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DAILY READING Luke 2:7 FIELD NOTES This time of year, I am always reminded that sometimes words get in the way of listening. Sometimes we focus so much on what is being said that we miss why it is being said, the deep meaning behind the words.  When I was young, the Christmas Eve service…

DAILY READING Matthew 1:1-17 John 1:9-13 FIELD NOTES Sometimes a song is as familiar as an old friend, but with that familiarity we can sometimes lose the deep significance of the words we are singing. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel is a hymn with roots back to the 15th century that is commonly associated with Christmas, but it…

DAILY READING Luke 2:8-20 FIELD NOTES Based on a poem, written by Christina Rossetti in 1872, the hymn In the Bleak Midwinter imagines the moment of Christ’s birth and how a stable in the middle of the bleak winter was made holy in Christ’s birth. She asks, how can she worship Our Savior, what can she give…

DAILY READING Matthew 8:5-13 FIELD NOTES During this season of Advent, we have explored a few of the prophets and how their prophecies were fulfilled through Christ. Jesus healed many people to fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy (see Matthew 8:17), but the story of the centurion’s servant in Matthew offers a unique angle in Jesus’ healing ministry.…

DAILY READING 1 Corinthians 16:13 Hebrews 11 FIELD NOTES This season of anticipation is coupled with the belief that the Son of man will return again. No one knows when this will happen and Christ said that His followers should always be ready because the Son of man would come when it is least expected.…

DAILY READING Isaiah 40:28-31 FIELD NOTES We generally associate January 1st with new beginnings. However, in the life of the church, the season of Advent is actually the beginning of a new year. The year does not start with Christmas, with new birth and celebration. Instead, we are meant to wait.  Waiting and patience are crucial…

DAILY READING Malachi 3:1-4 FIELD NOTES The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “foreshadowing” as: “an indication of what is to come.” In this section of Malachi, we see another example of God speaking through the prophets to guide His people. The prophets foretell of disasters and calamities as a warning to a misguided people, however, they also…

DAILY READING Romans 8:22-25 FIELD NOTES Whenever I get impatient or frustrated in life, I am usually met with the well-known adage “patience is a virtue.” To be honest, this does not help me very much and often adds to my growing frustration. However, celebrating Advent calls on us to prepare for the Incarnation, or…