John 1:1-14 In the darkness of night, under the nose of the Empire, Jesus was born into this world as the true King of Kings. During the time of Jesus’ birth, Mary and Joseph, tired from their long journey from Nazareth, settled in for the night, making a bed out of straw and finding blankets … Continue reading God is with us
Luke 2:8-20 Unclean, incompetent, dirty, ignored, unreliable witnesses. Shepherds were uneducated and viewed as unskilled. People considered shepherds unclean because of the nature of their work: living among and being in daily contact with dirty, smelly sheep. To be a shepherd required that you live in the field with the sheep amongst their manure, flies, … Continue reading Unreliable Witnesses
Luke 1:26-56 Soon after Mary’s encounter with Gabriel, who announced that she would be the mother of Jesus, Mary “got ready and hurried” to go and visit her cousin Elizabeth, who had experienced a miracle in her own life and would soon be giving birth to John the Baptist. When Mary greeted Elizabeth, the baby … Continue reading Mary the Rebel
Luke 3:23-38 We have a lot of control in our lives, well, at least we think we do. We make decisions every day about life: what time we wake up, when we go to work or school, how we get to our destina- tion, what we eat —you get the picture. But one of the … Continue reading What We Miss about Jesus’ Birth
Malachi 2:17- 4:5, Isaiah 1:10-17 It had been 400 years since the last prophet of Israel, Malachi, had spoken on behalf of God. Since Malachi, God had chosen to be silent. No prophets, no words, no visions, just silence. The final words of Malachi prophesied that God would send a messenger to prepare the way … Continue reading Silence
Words matter. Let’s do a thought experiment: What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of “Alien?”- Oblong head- Pale- Weird eyes- No mouth- E.T.- A creature from the movie Alien- Ugly- Enemy- Unwanted- Undeserving- Something that needs to be destroyedYou get the drift What emotions does the word alien … Continue reading Words matter
What happens if we follow love to its very end? What happens if we take Jesus words and what the Bible says about love seriously? Love will take down boundaries of ins and outs.Love will destroy barriers of us and them.Love will draw us into new relationships with the "other"Love will crumble long held theologies … Continue reading When We Take Love Seriously
I stepped onto the beach; crashing waves became louder as I walked towards the water. The sun was low in the sky as white fluffy clouds began to turn pink. The Wind is at my back, pushing me towards the ocean. I come here often to listen, find peace, and look at the horizon, where … Continue reading Standing On The Shores Of Rome
The sun was starting to set over the green mountains. It was time to bring the sheep into the fold. Joshua raised his hands to his mouth, making a cone. He called out to his sheep. As his voice echoed off the surrounding hills, his sheep's head quickly rose from eating and looked in his … Continue reading The Wounded Shepherd
Christmas hasn’t always been full of lights, joy, laughter, yard decorations, gifts, and Christmas carols. It is easy to forget that 2,000 years ago, Jesus was born during a time that the Israelites were being oppressed politically. The religious elite were oppressing the people spiritually. It was a dark, uncertain time when hope was fading. … Continue reading Silence and Darkness
Phil Steiner 