ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS December 23, 2019 Prayer for the Week: Holy God, you have no beginning, no starting place, no birth, yet you chose to enter this world through a nativity, through a woman’s womb. The fullness of your love took on flesh and bone and blood. The completeness of your mercy became one of us to reveal a vision of a life no longer ruled by guilt and
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS December 22, 2019 Scripture: Isaiah 60:1 Arise! Shine! Your light has come; the LORD’s glory has shone upon you. Thought for the Day: This is the opening verse of today’s text at Cypress Creek Christian Church, the Fourth Sunday of Advent. The reader (listener in the day of the Prophet) was to arise and shine. Notice that it doesn’t say, “Arise! Bask!” It doesn’t say, “Arise!
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS December 21, 2019 Guest Writer: Rev. John Frey A Walk in the Kingdom By John Frey Scripture: Isaiah 2:5 Come, house of Jacob, let us walk by the light of the Lord. I believe the main story of the Bible is the establishment, struggles, and longing for the final completion of God’s kingdom here on earth. From the beginning, God called humanity to live
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS December 20, 2019 Scripture: Luke 1:78-79 By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. Thought for the Day: These words are an echo of the ancient Prophet, Isaiah (42:6-7). Both the Prophet Isaiah and
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS December 19, 2019 Scripture: Luke 1:76-77 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. Thought for the Day: I love it when a person in scripture receives the company mission and runs with it. These are a
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS December 18, 2019 Scripture: Luke 1:66 All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him. Thought for the Day: We associate these words with the greatness of John who would become the forerunner of Jesus, but maybe part of the problem in our world today is our inability to speak these
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS December 17, 2019 Scripture: Luke 1:51-53 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. Thought for the Day: “I like the Christmas Jesus best.” Those were the words
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS December 16, 2019 Prayer for the Week: We often sing: I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy Down in my heart! (Where?) Down in my heart! (Where?) Down in my heart! …down in my heart to stay. O Emmanuel, the Holy One who chose to dwell among us, I come singing your joy. May it reside in my heart, but only as the starting place. Bring
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS December 15, 2019 Scripture: Isaiah 9:2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined. Thought for the Day: This is the opening verse of our scripture this Third Sunday of Advent at Cypress Creek. First, the repetitive nature of the verse should be noted. It is a restatement of
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS December 14, 2019 Guest Writer: Rev. Sheila Gillette Scripture: Isaiah 2:5 “Come, house of Jacob, let us walk by the light of the Lord” Thought for the Day: Many years ago, my husband and I began helping friends or relatively strangers who needed help. Usually Greg or I felt a call upon our heart to help this person in what we considered a “divine