Christmas Eve 2020: Luke 2:1-14[15-30] Merry Christmas! Martin Luther once described the night of Christ’s birth like this;  “When now they were to come to Bethlehem (Joseph and Mary), they were, of all, the lowest… shoved into a stable to make a common lodging with cattle, while cutthroats lounged like lords in the inn. They … More Born into Brokenness

Christmas Day                                                                                                   25 December 2020 (John 1:1-14) “Message of Love!” Here we are on Christmas morning.                                                                                 In years’ past we might have 25-30 persons gathered—a little more subdued than we were on Christmas Eve; a bit more tired than we were last evening.  Today we are gathered in a very simple way to hear … More “Message of Love!”

Fourth Sunday in Advent                                         20 December 2020 (2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16   Psalm 89    Romans 16:25-27   Luke 1:26-38) “Possible Impossibilities!” Although I am not seeing you as I would if you were here in front of me, today I am wondering, how are you?  How are you, parents who have had your children at home … More “Possible Impossibilities!”

John: 1:6-8, 19-28 Last week we heard from the perspective of gospel writer Mark about John the Baptist – the biblical man of the wild dressed in camel’s hair, eating locusts dipped in wild honey, calling all in hearing distance to “prepare the way for the Lord”… believed by many to be a contemporary version … More Witness as you are!

Mark 1:1-8 So, it’s Advent 2020.  Which, for those congregations who follow the three-year revised common lectionary, as we do here at St. James, puts us in Year B… the year we read primarily from the gospels of Mark and John.  Today, Advent II, we read from Mark… the gospel, that, in addition to being … More A New Beginning