God Knows #adventbookclub

•November 27, 2013 • Leave a Comment

Isaiah 40:27-41:1  (CEV)

The Lord Gives Strength

27 You people of Israel, say,
“God pays no attention to us!
    He doesn’t care if we
    are treated unjustly.”

But how can you say that?
28 Don’t you know?
    Haven’t you heard?
The Lord is the eternal God,
    Creator of the earth.
He never gets weary or tired;
his wisdom cannot be measured.

29 The Lord gives strength
    to those who are weary.
30 Even young people get tired,
    then stumble and fall.
31 But those who trust the Lord
    will find new strength.
They will be strong like eagles
    soaring upward on wings;
they will walk and run
    without getting tired.

The Lord Controls Human Events

41 Be silent and listen,
    every island in the sea.
Have courage and come near,
    every one of you nations.
Let’s settle this matter!

By Kevin Dooley

No one will see,
no one will know,
I can get away with this

God knows,
God sees,
God is watching over those
that you are cheating,
mistreating,
ignoring,
marginalizing.

So weary,
so tired,
exhausted by life.
Tripping,
falling,
no strength to go on.
How can I continue to put one foot in front of the other?
How will I ever finish this task?
How will I have the strength to rise up?
Where will my next meal come from?
Where can I get help?
Who cares?

God knows,
God sees,
God cares.
He knows who you are,
where you are,
how you are.
He sees your struggles,
feels your pain.

His strength will carry you.

He will raise you up,
when you have no strength
to do so for yourself.

Lift me up
Lord,
I pray.
May I soar on your wings,
fly in your strength,
walk in your power

However weary we come, however we are feeling, we come to God, he lifts us, he carries us, he journeys with us.

You Raise Me Up

Posted in Advent, Advent Book Club, bible, faith, God, hope, Religion, theology
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Preparartion #adventbookclub

•November 26, 2013 • 1 Comment

Isaiah 40:1-11 (CEV)

Encourage God’s People

40 Our God has said:

“Encourage my people!
    Give them comfort.
2 Speak kindly to Jerusalem
    and announce:
Your slavery is past;
    your punishment is over.
I, the Lord, made you pay
    double for your sins.”

By ESO/G. Hüdepohl (www.atacamaphoto.com) (http://www.eso.org/public/images/potw1336a/) [CC-BY-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

3 Someone is shouting:
“Clear a path in the desert!
    Make a straight road
    for the Lord our God.
4 Fill in the valleys;
flatten every hill
    and mountain.
Level the rough
    and rugged ground.
5 Then the glory of the Lord
    will appear for all to see.
The Lord has promised this!”

6 Someone told me to shout,
and I asked,
    “What should I shout?”
We humans are merely grass,
and we last no longer
    than wild flowers.

2013-04-07 14.22.23
7 At the Lord’s command,
flowers and grass disappear,
    and so do we.
8 Flowers and grass fade away,
but what our God has said
    will never change.

Your God Is Here!

9 There is good news
    for the city of Zion.
Shout it as loud as you can
    from the highest mountain.
Don’t be afraid to shout
to the towns of Judah,
    “Your God is here!”
10 Look! The powerful Lord God
is coming
to rule
    with his mighty arm.
He brings with him
what he has taken in war,
    and he rewards his people.
11 The Lord cares for his nation,
just as shepherds care
    for their flocks.


He carries the lambs
    in his arms,
while gently leading
    the mother sheep.

So we journey through Advent, to prepare ourselves – and to prepare the way for God to come.  To come into our hearts and lives and into the world.

Making  straight the crooked roads, making even the bumpy paths, bringing the Good News – God is here.

Come Lord, Let it be so

Posted in Advent, Advent Book Club, bible, faith, God, Jesus, Religion, theology
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Journeying #adventbookclub

•November 25, 2013 • Leave a Comment

According to our son, any trip is all about the journey, rather than what happens when you get there.  Looking out of the window, seeing what you’re passing, following the journey on a map.

IMG_2508 (2)

Once upon a time, I used to just arrive at Christmas.

We had an advent calendar and counted down the days, but it was all about arriving at Christmas and not the journey and preparation.  I even had a book to read through Advent, but didn’t quite appreciate the getting there.

Then I arrived in a church that had a communion service each week during Advent.  Wow, what a discovery.  I guess it was also part of being a Minister and Christmas becoming a Totally Different Thing (mainly total exhaustion!).  When you arrive at Christmas Day having already done over thirty associated Christmas Services for all strata of the community, you’ve kind of lost the plot.

So the Advent Communion services became an oasis in a crazy time.  And doing something every week, working my way through Advent, made me appreciate it in a whole new way.  As a Local Preacher you will probably only lead worship once in Advent if that, and so much of it is taken up with other services – toy service, carol service, nativity service… I personally never felt I had taken the whole journey.  So this was new, and powerful, to me.

I’m also not big into written liturgy.  But the Advent Communion Service in the Methodist Worship Book is beautiful, all the more so because it’s used just four times a year.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAnd so I became hooked on purposefully travelling through Advent.  It became something I had to do, I appreciated the journey for the journey itself.  To arrive at Christmas, ready to welcome Jesus.  Not to rush too soon (I object to singing carols any time before the Sunday before Christmas if we really must), but to take our time, to pause reflect, and really prepare.

And that is what #adventbookclub is about.  An opportunity to journey, together.  To arrive prepared, ready for encounter, ready to worship.  It’s not meant to be a chore, but an oasis, a space; an opportunity for God to speak, to guide, to call.

This week I’m posting some introductory thoughts.  On Sunday we will start with the daily reflections on this book.  There’s quite a crowd of us.  You’re welcome to join us – comment here, follow #adventbookclub on Twitter, or join us on the Adventbookclub Facebook page

pict1072

Posted in Advent, Advent Book Club, faith, Religion, theology
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