Episodes
Saturday Dec 18, 2021
Lectionary Readings for Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year C
Saturday Dec 18, 2021
Saturday Dec 18, 2021
December 19, 2021
Old Testament: Micah 5:2-5a
Psalter: Luke 1:46b-55
Epistle Lesson: Hebrews 10:5-10
Gospel Lesson: Luke 1:39-45
Scripture quotations from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
S.D.G.
Monday Dec 13, 2021
S6E29: Do (Prepare the Way pt. 3)
Monday Dec 13, 2021
Monday Dec 13, 2021
Sermon #313
Often when we respond to God's invitation of a relationship with Him, our first response to all that God has done for us is: What can I do? Sometimes when we feel a sense of obligation, the question becomes: What do I have to do? These are both questions that the people of Judea - both Jew and Gentile, religious and apostate - brought to John the Baptist in the wilderness. On this third Sunday of Advent, we also look at the joy we celebrate when we consider all that God has done, all that he is doing, and all that he will do for us in the future.
Text: Zephaniah 3:14-20 & Luke 3:7-18
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on December 16, 2018 (Originally published December 19, 2018)
S.D.G.
Sunday Dec 12, 2021
Lectionary Readings for Third Sunday of Advent, Year C
Sunday Dec 12, 2021
Sunday Dec 12, 2021
December 12, 2021
Old Testament: Zephaniah 3:14-20
Psalter: Isaiah 12:2-6
Epistle Lesson: Philippians 4:4-7
Gospel Lesson: Luke 3:7-18
Scripture quotations from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
S.D.G.
Friday Dec 10, 2021
S3E19: Are We Ready? (Advent 2015)
Friday Dec 10, 2021
Friday Dec 10, 2021
Sermon #143
On this second Sunday in Advent, we come to the person of John the Baptist, who is preaching a baptism of repentance. His coming was foretold by the prophet Isaiah and those prophetic words were repeated in all four gospels. He is the voice crying out in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord. In today's message, we see how John's words echo across the centuries to today, and how we can apply them in our lives. So the question for us today is not whether Christ will come again, but rather, are we preparing the way for his coming? So grab your Bible, turn it to Luke chapter 3, and prepare your heart and mind as we ask the question, Are we ready?
Luke 3:1-6
S.D.G.
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on December 6, 2015 (Originally pulished December 21, 2015)
Monday Dec 06, 2021
S6E26: Refine (Prepare the Way pt. 2)
Monday Dec 06, 2021
Monday Dec 06, 2021
Sermon #312
The process of refining is destructive. It involves heating to the melting point, skimming off the impurities that rise to the surface, and discarding the unwanted, keeping only the pure metal. When metal like gold or silver is refined, it does not seek to reincorporate those impurites back into itself; yet we, in our sinful nature, demonstrate a desire to reacquire those sins that the Holy Spirit removes from us by way of sanctification. In this season of Advent we need to allow the Holy Spirit to refine us, to prepare the way for the Lord to enter into our hearts and lives.
Text: Malachi 3:1-4 and Luke 3:1-6
Recorded at Hudson UMC on December 9, 2018 (Originally published December 10, 2018)
S.D.G.
Sunday Dec 05, 2021
Lectionary Readings for Second Sunday of Advent, Year C
Sunday Dec 05, 2021
Sunday Dec 05, 2021
December 5, 2021
Old Testament: Malachi 3:1-4
Psalter: Luke 1:68-79
Epistle Lesson: Philippians 1:3-11
Gospel Lesson: Luke 3:1-6
Scripture quotations from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
S.D.G.
Wednesday Dec 01, 2021
S3E19: The Ebnd of All Things (Advent 2015)
Wednesday Dec 01, 2021
Wednesday Dec 01, 2021
Sermon #142
The word "Advent" comes from a Latin word that means "to draw near." That is what we are doing with the Advent season, drawing near to the coming of Christ. But as most of us associate Advent with the first coming of Christ, perhaps the more important focus of the Advent season is the anticipation of Christ's return. While we don't cower in shadows or hide in sanctuaries impatiently awaiting the second coming of Christ, we are to live our lives prepared for when he does come - and the words of Jesus today in Luke's gospel advise us to do just that. So as we begin a new liturgical year, let us also draw near in anticipation to the return of Christ. So grab your Bible, turn it to Luke chapter 21, and prepare your heart and mind as we consider Christ's return and the end of all things.
Luke 21:25-36
Recorded at Hudson UMC on November 29, 2015 (Originally published November 30, 2015)
S.D.G.