United in Christ’s love, we glorify God
through worship, nurture, and service to all people.

Daily Devotions

  • Friday, December 29th – Scripture: John 1:3a


    3a All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.  Prayer Focus: The Word of God was the agent of creation.  When Jesus Christ was born and took on flesh to dwell among us, he kept on creating.  Jesus’ life and ministry was proof that God is still…

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  • Thursday, December 28th – Scripture: John 1:2


    2 He was in the beginning with God.  Prayer Focus: John is the only gospel that interprets Jesus as the incarnation of the preexistent Word.  From the beginning John wants us, the readers, to know who Jesus is so that as we read about him turning water to wine, healing the sick, eating with outcasts,…

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  • Wednesday, December 27th – Scripture: John 1:1b


    1b and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Prayer Focus: On Sunday we heard the story of Jesus’ birth, to a woman named Mary and a man named Joseph.  Here in the gospel of John, the birth narrative does not begin in Bethlehem with Mary and Joseph, it begins before the…

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  • Tuesday, December 26th – Scripture: John 1:1a


    1a In the beginning was the Word, Prayer Focus: The Logos, the Word, was present at the very beginning.  Before the universe, before the earth, before the creatures that walked and swam and flew in the sky, before our ancestors, before our grandparents, before you and before me…before it all, was the Word.  What does…

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  • Monday, December 25, 2023: Matthew 1:21-23—Names We Can’t Pronounce


    “‘She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Look, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a son,    and they shall name him Emmanuel,’ which means,…

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  • Sunday, December 24, 2023: Matthew 1:12-17—Names We Can’t Pronounce


    “And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father…

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  • Saturday, December 23, 2023: Hebrews 11:39-40—Names We Can’t Pronounce


    “Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect.”      Hebrews 11:39-40 The first verse in Hebrews 11 tells us that faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what…

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  • Friday, December 22, 2023: Hebrews 11:35-38—Names We Can’t Pronounce


    “Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned to death, they were sawn in two, they were killed by the sword.”     Hebrews 11:36-37a In Hebrews 11, the author writes to explain faith, citing many examples from scripture. The author mentions names we remember – Noah, Abraham, and Moses. In yesterday’s…

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  • Thursday, December 21, 2023: Hebrews 11:33-34—Names We Can’t Pronounce


    “who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.” Hebrews 11:33-34 In these verses, 3 key words stand out for me: faith, weakness and strength. In the previous verse…

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  • Wednesday, December 20, 2023: Hebrews 11:32—Names We Can’t Pronounce


    “And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets,”    Hebrews 11:32 The writer of Hebrews spends the entire 11th chapter talking about the faithful actions of the saints who had gone before them, all the way back almost to…

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