Posts by jhumphries

December 26, 2017 DAILY READING Acts 7:51-60 This weekend’s reading: Jeremiah 31:31-34 FIELD NOTESStephen is stoned for his witness and his faith. He, being falsely accused, resists the temptation to deny Christ, but rather stands for what is right and is promptly put to death for speaking the truth in an adversarial crowd. I have…

December 25, 2017 DAILY READING Luke 2:1-14 This weekend’s reading: Jeremiah 31:31-34 FIELD NOTESFrom The Voice translation: Around the time of Elizabeth’s amazing pregnancy and John’s birth, the emperor in Rome, Caesar Augustus, required everyone in the Roman Empire to participate in a massive census — the first census since Quirinius had become governor of…

December 24, 2017 SCRIPTURE READING Luke 2:1-20 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from…

December 23, 2017 DAILY READING Psalm 89:1-4 John 7:40-52 This weekend’s reading: Luke 2:1-20 FIELD NOTESToday we focus on Psalm 89:1-4. We’ve read it for three days in a row, and it’s beautiful words of praise are beginning to be inscribed in our hearts. Through the Psalm, we learn that God’s love is steadfast and…

December 22, 2017 DAILY READING Psalm 89:1-4 Hebrews 1:5-14 This weekend’s reading: Luke 2:1-20 FIELD NOTESThis time of year, angels are everywhere. We see their gilded images printed on Christmas cards, fashioned in twinkling lights on roofs and treetops, appliquéd on tree ornaments and Christmas stockings. We hear the lilting refrain of “Angels We Have…

December 21, 2017 DAILY READING Psalm 89:1-4 Hebrews 1:1-4 This weekend’s reading: Luke 2:1-20 FIELD NOTESWhen I was in college, I had a professor whose office displayed beautiful artwork framed in simple wooden frames. When I had occasion to visit her I often admired the tall, gold-leaf designs which I later found out were rubbings…

December 20, 2017 DAILY READING Psalm 125 Malachi 3:16-4:4 This weekend’s reading: Luke 2:1-20 FIELD NOTESMalachi is the last book in the Old Testament and bridges the Old Testament and the New Testament with its announcement of the coming “Day of the Lord” and the arrival of the prophet Elijah before that day arrives. (Malachi…

December 19, 2017 DAILY READING Psalm 125 2 Kings 2:9-22 This weekend’s reading: Luke 2:1-20 FIELD NOTESHave you ever heard the saying that someone was “picking up the mantle” from someone else — meaning they were assuming that person’s role and responsibilities? Today’s reading gives us the origin of that common English idiom in the…

December 18, 2017 DAILY READING Psalm 125 Ephesians 6:10-17 This weekend’s reading: Luke 2:1-20 FIELD NOTESWhen my children left to go to college and were no longer safe and sound in our family home, I prayed this scripture passage every day for them. I imagined that they were putting on each piece of the armor…

December 16, 2017 DAILY READING Psalm 126 Habakkuk 3:13-19 Matthew 21:28-32 This weekend’s reading: Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 FIELD NOTESA parable, some say, is a story with one main point. This story of the two brothers seems to be “what you do is more important than what you say,” or some variation of that. There is…