My hometown church is small. It always has been. I started attending my junior year of high school, and at that time, it was already a pretty small congregation. But it’s smaller now, six years later. And I know we’re not the only church with this story.
Recently, I’ve been calling my friends from home, talking to them a lot about loneliness. This holiday season was my first without having my parents or close friends nearby. Although 2020 marks the start of my first full year in St. Louis, it’s also my first year being over four hundred miles away from family. My cell phone calls to Indiana and Michigan are the closest I get to genuine interactions with my loved ones as I continue to meet new people and develop deeper friendships where I am. In all of this, you could say my loneliness is a form of grief: the grief of losing what and who I grew up with.
Today is the start of Epiphany, marking the end of the Christmas season. For today’s devotional reading, consider the Wise Men and their journey to find baby Jesus, the King of kings, with excerpts from the Portals of Prayer Devotional Bible.
Can you believe that another year has come and gone?! In the blink of an eye, 2019 will be gone and 2020 will be here. For many, the start of the new year is a great time to think about new goals for the upcoming year. However, sometimes it’s hard to create goals and stick to them. What’s the secret to setting attainable goals that last all year? How is it possible to achieve them? Read more below on how to set devotional goals and work toward them daily.
Christmas is the best time of year to share the story of Jesus’ birth with your children! No matter the age or reading level, the Christmas story can be found in many different books for kids. From beautiful, lifelike pictures to singsong rhyming patterns, there are so many wonderful options to read with your child this Christmas.
We continue our journey through the Bible with another minor prophet—Malachi. The Book of Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament, but it still occurs about 430 years before the birth of Christ.
The coming of John the Baptist is predicted in Malachi 3:1, a forerunner of Christ who will “prepare the way.” This is an excellent book of the Bible to read in December during Advent since it is the closest canonical book of the Old Testament before the birth of Christ. Pay close attention to the prophecies that refer to Christ, and spend extra time meditating on these verses!
The past few months, I’ve been talking about new Bibles. From trying out a devotional Bible to gifting a Bible to someone, we’ve considered why finding the right Bible can enhance your walk with God. Now that maybe you have a new Bible in your hands or you’ve decided you want to continue using your current Bible, it’s time to delve into reading it. A new Bible or renewed vigor for reading the Word of the Lord is an opportunity to reevaluate your Bible-reading habits. But where do you start?
But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. (1 Peter 3:14–16)
The new Church Year falls on Sunday, December 1. This is great news! In preparation, we’ve compiled a refresher list about the five seasons of the Church Year below.
Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Andrew, brother of Simon Peter, called by Jesus into discipleship. Since Andrew was a disciple of Jesus and also called by Him, our devotion is on Matthew 4:19: “I will make you fishers of men,” and is taken from Follow Me: Discipleship According to St. Matthew by Martin Franzmann.
