Posts by jhumphries

February 23, 2018 DAILY READING Psalm 22:23-31 This weekend’s reading: Luke 23:43 FIELD NOTESMy mother-in-law was a talented seamstress. She began sewing at an early age, and by the time she had her first child, she was proficient at French hand sewing. For her daughter’s baptism she stitched a white cotton batiste gown with pin…

February 22, 2018 DAILY READING Psalm 22:23-31 Genesis 15:1-6, 12-18 This weekend’s reading: Luke 23:43 FIELD NOTESSeveral years ago my husband and I vacationed in Maine. One cold, clear evening we drove to the top of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park to look at the stars. From the pinnacle of the mountain we had…

February 21, 2018 DAILY READING Psalm 77 Proverbs 30:1-9 This weekend’s reading: Luke 23:43 FIELD NOTESDo you remember fairy tales in which the main character would be granted “three wishes” by a genie and she would agonize over which wishes she should choose? It makes us think, if we had three wishes, what would WE…

February 20, 2018 DAILY READING Psalm 77 This weekend’s reading: Luke 23:43 FIELD NOTESPain always seems worst in the middle of the night — when the house is silent; when darkness shrouds our vision and the outside world seems to have disappeared; when we feel alone — so very alone. It’s during the middle of…

February 17, 2018 DAILY READING Psalm 32 Matthew 9:2-13 This weekend’s reading: Luke 23:34 FIELD NOTESHenri Nouwen in The Way of the Heart reminds us that prayer is not merely talking to or at God; it is learning to listen, to “dwell with God.” Our deepest prayers come from our hearts. From a biblical perspective,…

February 16, 2018 DAILY READING Psalm 25:1-10 Daniel 9:15-25a 2 Timothy 4:1-5 This weekend’s reading: Luke 23:34 FIELD NOTESLent began as a time to teach adult converts about the faith before Easter baptisms. This practice was crucial in the early church when most converts came from other religions. In the Wesleyan tradition, we emphasize God’s…

February 15, 2018 DAILY READING Psalm 25:1-10 Daniel 9:1-14 1 John 1:3-10 This weekend’s reading: Luke 23:34 FIELD NOTESIn the past weeks Davis’s sermons on the Book of Daniel have enriched our lives. Now as we enter the season of Lent, we continue to find ways that Daniel speaks to our discipleship. First, we remember…

February 14, 2018 DAILY READING Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 Psalm 51:1-17 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:10 Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 This weekend’s reading: Luke 23:34 FIELD NOTESSomeone joked that God’s sense of humor is showing because in 2018 Ash Wednesday falls on Valentine’s Day, and Easter comes on April Fools’. This accidental confluence of dates does at least provoke…

February 13, 2018 DAILY READING Psalm 110:1-4 Job 19:23-27 1 Timothy 3:14-16 This weekend’s reading: Luke 23:34 FIELD NOTESA few weeks ago, we heard a sermon in which King Nebuchadnezzar encounters the mystery of the God of Israel, the God of those exiles he had captured and taken off to Babylon. He wanted someone to…