At the ACC after-school tutoring program a few weeks ago Pastor David casually mentioned to me that he and Sobeyda were going to be hosting a refugee family from El Salvador. My heart jumped with excitement...what an opportunity for ACC to show the love of God! I also was encouraged by their willingness to share their living space with strangers, knowing they give so much already as a Pastor and Counselor. The next day Carolina and her almost 11 year old son Onandy arrived....
Advent is the beginning of the church year for most churches in the Western tradition. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas day, which is the Sunday nearest November 30, and ends on Christmas Eve (Dec 24). The word Advent means "coming" or "arrival." The focus of the entire season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in his First Advent, and ...
Keep Reading Advent is marked by a spirit of expectation, of anticipation, of preparation, of longing. There is a yearning for deliverance from the evils of the world, first expressed by Israelite slaves in Egypt as they cried out from their bitter oppression. It is the cry of those who have experienced the tyranny of injustice in a world under the curse of sin, and yet who have hope o...
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What does an advent wreath symbolize? A wreath is from ancient times a sign of victory. The circle of the wreath reminds us of God himself, his eternity and endless mercy, which has no beginning or end--as well as everlasting life--the eternal victory we have over death through Jesus Christ. The evergreens that make up the wreath speak of God's faithfulness to his people-...
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In the traditional church calendar, this is the week when Christians remember the ascension of Christ to the right hand of the Father. Accounts of Christ's ascension are found in Mark 16:19, Luke 24:50-53, and in Acts 1:6-11. Other passages that touch on the ascension are Acts 7:55-56; Ephesians 1:19-23, 4:8; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 4:14, 9:24; 1 Peter 3:22; and Revelation...
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In Ephesians 3:14-19, the Apostle Paul explained to his readers what he was praying for God to do in their lives. Essentially, he was praying that the Holy Spirit would work within them so that they would continually grow in their knowledge of Christ's love. At the end of verse 17, he described two essential ways they needed to know the love of Christ. They needed to be "...
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The greatest news the world has heard is that the tomb where Christ lay is empty. Christ has risen from the dead! But what does the empty tomb mean for us? Below are four implications of Christ's resurrection as explained by Scripture. 1) The empty tomb means that Jesus truly is the Messiah. When Jesus cleared the merchandizers out of the temple in John 2, he was exerti...
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During each week of Lent this year, we will post an excerpt from a classic writing on Christian spirituality, followed by some questions for personal reflection. This week's post is a letter written by John Newton to a fellow pastor, Rev. Thomas Jones, on January 7, 1767. Newton was an Anglican minister in the 18th century, whose story of conversion from slave trader to a...
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During each week of Lent this year, we will post an excerpt from a classic writing on Christian spirituality, followed by some questions for personal reflection. The reading this week is taken from Words of Counsel to the Newly Converted, a book by Rev. George Everard (1828-1901) an evangelical minister in the Church of England. Everard noticed the effect that the thought...
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During each week of Lent this year, we will post an excerpt from a classic writing on Christian spirituality, followed by some questions for personal reflection. This week's selection comes from the writings of Jeanne Guyon (1648-1717). Born in Montargis, France, Guyon was given in marriage to a 38-year-old invalid when she was only 15 years old. Feeling dissatisfied with...
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During each week of Lent this year, we will post an excerpt from a classic writing on Christian spirituality, followed by some questions for personal reflection. This post comes from The Hiding Place, a book by Corrie Ten Boom. Corrie and her family were sent to Nazi concentration camps because of their role in hiding Jewish neighbors in Holland. In this excerpt Corrie de...
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