Time, Worship Seasons
The Bible in Time
I The Age of the Earth II The Age of Human Beings III The Age of the Written Word Prepared By Robert W. Moon, 1980
Read MoreLenten Study on Spiritual Disciplines
Lenten Study on Spiritual Disciplines Text: Growing Generous Souls by Betsy Schwarzentraub Growing Generous Souls can offer an excellent small-group study and themes for the six weeks of Lent. This Lenten study focuses on five basic spiritual disciplines while encouraging six core attitudes in our Christian journey of faith. It can fit various formats…
Read MoreRhythms of Worship, Part 2
Many of us may be familiar with the terms “Vespers” and “Compline,” used for special evening worship services. But these are actually just two of seven prayer times, or “offices,” that help us remember the events in Jesus’ life and ministry in worshipful observance throughout any given twenty-four-hour period. This daily rhythm is called canonical…
Read MoreRhythms of Worship, Part 1
I was in my twenties, out of college and in seminary, before I learned about the seasons of the “Christian Year.” Like many Protestants, I experienced Sunday as the Bible’s “first day of the week,” the worship anchor for each week of the year. But it was easy to see each Sunday as a one-shot…
Read MoreFear Not
Have you ever noticed how often, when the angels showed up in the Bible, the first thing they said was “Fear not”? I admit I’ve had some direct encounters with the Living God over the years, but I haven’t seen an angel so far. I mean the wings-and-light kind. If I had, I might be…
Read MoreThe Spirit of Advent
Counting the Days to Christmas is the title of a Christian devotion-and-activity book I started some years ago for children and their parents or grandparents. Maybe someday I’ll finish it. It’s hard to believe that we’re counting those days to Christmas already this year. Advent calendars start counting on December first. They’re a favorite tradition…
Read MoreReign of Christ Sunday
Yesterday millions of Christians celebrated “Reign of Christ Sunday,” the last Sunday of the Christian worship Year. At first blush, it’s odd to have one Sunday named that, since the Reign, or Kingdom, of God is a big deal in Christian faith. But it turns out that it came about in 1920s Italy, as the…
Read MoreSaints and the Search for Moral Presence
Today is All Saints Day, so it’s appropriate to think about the saints in our lives and world. These days, every day seems to be the opposite of saintly: national brink-of-war tactics, political partisan diatribes, hate crimes, and horrendous violence. So maybe All Saints Day is really important right now, whether we ascribe to official…
Read MoreEpiphany — God Beyond the Boundaries
Most of us really like our comfort zones: the settings and situations in which we can feel confident in certain roles, know our neighbors or coworkers, and trust that nothing too unexpected and dangerous will catch us by surprise. But those Magi – the wise ones who followed that odd star to the Jesus’ birthplace…
Read MoreEpiphany — Stewards of the Light
January 6, this Saturday, is Epiphany: the day Christians around the globe celebrate the coming of the Magi from faraway lands, to give gifts to the Christ child in Bethlehem. It occurs to me that those Magi were the ultimate outsiders. To begin with, they were not Jews but Gentiles, coming from Egypt or the…
Read MoreDec. 3 Global Migration Sunday
This Sunday, December 3, will be a special Global Migration Sunday, to raise awareness, give support, and pray for refugees and migrants around the world. Whether due to human conflict, persecution, or natural disasters, more than 65 million people have been forcibly displaced from their homes. The United Nations Refugee Agency says that over 21…
Read MoreDo What for Advent?
I know: theoretically you planned the fall annual stewardship emphasis back in the spring, but life often intervenes to upset even the best of plans. So now you’re looking for a stewardship theme to fit your revised schedule. And wouldn’t it be great if it had a creative approach and unique timing this year, when…
Read MoreThe Gift of Extra Time
The following was spoken by Heather Linsley, Worship Leader on February 28th, in my home church. I share her words and prayers with her permission. – Betsy Schwarzentraub Written by Heather Linsley For those of us who have secretly (or not so secretly) wished we had just one more hour in the day in which…
Read MoreAll Saints Day
It was a moving act of worship on Sunday, All Saints Day. People chose to come forward to light votive candles in memory of those who have inspired and helped shape their lives. I thought of my parents, mother-in-law, grandmother, two teachers and two mentors, all of whom have tried to “tame this wild beast”…
Read MoreEpiphany
The worship season of “Epiphany” emphasizes the ways God’s being and presence are “manifest” or revealed in our lives. We think particularly of Jesus Christ himself as showing us Who God is. But there are countless other expressions of God, as well, including the Scriptures, all of creation, and evidence of the Holy Spirit’s actions…
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