Advent Devotions
All are invited as we Make Room this Advent season.
Neighbors
Sanctified Art Everything In Between Lenten Devotional
Read
Luke 10:25-37
Artist Statement | Steve Prince
Each individual carries generations within them, made up of billions of people who have occupied this earth before us. We have an individual and collective responsibility to be good stewards (Good Samaritans) of our bodies, neighbors, and communities, rooted in love. Every day we make a dance of life and death— celebrating the entrance and exit of life, the progression of age and maturity, and the expansion of our tent, grafting to people who share our blood and our beliefs. We are the structures, those temporal buildings that weather the storms, that creak and wither away daily, but are fortified by our relationships to each other and with the sharing of the good news planted by the Heavenly Father. This dance is an open profession of our vow to live by God’s commandments and find a way to collectively preserve the truth of our origin while moving as one communal body into an untouched future.
Prompts for contemplation
• Observe the figures’ posture and movement. Do you see connection, conflict, or both? How does this reflect your own relationships?
• Focus on the textures and shading. What story might these elements tell about resilience or fragility?
• Pay attention to the empty spaces around the figures. What do these spaces evoke for you?
• Imagine yourself as part of this scene. What role would you play in this dance of connection, tension, and movement?
Previously…
Called to Serve
This Sunday, we turn our attentions to the ways God calls us to serve the mission we share, enabling God’s vision to be made tangibly real in this world. From a young age, I knew that I was called to use my time, energy, and talents in the restaurant industry. As I matured in my faith I came to understand that calling was God at work in and through me. Then, as I became more and more involved in the work of the church, I could sense that God was calling me ever deeper into ministry. So what’s your call story? How has God been at work through you?
This Displeased Jonah
Today's author is Prince of Peace member, Carol Swanson. stock.adobe God had called Jonah: “Go at once to Nineveh, that great city [the Assyrian capital], and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before me” (1:2). But Jonah didn’t want to warn...
Go at once to Nineveh
Today's author is Prince of Peace member, Carol Swanson. From MyJewishLearning.com Once again, we have a tale filled with humor and irony, the memorable Book of Jonah, to teach us some unexpected and surprising lessons. It was written in a time when people were...
A Vision of Reconciliation
Yesterday, we heard a whale of a tale. It was a timely reminder that God’s love and mercy extends to even those that we find hard to love. After last week’s election, half the country was pleased with the outcome while the other half is feeling disenfranchised. Understandably, neither half is feeling particularly good about the other half right now.