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On the Road with Jesus: Week 5

The Budding Fig Tree

Where is this parable? Matthew 24:32-35

Like a lot of people, I am now working from home. After 7 hours sitting in front of my computer working on spreadsheets, emails, documents, etc., I decided to take a break. I headed outside to my backyard and take a seat upon a rock ledge that overlooks a pond that sits behind our house. Looking at the reflection on the pond I can see blue skies spotted with white and gray clouds, I can see trees opening their purple and white blossoms and trees with green leaves as they come out of their winter sleep and bring us into Spring. I see the ripples in the water as a frog jumps in or where fish and turtles come back up to find a snack or get fresh air.

Closing my eyes and breathing in fresh air, I focus on sounds. I hear all sorts of birds singing, a dog in the distance barking, kids playing somewhere close by and the sound of cars traveling a nearby road. As I sit here, I am in awe of what all God has created. The seasons, the animals, the water, earth and sky. I am also in awe of how we are created. Our ability to see, to hear, to smell, to touch, and to love. Each day is a new day to stop and just see what God has created and to take it in.

As I sit here at my computer, I know that many are tired of cooking, entertaining small kids, and trying to figure out this new virtual way of life. But stop and think for minute, has it made you slow down, made you take a walk around the block to get fresh air, has it made you play games and share laughter with your family, has it instilled a new meaning of Family Dinner at the Table? This virus will eventually let up and things will go back to normal, but will it be a new normal? What lessons will we learn from this?

Matthew 24:32-35 tells us to learn a lesson from the fig tree, when it leaves come out, summer is near. As we approach Holy Week, we know what is near! But do we focus on the journey to the cross and stop there, do we focus on the crucifixion and stop there, or do we keep journeying with our eyes on the prize – the Risen King.

Take a moment this week and just sit, be still, close your eyes and listen for God in the sounds around you. Make an extra effort to find the good in the small things and learn more about your hearts yearnings.

Prayers of health and peace.

Toni Palmer, Youth Leader
Forest Park Christian Church, Tulsa

Michael Davison2020-04-01T15:50:50-05:00Apr 1, 2020|Michael Davison Blog|Comments Off

On the Road with Jesus: Week 4

BE A GOOD SAMARITAN

Where is this parable? Luke 10:25-37

Today while thinking about what Parable I wanted to write about, my thoughts turn to the Parable of the Good Samaritan. At this very moment, the world is struggling to get a handle on the COVID-19 virus. Store shelves are empty of the daily essentials that we are accustomed too being able to pick up at our leisure, I’ve heard stories of people walking by others carts and stealing products as you turn away to look for something on the shelves. The ability to go to church on Sundays to see our extended families, have communion, or hold our normal youth meetings is even on hold. We’ve been asked to practice social distancing, work from home, or to shelter in place to stop the spread of this virus. School age kids are being affected with the cancellation of school, sporting events, proms, and possibly graduations. It is a stressful time for all of us.

So, how, at this moment, can we practice being Good Samaritans? It may be challenging, but it’s still doable, it just may look a little different right now.

The first place to start is with prayer. We can practice being good Samaritans by praying for everyone, giving thanks for first responders, doctors, nurses, and those that have no option but to continue to go to work because the public depends on them. By praying for the grocery workers that hear the stress from customers as food shelves empty faster than they can stock them. By praying for the delivery workers that are transporting various goods to stores or for those that are new delivery drivers just trying to make a living delivering meals while our restaurants are all closed. Pray for their strength and health and mental well-being. Pray for the healing of this great planet and everyone in it. Pray for calm in this chaos.

Then once you have finished praying, challenge yourself to reach out to others. Get your phone out and send a text or call a few of your friends and simply ask them how they are doing and then listening to their response. Check on the elderly and the youth that you know. Find creative ways to connect with groups you normally see weekly through group chats, video conferencing, or a conference call.

Be the Good Samaritan in the scripture, stop and take a moment to take care of each other, to just check in, be a listener, offer encouragement and mostly a smile. Together, we can get through this and look forward to meeting at the Cross come Easter Morning, even if we must do it virtually!

Toni Palmer, Youth Leader
Forest Park Christian Church, Tulsa

Michael Davison2020-03-24T07:15:16-05:00Mar 24, 2020|Michael Davison Blog|Comments Off

On the Road with Jesus: Week 3

Persistence Pays?

Where is the parable? Luke 11.5-8

My husband and I don’t have children, but we do have cats. Over our 15 years of marriage we have had seven cats total. Although each of them had their own distinct personality, they all had one thing in common: they knew how to wake us up in the morning. No matter what their past life was like, they all knew that purring very loudly and/or licking our faces would get us out of bed. And they were persistent…and I can’t confirm it, but I would swear that sometimes they would organize a cat tag-team so that they could rest up between rounds of “wake the human.” And we love these creatures. We really do. They bring us joy and comfort. They entertain us. They help us practice patience. They keep us warm in the winter. They are sweet when they want to be! We don’t get up because we love them—this all usually happens at 4 a.m., just a few hours before our alarm was set to go off. We get up because they are persistent and we JUST WANT THEM TO STOP! We are human and they are animals. We love one another, but none of us are God. God loves us in ways that we can’t imagine. Take the way you love your children, your pets, your family, and multiply that by infinity +1. That is the measure of God’s love for us. And though the friend in this parable gives just so the person will go away, Jesus wants us to know that God will go even further—attending to humanity and providing out of love. If flawed and imperfect humans will give to one another, what more will God provide? How can we show others this generous God this Lent?

Rev. Shannon Cook
First Christian Church Norman

Covid-19: School’s Out

As families and congregations consider how they will interact with people in the coming weeks, click here for a good resource from our denomination’s Ministries Across Generations which is based out of Disciples Home Mission in Indianapolis. These are wonderful opportunities to connect with Disciples across the country dealing with the same issues that we are dealing with in Oklahoma. How will we be church during this time and how will help our neighbors through this uncertain time?

Rev. Michael Davison
Christian Church in Oklahoma

Well, isn’t that special!?!

“The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’
(Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011)

I am a child of the eighties. I grew up in an era of rampant capitalism. Ronald Reagan and George H W Bush were the presidents. It seemed that the world was after one thing, money. Everytime you turned on the news, tv shows, or movies it was about doing what was the best for you. The term Yuppie was coined for young urban professionals. Business jobs were the best jobs to have, according to the world. The Wall Street Journal reported the recession ended in 1982 and everything was going to be great. One of the most popular sitcoms was “Family Ties” which starred Michael J. Fox as Alex P. Keaton. He played a high school student that was going to be a businessman, and everything he did was to reach that goal. Then there was “Saturday Night Live” and Dana Carvey’s character “The Church Lady”.

Once a week she came into our homes, with her smugness, high pitched voice, and her catch phrase “Well, isn’t that special”, not to mention her dancing, but that is a devotion for another time. At the time I just took it as a funny bit. Sometime in the last few months when I couldn’t sleep I went back and watched those skits over again on YouTube. Being older, I was able to realize the actual satire that was underneath the surface. When I read this parable I hear the Church Lady (in the form of the landowner) when the first workers complain about receiving the same pay as the last workers. The workers may not have thought it was fair, but the landowner had every right to be equitable to his workers, and thank the Most High he did. Don’t get me wrong, we need to work, if we can, to live, but this is not what this story is about. It is about generosity and grace.

The generous gift of grace that was given to us upon the cross, is the same generosity that happened in this story. The same grace is afforded to us, as was that person on the cross next to Jesus. That grace that is given is a wonderful form of unconditional love that the Holy One has for us and everything in creation. On our walk to Golgotha with our Christ let us remember that catch phrase and turn it from satire to a beautiful new meaning. “Well, isn’t that special. Yes, Yes! It is!”

Travis Carlson
First Christian Church Chickasha

Michael Davison2020-03-16T10:34:39-05:00Mar 16, 2020|Michael Davison Blog|Comments Off

On the Road with Jesus: Week 2

We Are Family

Where is this parable? Luke 15.11-32

The parable of the prodigal son is a familiar one to most of us. A father has two sons. One requests his inheritance early, squanders it, and returns home begging to be welcomed back. He is welcomed back, and he is received with a party! The other son, who stayed home, worked tirelessly for his father, takes issue with the way his brother was celebrated upon his return—after living wildly and dangerously, using up all of his inheritance. The father responds by saying that they had to rejoice upon the brother’s return, for he was lost and has been found. How many of us have compared ourselves to the two brothers in this story? It seems easy to try to fit ourselves into the category of “good child” or “wild child.” But what about the father? How many times have we seen ourselves in the role of the father, receiving a lost one with open arms? For me, forgiveness is difficult. For me, being merciful to those who have treated me with disrespect or outright cruelty is difficult. The father, though, paints a different picture of how things might be in these situations. The father shows us how God sees humanity. God sees claims us as beloved even when we have gone astray. God celebrates when we return to the holy and sacred, never holding our transgressions against us. How might we reflect this grace and mercy in our own lives? How might we grow to understand the difficult routes some lives have taken and be gracious when the “lost” return home, asking for forgiveness? We are not God, that’s for sure. But we do have opportunity after opportunity to, with our words and actions, point toward a loving and compassionate God that sees humanity, God’s children, all people, as worthy, valuable, and beloved.

Rev. Shannon Cook, Minister of Faith Development
First Christian Church Norman

Found

Where is this parable? Luke 15:8-10

The Parable of the Lost Coin is a story about a woman who has lost one of her ten coins. Rather than sulk about it or just be content with the fact that she has lost it, she realizes that she must do something in order to locate it. She began to clean her home, looking for the coin as she went as the cleansing made it easier for her to access certain places. When she finally found it she rejoiced, celebrating by letting each of her friends and family know of her achievement. This can be compared to the attitude God shows towards sinners. When any of His children repents to Him and asks forgiveness for their sins, he rejoices. He is delighted at our initiative to restore our own faith through Him, and grows a love for us bigger than He had before.

This story teaches followers of Christ as well as non-believers that no matter what you have done or how long ago, it is better to take the time to admit the wrongs that have been committed than ignore them and hope for the best. The hardest part of this for me personally, is admitting that I am wrong in the first place. I always hold myself to such a high standard and sometimes even have a mindset that I haven’t done anything wrong at all, which makes it hard for me to accept that I do indeed need to take a step back sometimes and think about the affects my actions caused. I am in no way perfect and God knows that, but I also know that I am still just as loved as before I made my mistake. Knowing His unconditional love exists and that He rejoices at the fact that I do ask forgiveness makes it so much easier to repent, and it truly makes it so much easier to follow Jesus knowing I will not be cast down.

Trinity Towel, Central Christian Church Fairview

Yeast or TikTok

Where is this parable? Matthew 13:33

So, this is the shortest parable that is contributed to Jesus. Why is it so short? What does it mean? These are the questions that come to my mind. So let us take them one by one. Let us look deeper into this short story.

Why is it so short? We live in a time of convenience and immediateness. When driving directions appear on our phones in a matter of seconds. Whole meals can be prepared in under five minutes. We can see the news happening around the world as it takes place. We can travel from Dallas to Washington DC in the time it takes to bake a loaf of bread. We live in an age of wonder.

So, a parable this short should be perfect for us. I believe that he was trying to get a point across in a short amount of time, so he chose something that everybody knew and understood. Simple really: flour, yeast, water and you get bread. So easy fifth graders could understand, right? Nope, I asked one of my fifth grade classes what yeast and leavening was and only one person was able to tell me, but I asked them how to post on TikTok and everybody was able to answer in under thirty seconds.

Jesus chose, like every good teacher, to meet the people where they were with the knowledge they had. When we explain this story to the people of today, we need to do the same. How we do that is mixed up in the situation that we find those people. In other words we are the yeast, the knowledge that has been passed on to us. We must be that leavening that is mixed into that three-fourths of flour and do our part of spreading these teachings to the rest of God’s children.

On your journey to the cross in this time of Lent, please take the time and meet people where and when they are. Tell your story and when we (collectively) take the time and build that relationship that is the meaning of this parable.

Travis Carlson, First Christian Church Chickasha

Michael Davison2020-03-09T12:50:30-05:00Mar 9, 2020|Michael Davison Blog, Youth|Comments Off

One the Road with Jesus: Week 1

The Lamp Under a Bushel: Intentional Shining

Where is this parable? Matthew 5:14-15, Mark 4: 21-25, Luke 8:16-18

What does being “the light of the world” mean to you?

It’s pretty clear that everyone on this earth is unique. There are no two people who are exactly alike and that is exactly what God intended. God has given all of us a specific talent, a light. It could be a variety of different things. From being the best pianist in your town to just being able to talk to and relate to others. Whatever your light may be, it was given to all of us for the same reason. To be a beacon for God’s good word and compassion.

How can we be beacons for God’s love and teachings?

“Intentional shining” is a term I really like to use for these instances. To me, it means to use your God-given gift in a positive and purposeful way. We should all be using our own unique light to shine with the purpose of intentionally bringing light to God and His love. We are all lamps that have been lit by God himself for a purpose and none of us were lit for the intention of being hidden away. God knows His plan for us and it is good. Just as no one would light a lamp and then hide the lamp away, God doesn’t strike a fire of passion in our souls and then wish for us to conceal ourselves from the world.

I encourage everyone to think about their God-given “light” this Lent season and ponder in what ways you could use this gift for the betterment of your own life and the lives of others. For no one lights a lamp and then hides it under a bushel. They place it on a stand so that the whole house can bask in its glory and take advantage of its gifts.

Lillie Oberlender, First Christian Church Chickasha

Pearls of Glory

Where is this parable? Matthew 13:45-46

The Parable of the Pearl is by far one of the most widely known parables with an amazing message, but yet also one of the least followed in this day and age due to its difficulty. It teaches about the importance of giving up the materialistic items of our world with everlasting glory as a promise of return. In our modern-day society, this parable can be one of the most challenging aspects of the gospel. As a teenager living in the twenty-first century, I can say from my own experience that status, wealth, and brand can be one of the main contributing factors to acceptance. I would say that is the most challenging part for not only me, but as well as my close peers and acquaintances. It can be very hard growing up in a society that values what you own over what you have to say, especially when everything around us is spread so easily through social media. Everyone is so quick to judge which phone you have, the car you drive, and the clothes you wear. This parable, however, reminds us to remain humble and value our time with God over everything else. It reminds us to trust in God’s word and remember that it is he who is giving us eternal life, not our earthly objects. Despite the challenges of something that can sometimes seem so foreign and unknown, the Lord constantly reminds us of how much he loves us. He is willing to give us the greatest gift of all, even if we do sometimes find it hard to comply with his wishes.

Trinity Towel, Central Christian Church Fairview

Lent . . .

is one of my favorite seasons in the church year. I know that sounds a little weird but I like the time it allows to refocus our thoughts and desires away from ourselves and back on our Creator. Often people do that by giving up something. Through this sacrifice, we come to understand a little better the sacrifice that Jesus gave up for us. However, even though giving up chocolate or cokes can be difficult, I don’t think is even compares to giving up one’s life for someone else. In recent years I have tried adding something to my life to be more like Jesus. Maybe by walking a mile a day or writing a card of encouragement I can be more like God would like me. This year however will be different. I am going to spend time in quiet, in my prayer chair (which was my Grandma Atkinson’s) and spend time reconnect to God. Hopefully I can quiet my soul and my heart can be more inline with God.

Take delight in the Lord,
and the Lord will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4

This doesn’t mean that we will get everything we want, but as we spend time with God our desires will become more like His! That is my prayer this Lent: Lord, make my desires your desires! Amen

Pastor Tara Dew, Associate Minister First Christian Church El Reno
Mother of two amazing boys, wife of Curtis, friend to many, and follower of Jesus Christ.

Michael Davison2020-03-02T10:29:46-06:00Mar 2, 2020|Michael Davison Blog, Youth|1 Comment

Do you expect to be different at the end of lent?

What will you do during Lent to help you touch the image of God that lives inside you?

How will you be different after Lent?

Your social media may have already brought the suggestions about fasting from Pope Francis to your attention. If so, and if not, they remain good suggestions this election year Lenten season, or any season of life, as you journey with Jesus toward Jerusalem.

It has been a long, long time since I fasted with a religious purpose as the motivation. And when I did I joined my friend for a week of his journey through Ramadan. It was challenging. It put me in touch with the hungry in our community and their daily struggle.

For many, physical hunger is not seasonal. Our youth groups and congregations do their part to raise awareness, to organize, and serve the hungry in their communities. Here is a short list of what I know you are doing: Kid’s Cafe, Regional Food Bank, Enid Welcome Table, Friendship Feast, Community Meals, Food Backpacks for Kids, and Snack-Packs. No doubt there are many other ways Disciples in Oklahoma serve the hungry. But, it is hard to fast from the systems that create the need for charity. Maybe lent is about changing the systems of the world by changing ourselves.

Do you expect that you will be different after Lent this year?

Michael Davison2020-03-02T08:55:46-06:00Mar 2, 2020|Michael Davison Blog|Comments Off

On the Road with Jesus: lent 2020

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”(1)

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent. It is a day when many Christians remember we are all equal in the end. You are dust and to dust you shall return. The story about Jesus has tumbled through time as if we climbed aboard Bill and Ted’s phone booth time machine(2), and followed Jesus from birth to young adult. Pause, and think about the speed of the story we journey through each year.

Advent’s waiting, candles, magnificat, and wading into hope, peace, joy, and love led shepherds, and some of us, to a manger.

Some of us journeyed with the Magi from far away places in our lives searching for a person, this child, hoping that the epiphany of his presence could help us change our stars. And when two paths diverged did you take the one less traveled?

Still, some of us fled with Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. Fled from bad situations. Fled from feelings to strong to deal with. Fled from our mistakes, from our neighbors, or fled from ourselves dropping our compass along the way. Through this migration Jesus has grown. During the season of Epiphany we meet him in young adulthood. The once refugee now welcomes as he has been welcomed in a land occupied and yet still home. This Jesus of Nazareth emerges from the desert to hand us a compass he picked up on his journey. He is ready to help disciples recalibrate their moral compass with his teaching and by an example he set.

The parables can be effective tools to recalibrate your compass. These little teaching stories, the ones that scholars think are authentic to Jesus and those attributed to his unofficial biographers, these teaching stories may be the best way to test out your beliefs and practice the way of Jesus against the backdrop of our historical context. Arguably, it’s always been that way. You have heard it was said in ancient times that a little child would lead them, well I say to you that our youth are leading us.

Our Regional Youth Council is blogging for lent this year, and once again will turn their attention to the parables of Jesus. (See a complete list of the parables below.) I asked them to pick two parables: a favorite and one that challenges them. The assignment: create a devotion about those parables. Devotions will be posted on Monday morning of each week in Lent and will continue to the Monday of Holy Week.

Join us on the road with Jesus.

Parables of Jesus

According the the work of the Jesus Seminar, these five parables are probably original to Jesus.(3)

Leven [Matt 13.33b, Luke 13:20b-21]
Good Samaritan [Luke 10:30-37]
Dishonest Steward [Luke 16:1-9]
Vineyard Laborers [Matthew 20:1=15]
Mustard Seed [Matthew 13:31b-32 / Mark 4:31-32 / Luke 13:19]

And here is a list of all the parables.

The Growing Seed: Mark 4:26–29
The Two Debtors: Luke 7:41–43
The Lamp under a Bushel: Matthew 5:14–15, Mark 4:21–25, Luke 8:16–18
Parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10:25–37
The Friend at Night: Luke 11:5–8
The Rich Fool: Luke 12:16–21
The Wise and the Foolish Builders: Matthew 7:24–27, Luke 6:46–49
New Wine into Old Wineskins: Matthew 9:17–17, Mark 2:21–22, Luke 5:37–39
Parable of the Strong Man: Matthew 12:29–29, Mark 3:27–27, Luke 11:21–22
Parable of the Sower: Matthew 13:3–9, Mark 4:3–9, Luke 8:5–8
The Tares: Matthew 13:24–30
The Barren Fig Tree: Luke 13:6–9
Parable of the Mustard Seed: Matthew 13:31–32, Mark 4:30–32, Luke 13:18–19
Leaven: Matthew 13:33–33, Luke 13:20–21
Parable of the Pearl: Matthew 13:45–46
Drawing in the Net: Matthew 13:47–50
The Hidden Treasure: Matthew 13:44–44
Counting the Cost: Luke 14:28–33
The Lost Sheep frequently called The Good Shepherd: Matthew 18:10–14, Luke 15:4–6
The Unforgiving Servant: Matthew 18:23–35
The Lost Coin: Luke 15:8–9
Parable of the Prodigal Son: Luke 15:11–32
The Unjust Steward: Luke 16:1–13
Rich man and Lazarus: Luke 16:19–31
The Master and Servant: Luke 17:7–10
The Unjust Judge: Luke 18:1–9
Pharisees and the Publican: Luke 18:10–14
The Workers in the Vineyard: Matthew 20:1–16
The Two Sons: Matthew 21:28–32
The Wicked Husbandmen: Matthew 21:33–41, Mark 12:1–9, Luke 20:9–16
The Great Banquet: Matthew 22:1–14, Luke 14:15–24
The Budding Fig Tree: Matthew 24:32–35, Mark 13:28–31, Luke 21:29–33
The Faithful Servant: Matthew 24:42–51, Mark 13:34–37, Luke 12:35–48
The Ten Virgins: Matthew 25:1–13
The Talents or Minas: Matthew 25:14–30, Luke 19:12–27
The Sheep and the Goats: Matthew 25:31–46
Parable of the Wedding Feast: Luke 14:7–14

—

Notes
1. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, 1986.

2. Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, 1989.

3. Funk, Robert, et al. The Parables of Jesus: A Report of the Jesus Seminar. Polebridge Press, 1988.

Michael Davison2020-02-24T08:21:51-06:00Feb 24, 2020|Michael Davison Blog|Comments Off

Blessed, bless-ed, blessing

“This will change your mind.”

How often is that true? Not very.

Changing a mind is difficult work. It won’t happen with a standard intervention, and it probably requires enrollment on the part of the person you’re engaging with as well.
(Seth Godin, Jan 30, 2020)

This gospel Lectionary text for this Sunday, Feb 2, is one of those that I think is a primer for understanding the person of Jesus and what following Jesus means.

The Regional Youth Council centered on the theme, “We are the Church” for 2020. The Beatitudes are a guide to what that can look like. It is a guide to what your youth group or congregation could be doing to be a blessing. We all, at some point during life, could add our name to the “blessed are” list. Does one resonate with you most?

And then, there is that old phrase, “blessed out or bless out.” This means to be scolded or sternly rebuked. Growing up, my grandmothers were known to bless out their grandchildren, yes me, from time to time. We never think of the beatitudes as being scolded, told off, or Jesus on a rant. A change in tone alters the blessing. Like the subtle southern way of insulting someone, “bless your heart . . . ”

So, be a blessing Disciples? Yes, be a blessing.

Michael Davison2020-02-03T11:59:43-06:00Feb 3, 2020|Michael Davison Blog|Comments Off

Epiphany Humility

Last year at this time I was in final prep mode counting down to the beginning of the first sabbatical of my vocation in ministry. Those days just before moved as methodically as the ball descending on New Year’s Eve in Times Square. One of the last things I did was attend staff meeting in January. During the devotion, Pam asked us to pull a piece of paper from a bowl and keep it with us during the year. EPIPHANY! I pulled the one pictured here.

I’ve kept that star on my desk and carried it in my backpack when on the road. It has been a reminder. I’m not sure how I’ve done with it, though, humbled I was this year with the gift of sabbatical time, with the well wishes, with the gift of a painting and guitar by campers this summer, and by those that did my work while I rested, read, and wrote. Humbled by my privilege and aware how few are gifted sabbatical or even time off. It is one of the things we don’t do well in our culture.

Humility (def): freedom from pride or arrogance.(1)

The Regional Youth Council was asked, “What should the Church be doing?” Their answers heavily require togetherness, covenant, and community. We are the Church when we nurture, listen, provide safe-space for hard conversation or stories, comfort, celebrate the Spirit of God and our rituals point to God instead of ourselves or our idols. We are the Church when we follow Jesus and his way of living. His way of meeting people. We are the Church when our outreach provides in tragedy or for life’s necessities, and our outreach also changes the systems that make charitable outreach necessary.

O, for a world where . . .

O, for a world when . . .

We are the Church/church. The kindom (empire) of God is already present, and not quite yet here or complete. How will you incarnate that kinship in 2020 as you follow Jesus?

Epiphany.

Michael Davison2021-06-24T13:38:12-05:00Jan 6, 2020|Michael Davison Blog|Comments Off

Make a list. Start early.

The Regional Youth Council invites you to join them on a journey to Bethlehem this Advent season by reading along with the Advent devotion they created. Click here to visit the Families & Youth webpage to download a copy.

As Thanksgiving gives way to the Advent season and Christmas I imagine that, like me, you have people to whom you want to offer a word of: gratitude, encouragement, grace, or vision.

Make a list. Start early. This time of year it seems like time speeds up and the calendar fills quickly. Set aside a time of day, each day, to do a card, note, video note, FB messenger, Instagram, whatever works best for you and those with whom you want to connect. And just begin. That fifteen or thirty minutes each day could be significant as you journey to see what God has made known to you.

I look forward to the ministry that is ours to do and gospel to be in 2020. May God continue to bless you.

Michael Davison2019-11-30T07:55:48-06:00Nov 30, 2019|Michael Davison Blog|Comments Off