
Suggestions for Reflection on Each Song Lyric in the Christmas Devotion:
Find a quiet place to sit. Take a couple of deep breaths.
Read the song lyrics several times slowly, savoring the words.
Ask yourself:
What is the big idea?
Why is it important?
How does this truth connect with my life?
Have a conversation with God about this truth.
Invite God to use this truth to birth something new in you this holy season.
Additional Ideas:
Journal your reflections
Draw, paint, or create some other kind of art based on your reflections
Find a scripture or two which inspired the song or where brought to mind by the lyrics
Sing or listen to the song
Share the song or just the lyrics on social media or face to face
Do You Hear What I Hear? The Songs of Christmas
November 28: Savior of the Nations, Come by St. Ambrose (340-397)
Scripture References: Matthew 1:18; John 1:10-14; Philippians 2:5-7
Theme: Christ, the Heroic Racer
Savior of the Nations, Come by St. Ambrose
Savior of the nations, come, Virgin’s Son, make here Your home!
Marvel now, O heav’n and earth, That the Lord chose such a birth.
Not by human flesh and blood, by the Spirit of our God,
Was the Word of God made flesh—Woman’s offspring, pure and fresh.
Here a maid was found with child, Yet remained a virgin mild.
In her womb this truth was shown: God was there upon His throne.
Then stepped forth the Lord of all from His pure and kingly hall;
God of God, yet fully man, His heroic course began.
God the Father was His source, back to God He ran His course.
Into hell His road went down, back then to His throne and crown.
For You are the Father’s Son who in flesh the vict’ry won.
By Your mighty pow’r make whole all our ills of flesh and soul.
From the manger newborn light shines in glory through the night.
Darkness there no more resides; in this light faith now abides.
Glory to the Father sing, Glory to the Son, our king,
Glory to the Spirit be now and through eternity.
Prayer:
All Hail our Heroic Savior, Jesus Christ
Heroic to leave perfection and glory
Heroic to choose an impoverished, bloody birth
Heroic to become frail flesh
Divine, yet disregarded, disowned, destroyed
Heroic to pioneer the path of mercy, grace, and new life
Heroic to run the race, to persevere, to win our victory
Heroic to give everything to make us whole and holy
We stand to honor and revere you
We bow in humility and thankfulness
We step out in faith to follow your lead. Amen.
Additional Resources:
Matthew 1:18
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah[a] took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.
Philippians 2:5-7
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.
John 1:10-14
He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son,[b] full of grace and truth.
The hymn affirms the same themes about Jesus Christ as the Nicene Creed
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation, he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became truly human.
*********** CLICK HERE for a pdf of the Christmas Song Devotional Readings.
The Christmas Story is full of singing. Mary sings. Zechariah sings. Simeon sings. The angels sing. Over the centuries we’ve continued to celebrate with songs of our own, songs born from the joy of Christ’s coming.
This holy season, to prepare our hearts again for the coming of Christ, we’ll reflect on the poetry of these meaningful songs. Some will be old friends. Others will be new. My prayer is that their beauty and power draw us closer to Jesus, the babe of Bethlehem, the Risen King. And that the grace of drawing near fulfills in us Christ’s power of new life.
Suggestions for Reflection on Each Song Lyric in the Christmas Devotion:
Find a quiet place to sit. Take a couple of deep breaths.
Read the song lyrics several times slowly, savoring the words.
Ask yourself:
What is the big idea?
Why is it important?
How does this truth connect with my life?
Have a conversation with God about this truth.
Invite God to use this truth to birth something new in you this holy season.
Additional Ideas:
Journal your reflections
Draw, paint, or create some other kind of art based on your reflections
Find a scripture or two which inspired the song or where brought to mind by the lyrics
Sing or listen to the song
Share the song or just the lyrics on social media or face to face
I look forward to hearing your comments. – Lisa <><
Jesus, The Coming Messiah: Advent Readings from Old Testament to New
December 6: The Messiah as Son of David
Readings: 2 Samuel 7:1-17; Revelation 22:16
2 Samuel 7:16, The Voice God makes a covenant promise to King David
Your dynasty, your kingdom, will stand perpetually in My sight; your descendants will rule continually.
Matthew 1:1, The Voice
This is the family history, the genealogy, of Jesus the Anointed, the coming King. You will see in this history that Jesus is descended from King David, and that He is also descended from Abraham.
Revelation 22:16, The Voice
I, Jesus, have sent My messenger to show you and guide you so that you in turn would share this testimony with the churches. I am the Root and the Descendant of David, the Bright Morning Star.
Prayer
Hallelujah to Jesus!
Who fulfills God’s promise
A King forever, A Kingdom without end
Hallelujah to Jesus!
Our long awaited Messiah
Our Savior, Our Deliverer
Hallelujah to Jesus!
Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord
Eternal One,
We wonder and marvel at your constancy
You alone are steadfast
Unwavering across the ages
You, remembering, gathering a covenant people
You, remembering, fulfilling your covenant promises
You, patiently tending your family tree
We remember You and your greatness
We stand to honor and revere you
We bow in humility and thankfulness
**********
Thank you for setting aside times this Holy Season to seek the One we celebrate.
Jesus, The Coming Messiah is an Advent Bible Reading Plan highlighting the Old Testament prophesies and passages which Christians see fulfilled in Jesus.
As you read each passage, consider how this description of Jesus the Messiah reveals his character, motivation, and purpose. How does this description inspire you to trust Jesus and his promises? How will you apply and share what you have discovered? I look forward to your comments.
If you’re in Sarasota, please drop by Trinity United Methodist Church for one of our seasonal events or services or just to say, “Hi.” You’re always welcome and wanted.
For the next few months, I’m reading a chapter from the Gospels each day. This is part of the Summer in the Scriptures reading plan sponsored by the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church. Click Here for the reading plan. 
Revlisad.com 