In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen!
As you begin your time of devotion, today, I invite you to take a minute or two to click the link below and watch the video below and settle your heart and focus your mind on the Lord. Feel free to watch as much or as little of the video as you want.
Today’s Devotional Message from Pastor Kurt:
Next, let’s spend some time in prayer.
Heavenly Father,
The world is full of sin and its horrible effects. Lord, be with those who have lost children. Comfort them and give them the hope of Jesus’ resurrection. Help us to push back against the atrocities of sin committed every day, but also stand secure in the hope of Your return when there will be no sin and no death.
(Take this time to pray whatever is on your heart.)
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.
Amen
Listen to today’s carol to conclude your devotional time.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen!
As you begin your time of devotion, today, I invite you to take a minute or two to click the link below and watch the video below and settle your heart and focus your mind on the Lord. Feel free to watch as much or as little of the video as you want.
Today’s Devotional Message from Pastor Kurt:
Next, let’s spend some time in prayer.
Heavenly Father,
Before Jesus, my heart was cold and stony because of my sin. Yet, through Jesus and Your Spirit, You have given me a new heart that is flesh. I am alive in Christ. Thank You for the new life I have in You. Help me to give my heart to You each and every day. Help me to praise You like the angels in joyful song and also worship You and ponder You in my heart like Mary.
(Take this time to pray whatever is on your heart.)
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.
Amen
Listen to today’s carol to conclude your devotional time.
There are a few different versions, including one modern adaptation. So, I thought I’d share a few.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen!
As you begin your time of devotion, today, I invite you to take a minute or two to click the link below and watch the video below and settle your heart and focus your mind on the Lord. Feel free to watch as much or as little of the video as you want.
Today’s Devotional Message from Pastor Kurt:
Next, let’s spend some time in prayer.
Heavenly Father,
You sent Your Son into the world to reconcile us. By our sinful nature, we were estranged from You, our relationship with You broken. Yet, You sacrificed everything to fix that relationship and even call us sons and daughters, making that little baby in the manger our brother and calling us friends. Thank You.
Help me to have a closer and closer relationship with You each day of my life.
(Take this time to pray whatever is on your heart.)
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.
Amen
Listen to today’s carol to conclude your devotional time.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen!
As you begin your time of devotion, today, I invite you to take a minute or two to click the link below and watch the video below and settle your heart and focus your mind on the Lord. Feel free to watch as much or as little of the video as you want.
Today’s Devotional Message from Pastor Kurt:
Next, let’s spend some time in prayer.
Heavenly Father,
It must have been so exciting to hear the angels singing and go see Jesus in the manger. Today, it is still exciting. I praise the name of Jesus our King. May I always praise His name and tell the people around me about Him.
(Take this time to pray whatever is on your heart.)
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.
Amen
Listen to today’s carol to conclude your devotional time.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen!
As you begin your time of devotion, today, I invite you to take a minute or two to click the link below and watch the video below and settle your heart and focus your mind on the Lord. Feel free to watch as much or as little of the video as you want.
Today’s Devotional Message from Pastor Kurt:
Next, let’s spend some time in prayer.
Heavenly Father,
You have sent Your Son to us, to dwell among us. He is Jesus, our savior. Thank You for caring so much for us that You are willing to come to us in all our messiness and sinfulness. Thank You for saving us.
As I go through this Christmas season, help me to always remember that not only is Jesus the reason for the season, but Jesus came to die for my sins and rise again. May the manger always lead me to the cross and the empty tomb.
(Take this time to pray whatever is on your heart.)
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.
Amen
Listen to today’s carol to conclude your devotional time.
Advent is coming soon, Begins November 28 and Christmas is right behind it. There have been a lot of great hymns and songs written over the years for these seasons.
Do you have any favorite hymns or songs that you would like to sing during Advent or Christmas?
Let me know.
Send me your hymn and song requests through the Contact Us form.
“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.’” – Luke 2:8-11
Is Christmas for everyone?
Certainly, these days, everyone can celebrate Christmas in one way or another. I was listening to a panel of people discussing Christmas in America both past and present the other day. One of the panelists was an Orthodox Jew. He said he has several Jewish friends whose families enjoy Christmas every year. They like the lights, family time, gifts, etc.
So, everyone can enjoy Christmas in one sense, but of course, this isn’t the real Christmas. It’s missing both the Christ and the mass (worship service with Communion).
Is that Christmas, the real Christmas, for everyone?
Since Christmas is all about the coming of Jesus, the other way to ask that question is,
“Did Jesus come for everyone?”
In Luke 2:8-11 we hear the angels proclaim that they have “good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” Jesus did, indeed come to bring good news and great joy for all people, but that good news which brings great joy is tied inexorably to Jesus.
The Good News is that Jesus, our savior, has come. The great joy is in our salvation. That salvation is available for all people, yet only received by faith in Jesus.
For those who do not believe, the joy they feel on Christmas morning for time with family, gifts, and “the wonder of Christmas” will one day, sadly, turn to sorrow. For, in the midst of all the gifts of iPads, PlayStations, and toys, they missed the best gift of all, the gift of Jesus and His salvation.
Good News and Great Joy I pray you do have great joy this Christmas and I pray it’s found in the Good News of Jesus Christ, whose death and resurrection brings our salvation. I also pray that this year, many who haven’t believed in Jesus in the past will discover the true “wonder of Christmas” this year, a babe lying in a manger who is the salvation of all mankind for all who believe.
Dear Jesus,
As we celebrate Christmas, tomorrow, fill my heart with the Joy of my salvation found only in You. Give me faith to believe. Please also be with those throughout the world who do not believe. Cause Your Gospel to be shared, the Good News of Your Salvation and work in their hearts to create faith that they may know true Joy which will never fade.
Serving God's Plan...Even If They Don't Realize It
“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. So Joseph went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.” – Luke 2:1, 4-5
In what ways do you endeavor to serve God and His plans?
Christians all over the world desire to serve God and His plans. We do this in a variety of ways. We may pray, serve others, share the Gospel, or forgive instead of seeking revenge. You can probably fill in a few others.
Sometimes we can get the idea that if we don’t do something, then God’s plan will be thwarted as if God’s plans are contingent on whether we get off our couch to serve someone or find the courage to share the Gospel.
Are God’s plans so unreliable to rely on us…who tend to be unreliable?
Would God leave someone’s eternal destiny solely up to us? Is He up in heaven saying, “Well, I would have saved Sam, if only Tom had shared the Gospel with him. Oh well.”
Yes, God does include us in His plans, but, no, His plans aren’t unreliable.
God knows what we will do and what we won’t. God’s plans don’t “hope” on us, He knows. In fact, He knows even when we don’t. This means He can not only include His followers in His plans, but also those who live in rebellion against Him.
Serving Unaware We see a great example of this in our passage for today. Caesar Augustus wasn’t some faithful leader who desired to serve God. Yet, he did serve God’s plan. It was God’s plan from long ago that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. Though he was unaware of that, Caesar Augustus facilitated it. It was his decree for a census to take place which caused Mary and Joseph to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem so that Jesus would be born there.
How amazing is that?!
How often do we serve God’s plans while being completely unaware?
The problem we have with trying to serve God’s plans of our own accord is that we don’t usually know what His plans are. So, we spend a lot of time and energy trying to figure out God’s plans so we can do our part. Unfortunately, we aren’t very good at that.
There are times when God may give you a sense of His plans. The Holy Spirit may nudge you to do something or you may prayerfully receive an idea of what God intends. However, there are many other times when God simply doesn’t tell us and that’s okay.
Our job isn’t to devise God’s plans and carry them out. Our job is to love God and serve our neighbor. We don’t have to understand the full context of what God is doing, we can simply love Him and serve our neighbor and trust that God is working through it according to His good and perfect plan.
Heavenly Father,
Seeing how Caesar Augustus served unaware in Your plan of salvation, I marvel to think of the ways You have included me in Your plans. Help me to love You and serve my neighbor and then rest in Your wisdom and trust that You will do amazing things through me, even if I never know what those things are.
This week is Christmas. Because of this, we are doing a few things differently for our Thursday prayers.
The Time of the Prayers: Since our time of prayer would normally be right when a lot of people will be attending Christmas Eve worship, we are simply going to post the video of the prayers on Thursday morning instead of having a live-stream in the evening. You can start the video and join the prayers whenever you would like.
Prayer Requests: We will also still be including your prayer requests. Please submit your prayer requests through our Contact Us form by noon on Wednesday.