Advent 1 - Hope - Devo

 Week of November 28th, 2021

Advent 1

Hope

Scripture for Reflection: Jeremiah 29:1, 4-14

Questions for Journaling and Reflection:

Take time to write down your answers or to create something that represents what you are pondering around each of these questions this week.

What is hope?

How does the season of Advent invite you into hope?

What is your invitation for this season for prayer? Penance? Sacrifice?

What are you preparing for this season of Advent?

What do you feel that you are waiting for this season?

Spiritual Practices for this week

Adapted from Traci Smith’s Faithful Families: For Advent and Christmas. Saint Louis: Chalice Press, 2020. 

Set up an advent wreath in your home. If you prefer not to light candles think of another way to invite focus on hope, peace, love and joy.

Cut down on your schedule this Advent season in order to spend time with those you love.

Bring a small branch or twig into your home and place it into a vase. Think of this as your Advent Tree. Write down acts of kindness on strips of paper or on paper ornaments for your tree. Place paper onto your tree as you complete acts of kindness to decorate your tree.

Sabbath. Study. Serve.

 Sabbath, Study, Serve 

Taking the Sermon Into Our Week 

Scripture of the Week: Jeremiah 29:1, 4-14

From the Sermon:

Advent is about preparing our ____________.

Advent and Lent are actually both a season of __________________________________.

Advent means __________ and ___________.

Advent is a season that invite us to deeply examine our faith lives and get the places where maybe we’ve veered a little off the road, __________________.

Jeremiah tells folks that this would be a really good time to reflect on their _____________________________.

Jeremiah was bringing the people a word of _______.

Like the exiles, we may want to rush through this ___________________________.

Reflection Questions:

How are Advent and Lent similar and different?

What do you do in order to prepare for a trip? What do you do to prepare your spiritual life?

Prayer:

God, we thank you that you for the gift of your son, Jesus Christ, who is our light and our hope. May our lives be so changed by that which he offers, that we cannot help but go forth and proclaim it. In Jesus’s name. Amen. 

“Isaiah: A Child Is Born” - Isaiah 9:1-7 - Devotional

 November 21st, 2021

Devotional

“Isaiah: A Child Is Born” - Isaiah 9:1-7

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

This week we celebrate Christ the King Sunday. We do not often think of kings today, especially in America.

A King has Sovereignty - in other words, they have absolute power. While a king may surround himself with those who may advise, the king has the ultimate decision regarding what is best. 

A King may be Worshipped - especially during Biblical times, when people believed the kings to be gods with special powers. The people would enter into the king’s chamber and fall on their face out of respect and fear.

In the books of 1 and 2 King the history of Israel’s kings are given, and not all of them were good. Some were described as evil - often because they let pride control how they behaved or didn’t have morals. They leaned on their own understanding instead of turning to God.

The Gospels celebrate the Triumphal entry of Jesus (on Palm Sunday) as a time when the people ushered him in to be their King. Only those who greeted him thought that he was only to be an earthly king - not our eternal Savior. So they greeted him as they would any other earthly king - with a great celebration. But this was not the way that Jesus was to live into his power - a power that no other person had ever known. Instead, he chose to sit on a beast of burden, and in doing so showed us his strength and dignity. 

Scriptures to Consider

Psalm 118: 22-29

Mark 11: 1-11

Quotes for Reflection

“The Kingdom of God is a kingdom of paradox, where through the ugly defeat of a cross, a holy God is utterly glorified. Vicky comes through defeat; healing through brokenness; finding self through losing self.” - Charles Colson

“Before we can pray, ‘Thy kingdom come’, we must be willing to pray ‘My kingdom go.’” - Alan Redpath

“If you do not wish for His Kingdom, do not  pray for it. But if you do, you myst do more than pray for it; you must work for it.” - John Ruskin

Questions

How does Isaiah point out that Christ is King?

How do we surrender our will and way to Christ the King?

How do we honor Christ as King in our lives?

Notes:

Adapted from “The Attributes of God” for Wesley Foundation at Penn State by Karen Bunting Urbanski. Adapted by Rev Michelle Bodle. 

Sabbath. Study. Serve.

 Sabbath, Study, Serve 

Taking the Sermon Into Our Week 

Scripture of the Week: Isaiah 9:1-7

From the Sermon:

Isaiah was one of the __________ prophets.

Even when things seem bad, God is ______________.

God is going to send someone to do for the people what they cannot do for themselves - to _____________________.

____________________ - wise and full of integrity

____________________ - full of power

____________________ - the one who deeply cares for the people

____________________ - the one to bring everlasting peace. 

Reflection Questions:

What links do you see between Christ the King Sunday and thanksgiving?

How do thankful people live their lives?

How do we testify to Jesus’s Kingship at all times?

Prayer:

Lord, may I catch glimpse of your Kingship and Kingdom this week and may it direct me to worship you! Amen. 

“Amos: Justice Rolls Down” - Amos 1:1-2; 5:14-15, 21-24 Devo

 November 14th, 2021

Devotional

“Amos: Justice Rolls Down” - Amos 1:1-2; 5:14-15, 21-24

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

This week’s devotional is different. Take time this week to reflect on this writing about what it means to live into our baptism vows. Then reflect, how does this relate to the idea of seeking justice?

Justice and Mercy

Prepared by Rev. Michelle Bodle

One of the questions asked at baptism is:

“Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression, in whatever form they present themselves?”

To which the person to be baptized (or in the case of children who cannot speak for themselves, their parents) answers “I do.”

What are we saying with this affirmative response? What does it mean to lead a Christian life by these standards? 

One of the ways that the early Methodists believe that we lived into this part of our baptismal vow was through works of mercy. How would you define works of mercy?

United Methodists, like our early founders, believe that salvation involves a change of heart that leads to a change in our attitudes and actions. Further, Wesley believed that salvation was a continual process of falling deeper in love with God and our neighbors. The two entities could not be separated. 

Read James 2: 14-26. What does this passage of scripture say about the link between loving God and loving one another? How are faith and good works inseparable?

Acts of mercy involve those actions we take to help alleviate the suffering of others. When we offer a cup of water or meal to those in need - this is an act of mercy. What acts of mercy does your church participate in? How do these works spread the gospel of Jesus Christ?

Another way that United Methodists live into their baptismal vows involve acts of justice. Acts of justice differ from acts of mercy in that they seek to make the Kingdom of God appear on earth by changing the structures in which we live to bring them more in line with God’s vision. In other words, works of justice are not simply acts of service, but those things that we do to bring us into right relationship with God and one another. An example of a work of justice would be seeking a fair, living wage for workers in order to alleviate poverty. What acts of justice does your church participate in?

Read Amos 5:24 and Micah 6:8. What does justice look like? According to the prophets, is seeking justice optional for followers of God? 

The purpose of the Church is to glorify God and edify believers while making disciples. The Church isn’t a building, but a transformational group of people on a mission for God. How do acts of justice help the Church make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world? 

Often our celebration of Holy Communion ends with the words, “Make us be for the world the body of Christ, redeemed by his blood.” How does seeking both mercy and justice help us live into this sending forth?

Acts of mercy and acts of justice are greatly needed in the world today and it is the call of the Church to live them out. In doing so, we are expressing our belief that God wants to redeem the world as we seek out a new heaven and a new earth. What difference can United Methodists make in the world through acts of mercy and justice? 

Resources:

Carder, Kenneth L. Living Our Beliefs: The United Methodist Way, Revised Edition. Nashville: Discipleship Resources, 2009.

General Board of Church and Society. http://umc-gbcs.org/about-us.

Joyner, F. Belton. United Methodist Questions, United Methodist Answers: Exploring Christian Faith. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2007.

Sabbath. Study. Serve.

 Sabbath, Study, Serve 

Taking the Sermon Into Our Week 

Scripture of the Week: Amos 1:1-2; 5:14-15, 21-24

From the Sermon:

The problem in the time of Amos is that the people are trying to tell God what is good instead of allowing God to lead them to _____________________________.

Amos is known as a __________________.

Even in a time when everything seemed good - it was only good by _____________________, not God’s.

The people of God had started to slip. They had started to think that since everything looked good, well ________ must be good.

When we think that things are good because we are good, this is a sneaky form of ________.

The people were trying to use their act of worship to _____________ God.

Another translation of the heart of Amos’s preaching In the book of the prophet Amos (5:24),says “a flood of ___________ and an endless river of _______________.”

Reflection Questions:

What comes to mind when you hear the word “justice”?

How do Amos’s words resonate with you today in 2021?

Prayer:

Lord, give me your eyes to see justice. And may I live to seek your idea of justice here on earth. Amen. 

God Speaks to Elijah Devo - 1 Kings 19: 1-18

 November 7th, 2021

Devotional

“God Speaks to Elijah”

 1 Kings 19: 1-18

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “Prayed” - 1 Kings 19: 1-5

Have you ever found yourself in a conversation that completely helped you change how you look at things? I often say that these are God-moment conversations, where God is blessing you with a moment to examine what you are thinking in a profound way. 

I found myself in one of these conversations a few months ago, by accident, as it often happens. I was attending a class about prayer. The teacher was talking about a very particular type of prayer, called centering prayer, and was explaining that in this type of prayer you simply pass by or put aside any thoughts you may be having so that God can speak to you.

And friends, it just wasn’t working for me.

As I was thinking about why I was struggling so much, it occurred to me that I was expecting God to show up in one way in this form of prayer, but often God would show up in my prayer life by bringing thoughts of people and things to mind, so I can pray about them. If I was putting those things to the side during prayer I felt like I was missing a holy opportunity. 

  Here’s the truth - we are all different. As we look around this place, we all communicate in different ways. So why would we expect that God would communicate with each of, who God created to be so different, in the same way? 

Yet that’s exactly how we pray, right?

We hear about someone else who had a profound experience with God in a particular place, so we go there as well. Or someone talks about how they listen to God in prayer, so we quickly go to try that as well. 

When really God meets us where we are at. 

What ways do you find natural to talk to God in prayer? 

Prayer: Lord, we thank you that you keep defying our expectations. You show up time and time again in ways we do not expect, but which change our lives. Speak, O Lord, anew. Amen.  

Tuesday: “Eat” - 1 Kings 19: 5-8

  Elijah has just been through the ringer. He is living a prophet in a land where the King and Queen think that they have the final word - not God. He has predicted hardship to come upon the land, in the form of a drought. Then in the third year of that drought, God sends Elijah the prophet to that hostile King, Ahab, promising rain. However, there were some hard words that were exchanged first - that Ahab has troubled Israel because he has forsaken the Lord in order to follow Baal. 

Which led to a showdown of sorts between the prophets of Baal and Elijah around fire and rain and sacrafices, which ultimately led to the killing of the prophets of Baal, and Elijah fleeing from the wrath of Queen Jezebel.

So Elijah is on the run and finds himself in the wilderness by a tree that doesn’t produce anything to eat, and an angel shows up to feed him with bread that has been provided by God alone. 

Tell of a time that God provided for you in a mighty way. 

Prayer: Lord, you do not force us to listen to you or to be in relationship with you. Instead, you offer us an invitation, over and over again. Help us to choose to follow you with all we have and with all we are. Amen. 

Wednesday: “Stand” - 1 Kings 19: 9-13

Elijah was told to go and stand on the mountain before the Lord because God is about to pass by. And all sorts of awesome things started to happen - a great wind that could split the mountain. An earthquake. A fire. 

These are all places where one would expect God to be, right? The prophet was told that God was going to show up and yet God wasn’t in any of these great acts of might. God wasn’t in the things that even God could do. God wasn’t where Elijah expected him to be.

 And then God showed up in the sheer silence. 

  When Elijah heard the silence - that is when he recognized that God was drawing near so he went out to be in the presence of God. 

How do you know that you are in the presence of God?

Prayer: Lord, all too often we think we know how you are going to show up, but our expectations get in the way of being truly present. Forgive us, O Lord, and speak to us anew, opening our hearts to hear. Amen. 

Thursday “What are you doing here?” - 1 Kings 19: 13-14

  Elijah spent his time as a prophet leading people to make choices. Just a chapter earlier, Elijah gave the people a choice about who they were going to follow: Follow God, the Lord of Elijah. Or follow Baal who their rulers worshiped. And the people said nothing. 

Isn’t this true of us also? Can’t you see your own story in the people of Israel? When we are faced with having to make a choice that we rather not make, we stay silent. Thinking that by staying silent we will save the skin of our teeth. Or by staying silent we avoid having to make a decision, when really not making a decision is a decision. 

Now Elijah found himself having to make a choice of his own - to go and answer God’s question or to ignore God. He chose to answer. What started out as a list of grievances became a holy moment where God sent him out again, renewed for the task ahead. 

How do you make choices?

Prayer: Lord, you do not force us to listen to you or to be in relationship with you. Instead, you offer us an invitation, over and over again. Help us to choose to follow you with all we have and with all we are. Amen. 

Friday: “Go” - 1 Kings 19: 15-18

We all have moments like Elijah where we become discouraged. Moments that we feel disconnected from God. The question is what we do with those moments. For Elijah, he fled, but then he listened for God and responded. For others, the moment of discouragement can become a moment of disconnection from our Holy God. 

The truth is, we desire to be connected to God. It is what we are made for. We want experiences with God. But when God does not live up to our unexamined expectations we don’t know what to do.

I was listening to a radio program this week that proposed this - when we feel like we don’t have the words, like we don’t know what to do, we still show up. We still show up for worship.  We still show up for prayer time. We show up like Elijah showed up. Because sometimes in the showing up we experience the presence of God in a new way.

What do you do when you are discouraged? How do you stay connected to God?

Prayer: Lord, all too often we turn away from you, but Lord we trust and believe that you do not turn away from us. Thank you, O Lord, for not giving up on us. Feed our spirits when we do not know what to say or do, Precious Lord. Amen.

Preparing for the Worship:

In order to prepare our hearts for worship next Sunday you are invited to read Amos 1:1-2; 5:14-15, 21-24. 

Sabbath. Study. Serve.

 Sabbath, Study, Serve 

Taking the Sermon Into Our Week 

Scripture of the Week: 1 Kings 19:1-18

From the Sermon:

Elijah is literally ____________________________.

God was not just providing food but __________________________ as well.

For 40 days and 40 nights Elijah  walked to _______________________.

But instead of answering Elijah’s complaints, God gives a simple instruction - _____________________________________.

God wasn’t present in any of theses ___________________________.

Here, we find an invitation to listen in the quiet for the ________________________.

Reflection Questions:

Have you ever prayer a prayer of fear, frustration, or sorrow?

Are we really listening for the voice of God in our lives?

Is there something in our heart that is blocking us from hearing and responding to the call of God in this time and in this place?

Prayer:

Lord, strengthen me to stand in life and listen for your gentle voice. Humble me to not just be willing to listen, but also to respond. Amen. 

Devotional “Solomon’s Temple” - 1 Kings 5:1-5; 8:1-13

 

Monday: “Friend” - 1 Kings 5: 1-2 

It is really easy to read scriptures about times of war and peace and assume that there weren’t many friendships among kings. In fact, it would be easy to read some of the books in the Hebrew Scriptures and assume that everyone just wanted their own kingdoms to get ahead, no matter what the cost to other nations and people. 

This was even true within the very family of David, as his sons tried to outsmart one another in order to be the one who inherited the throne. Attacking one another. Spreading lies. Forming alliances. And trying to start wars that they could win. 

But there truly were friendships between Kings. And one of those Kings who was considered David to be a friend was Hiram of Tyre. As a friend of David, he probably had heard of all of the in-fighting in David’s family over the throne. And now he wanted to reach out to Solomon for the same support that he offered to David.

We live in a world where it is really easy to slip into mindsets where we put ourselves first or think that it is us vs. them. What could these brief sentences in this week’s scripture lesson be inviting us to instead?

Do you find it easy or difficult to form deep friendships? Why do you think that this is the case?

Prayer: God, we thank you for the friends we have in our lives. The true friends who we know will look after our family. True friends who reach out in support at all times. Lead us to be such. Friend in the lives of others, we pray. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Rest” - 1 Kings 5: 3-5

Solomon’s retelling of why his father David was unable to build a temple for God is not quite accurate from what we find elsewhere in scripture. However, that may not be his fault. I wonder what words his father had passed down to him about why he did not build the temple for the Lord himself. Did he tell him about how God had told him that he did not ask for a temple to be built at this time? Did he tell him about how the priest Nathan had given him a blessing only to revoke it? Or did he speak of their not being enough peace in the land to build?

Solomon attributed it to God’s timing to build because he had rest from his enemies, but this could have just been a sign that Solomon could understand. Often when God asks us to do large things for the Kingdom we, too, look for signs that we can understand.  

What signs from God do you look for in discernment?

Prayer: Lord, we confess that sometimes we can only see things through our human perceptions. At times we understand; at other times we do not. Allow us to receive signs from you that we accurately discern so we can be in line with your will. Amen. 

Wednesday: “Dedication” - 1 Kings 8: 1-4

We often throw around the word “dedicated” today, usually in reference to a position. They are dedicated to their job. They are dedicated to their family. They are dedicated to serving. But when we use the word dedication in that particular manner it makes it appear as if we are doing all of the work. As if it is by our efforts that we are pouring ourselves out for someone or something. 

But in the church, when we use the dedicated, it’s not about our power and will. Hannah dedicated Samuel to service in the temple. Solomon dedicated the temple unto God. These aren’t just simple words that are prayed over a person or thing. Nor do the represent that which we do as human beings. 

Instead, this sort of dedication is being set apart for service as God sees fit. It is not in our control or timing. Rather it is a stance of submission - Lord, do as you will. Which version of the word dedication resonates more with your spirit and what invitation are you sensing from the Lord within this word?

What have you dedicated unto the Lord?

Prayer: Lord, today we ask for the strength to let go of that which is not in our control. As we turn to dedicate that which you desire for the work of your Kingdom, may we not do so with clenched fists, but instead with open hearts. Use what we offer as you see fit. Amen. 

Thursday: “Gathered” - 1 Kings 8: 5-6

One things that can help us keep ourselves in check is a community of faith. The people of Israel gathered together not to bear witness to what Solomon has done, but instead to lift hight what God had done. The celebration became, yes, a time to dedicate the temple, but even more importantly, a time to declare God’s faithfulness throughout the ages. 

The reverse can also be true, however. Sometimes when a community, even a community of faith, is not rooted in discernment, it easy to let that community lead us astray from what God requires of us. 

Therefore, we must make sure that our faith community is comprised of those who put the will of God above their own desires. 

Who is part of your community that helps you remain focused on following God?

Prayer: Lord, help us to find people in our lives who are full of wisdom and discernment. People centered on prayer. People who seek after you. Amen. 

Friday: “Glory of the Lord” - 1 Kings 8: 7-13

  The glory of the Lord showed up on that day of dedication in a big way. We are told that a cloud so thick filled that place that the priest were unable to go about doing their jobs. But it is notable that the glory of the Lord showed up in a way that the people of Israel could understand - for it was a pillar of cloud that God used to lead them so long ago. 

What does God need to do in order to get your attention? Can you think of something you know that God has been calling you to do, but that you have been ignoring or avoiding? How has God continued to show you this call and not let you go? How are you going to respond?

What does God need to do in order to get your attention?

Prayer: Lord, do whatever it takes, we pray, to get our attention. Let us no longer run away or make excuses. Instead, let us seek your glory, we pray. Amen. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “God Speaks to Elijah” - 1 Kings 19:1-18