Thoughts and Musings from My Faith Journey
This Sunday I’ll be preaching on Matthew 2:1-12 and talking about how the gifts of the magi can remind us of three important roles of Jesus Christ: king, and God, and sacrifice. Hope to see you there or be seen by you online.
The 8:15 service should be here: https://vimeo.com/event/1266906
The 10:30 service should be here: https://vimeo.com/event/1645761
A higher quality recording will be posted at https://abilenefirstumc.org/onlineworship/.
We’ll hold our sixth Wednesday Night Bible Study at 5:15 today (December 29, 2021). It’s the final part of a six-part series on Exodus 34:6-7 that looks at the Character of God. Tonight we’ll be talking about God’s faithfulness. (This session was rescheduled from December 15 when we had all the wind).
This Wednesday’s video: https://bit.ly/3DQHi4J
The entire series can be found here: https://bit.ly/3q3QZth
I would really encourage you to take a look at this article on the way the coming of Jesus Christ affected all of western civilization. A key quote:
“if you live in the West, the claims of Christmas have profoundly shaped your life and view of the world. You don’t have to believe in Jesus or even think about him for that to be true.”
Let me know if you can’t get to it behind The New York Times paywall.
Link: https://nyti.ms/3sDlLut
If you want to follow along with bulletin you can follow this link or the link in the menu above.
If you’re having trouble streaming our worship videos, you may want to simply download the entire video to your device and then play it. You can do that by clicking on the link in the Vimeo logo above and then selecting download.
You can make a contribution online via tithe.ly. Other options can be found here.
Previous worship services can be found at abilenefirstumc.org/onlineworship/.
In honor of Desmond Tutu, who died today, here’s one of his many gems.
“You do not do the things you do because others will necessarily join you in doing them, nor because they will ultimately prove successful. You do the things you do because the things you are doing are right.” — Desmond Tutu [1]
[1] Desmond Tutu, in a letter to Tim Wise cited in Tim Wise, Dispatches from the Race War (San Francisco, City Lights Bookstore, 2020), Kindle, 335.
Happy Second Day of Christmas! The plan for this morning (Sunday, December 21, 2021) is to livestream both services.
The 8:15 service will be here: https://vimeo.com/event/1266906
The 10:30 service will be here: https://vimeo.com/event/1266906
A bit of poetry for the first day of Christmas:
“He came to a world which did not mesh,
to heal its tangles, shield its scorn.
In the mystery of the Word made Flesh
the Maker of the stars was born.”
—Madeleine L’Engle, First Coming [1]
[1] Madeleine L’Engle, “First Coming,” in The Ordering of Love: The New and Collected Poems of Madeleine L’Engle (Colorado Springs, CO: Shaw Books, 2005), 242.
The plan is to livestream both Christmas Eve services tomorrow. Bulletins can be found here: abilenefirstumc.org/bulletin/. The links are below:
7:00 p.m. Service: https://vimeo.com/659102142
11:00 p.m. Service: https://vimeo.com/event/1676227
“Coming Home” has been our theme this Advent and it’s also my informal sermon theme for Christmas Eve. I could use a little help. How do you know when you are home? Or, what does “home” mean to you. Replies to john@revcollins.com or 620-252-9622.
We’ll have two Christmas Eve Services on December 24, 2021. One at 7 p.m. and one at 11 p.m. The communion table will be open to everyone who wants to receive it (the plan right now is to offer both intinction and “lunchables”). Please let the church office know if you need a ride. You can call 785-263-2623 or email office@abilenefirstumc.org.
If you want to follow along with bulletin you can follow this link or the link in the menu above.
If you’re having trouble streaming our worship videos, you may want to simply download the entire video to your device and then play it. You can do that by clicking on the link in the Vimeo logo above and then selecting download.
You can make a contribution online via tithe.ly. Other options can be found here.
Previous worship services can be found at abilenefirstumc.org/onlineworship/.
The plan for this morning (Sunday, December 19, 2021) is to livestream both services.
The 8:15 service will be here: https://vimeo.com/event/1266906
The 10:30 service will be here: https://vimeo.com/event/1266906