Thursday, December 31, 2015

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Wednesday Words - In the Bleak Midwinter


In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him, whom cherubim, worship night and day,
Breastful of milk, and a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, whom angels fall before,
The ox and ass and camel which adore.

Angels and archangels may have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;
But His mother only, in her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.

What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.

"In the Bleak Midwinter" by Christina Rossetti.

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Tuesday Tome - New Arrival

Encounters with Jesus
by Timothy Keller

Publisher's Description...
New York Times bestselling author of The Songs of Jesus Timothy Keller explores how people are changed by meeting Jesus personally—and how we can be changed encountering him today.

The people who met Jesus Christ in person faced the same big life questions we face today. Like most of us, the answers handed down to them didn’t seem to work in the real world. But when they met Jesus, things started to change immediately for them. It seems he not only had the answers — he was the answer. In Encounters with Jesus, Timothy Keller shows how the central events and meetings in Jesus’ life can change our own lives forever.

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Sunday Supplication - To Find Ourselves in You

Eternal Father, you gave your incarnate Son, Jesus, to be our salvation. Place within our hearts, we pray, the love of him who is the Savior of the world.

Thank you for the forgiveness and renewal you have given to us through Christ Jesus.  Help us to extend forgiveness to each other and help us grow into a redemptive and healing community. Help us to have a redemptive and healing impact on the world around us.

Help us, O God, to find ourselves in you. Give us faith that makes us able to commit all things to you. Give us hearts to love your will and to serve your purposes.

Shape and strengthen us to follow Jesus wherever he leads. Whether by life or death, may Christ be exalted in us. Help us to press on to take hold of all you have in mind for our lives.

We pray these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Friday, December 25, 2015

Merry Christmas from Dave and Cheri Burkum!


LUKE 2:2-14
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Thursday Thinking - Christmas Eve

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born;
O night divine, O night, O night Divine.

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
Over the world a a guiding star is gleaming,
Now shepherds come at the angel's command.
The King of Kings lays in lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friend.

He knows our need, to our weaknesses no stranger,
Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!
Behold your King, Before Him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,
His power and glory evermore proclaim.
His power and glory evermore proclaim.

Original Carol text (Cantique de Noël) by Adolphe Adam in 1847.

 You are invited to join me at Valley Christian Church tonight at 7:00pm for our annual Christmas Eve Candlelight Worship Service.
 

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Wednesday Words - O Emmanuel


O come, O come, and be our God-with-us
O long-sought With-ness for a world without,
O secret seed, O hidden spring of light.
Come to us Wisdom, come unspoken Name
Come Root, and Key, and King, and holy Flame,
O quickened little wick so tightly curled,
Be folded with us into time and place,
Unfold for us the mystery of grace
And make a womb of all this wounded world.
O heart of heaven beating in the earth,
O tiny hope within our hopelessness
Come to be born, to bear us to our birth,
To touch a dying world with new-made hands
And make these rags of time our swaddling bands.

"O Emmanuel" by Malcolm Guite, from Sounding the Seasons, © Copyright 2012.

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Tuesday Tome - New Arrival

Sounding the Seasons
by Malcolm Guite

Poetry has always been a central element of Christian spirituality and is increasingly used in worship, in pastoral services and guided meditation. In Sounding the Seasons, Cambridge poet, priest and singer-songwriter Malcolm Guite transforms seventy lectionary readings into lucid, inspiring poems, for use in regular worship, seasonal services, meditative reading or on retreat.

Already widely recognized, Malcolm's writing has been acclaimed by Rowan Williams and Luci Shaw, two leading contemporary religious poets. Seven Advent poems from this collection will appear in the next edition of Penguins (US) Best Spiritual Writing edited by Philip Zaleski, alongside the work of writers such as Seamus Heaney and Annie Dillard. A section of practical help and advice for using poetry creatively and effectively in worship is also included.

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Sunday Supplication - Our Identity and Our Home

Heavenly Father, make us aware of your presence in our lives and purify our hearts and minds. We pray that we would find our identity and our home in your Son Jesus Christ as we await the Day of his appearing. Sustain us and shape us by the power of your Holy Spirit.

Thank you for your grace and mercy. Lead us away from temptation.  Deliver us from evil.  Forgive us our sins. And give us the grace and courage to forgive others just as we you have forgiven us.

Thank you, O God, for your promise to be with your people. Give us an awareness of your presence with us today. Grant us the strength and the faith we need to face the challenges and circumstances of our lives. When we are frightened, guard our hearts and minds with the peace of Christ Jesus. Protect us from discouragement, and encourage us, by your Holy Spirit, through your Word, your people, your promises, and all that is beautiful and true. 

Through Christ, we pray. Amen.

Friday, December 18, 2015

Friday Favorites - Advent Calendar

http://ccca.biola.edu/advent/#
Check out this wonderful advent season resource from Biola University's Center for Christianity, Culture, and the Arts. You can subscribe to receive daily emails.

From the website introduction:
We live in a complex and crazy world where the affluence and indulgence of developed nations stands in stark contrast to the millions throughout the globe who struggle for survival. It is impossible to ignore the dangerous plight of thousands of refugees as they seek asylum and new opportunities. This year’s Advent Project—influenced by current events—examines the uncanny parallels between Christ’s birth and the current refugee crisis.

As Christmas approaches, the Advent Project will observe specific themes each week relating to this topic. Weeks one and two focus on essential doctrines of the Christian faith: the incarnation of Christ and his virgin birth. Following that, we will offer a week of prayers inspired by the Old Testament book of Isaiah, calling Christ to come and effect change in our lives. The Christmas narrative occupies week four, and week five focuses on Jesus as a refugee. The Advent Project concludes in week six with Christ’s profound proclamations of peace.

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Thursday Thinking - First Christmas Sermon

This may be the oldest Christmas sermon ever preached. It's from St. John Chrysostom (c. 347–407, Greek: Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος), Archbishop of Constantinople, who was an important Early Church Father. He is known for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking.

St. John Chrysostom’s Christmas Homily (386AD)

BEHOLD a new and wondrous mystery. My ears resound to the Shepherd’s song, piping no soft melody, but chanting full forth a heavenly hymn. The Angels sing. The Archangels blend their voice in harmony. The Cherubim hymn their joyful praise. The Seraphim exalt His glory. All join to praise this holy feast, beholding the Godhead here on earth, and man in heaven. He Who is above, now for our redemption dwells here below; and he that was lowly is by divine mercy raised.

Bethlehem this day resembles heaven; hearing from the stars the singing of angelic voices; and in place of the sun, enfolds within itself on every side, the Sun of justice. And ask not how: for where God wills, the order of nature yields. For He willed, He had the power, He descended, He redeemed; all things yielded in obedience to God. This day He Who is, is Born; and He Who is, becomes what He was not. For when He was God, He became man; yet not departing from the Godhead that is His. Nor yet by any loss of divinity became He man, nor through increase became He God from man; but being the Word He became flesh, His nature, because of impassability, remaining unchanged.

And so the kings have come, and they have seen the heavenly King that has come upon the earth, not bringing with Him Angels, nor Archangels, nor Thrones, nor Dominations, nor Powers, nor Principalities, but, treading a new and solitary path, He has come forth from a spotless womb.

Since this heavenly birth cannot be described, neither does His coming amongst us in these days permit of too curious scrutiny. Though I know that a Virgin this day gave birth, and I believe that God was begotten before all time, yet the manner of this generation I have learned to venerate in silence and I accept that this is not to be probed too curiously with wordy speech. For with God we look not for the order of nature, but rest our faith in the power of Him who works.

What shall I say to you; what shall I tell you? I behold a Mother who has brought forth; I see a Child come to this light by birth. The manner of His conception I cannot comprehend.

Nature here rested, while the Will of God labored. O ineffable grace! The Only Begotten, Who is before all ages, Who cannot be touched or be perceived, Who is simple, without body, has now put on my body, that is visible and liable to corruption. For what reason? That coming amongst us he may teach us, and teaching, lead us by the hand to the things that men cannot see. For since men believe that the eyes are more trustworthy than the ears, they doubt of that which they do not see, and so He has deigned to show Himself in bodily presence, that He may remove all doubt.

Christ, finding the holy body and soul of the Virgin, builds for Himself a living temple, and as He had willed, formed there a man from the Virgin; and, putting Him on, this day came forth; unashamed of the lowliness of our nature’. For it was to Him no lowering to put on what He Himself had made. Let that handiwork be forever glorified, which became the cloak of its own Creator. For as in the first creation of flesh, man could not be made before the clay had come into His hand, so neither could this corruptible body be glorified, until it had first become the garment of its Maker.

What shall I say! And how shall I describe this Birth to you? For this wonder fills me with astonishment. The Ancient of days has become an infant. He Who sits upon the sublime and heavenly Throne, now lies in a manger. And He Who cannot be touched, Who is simple, without complexity, and incorporeal, now lies subject to the hands of men. He Who has broken the bonds of sinners, is now bound by an infants bands. But He has decreed that ignominy shall become honor, infamy be clothed with glory, and total humiliation the measure of His Goodness.

For this He assumed my body, that I may become capable of His Word; taking my flesh, He gives me His spirit; and so He bestowing and I receiving, He prepares for me the treasure of Life. He takes my flesh, to sanctify me; He gives me His Spirit, that He may save me.

Come, then, let us observe the Feast. Truly wondrous is the whole chronicle of the Nativity. For this day the ancient slavery is ended, the devil confounded, the demons take to flight, the power of death is broken, paradise is unlocked, the curse is taken away, sin is removed from us, error driven out, truth has been brought back, the speech of kindliness diffused, and spreads on every side, a heavenly way of life has been ‘in planted on the earth, angels communicate with men without fear, and men now hold speech with angels.

Why is this? Because God is now on earth, and man in heaven; on every side all things commingle. He became Flesh. He did not become God. He was God. Wherefore He became flesh, so that He Whom heaven did not contain, a manger would this day receive. He was placed in a manger, so that He, by whom all things arc nourished, may receive an infant’s food from His Virgin Mother. So, the Father of all ages, as an infant at the breast, nestles in the virginal arms, that the Magi may more easily see Him. Since this day the Magi too have come, and made a beginning of withstanding tyranny; and the heavens give glory, as the Lord is revealed by a star.

To Him, then, Who out of confusion has wrought a clear path, to Christ, to the Father, and to the Holy Ghost, we offer all praise, now and for ever. Amen.



Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Wednesday Words - Good King Wenceslas

Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the feast of Stephen
When the snow lay round about
Deep and crisp and even
Brightly shone the moon that night
Though the frost was cruel
When a poor man came in sight
Gath'ring winter fuel

"Hither, page, and stand by me
If thou know'st it, telling
Yonder peasant, who is he?
Where and what his dwelling?"
"Sire, he lives a good league hence
Underneath the mountain
Right against the forest fence
By Saint Agnes' fountain."

"Bring me flesh and bring me wine
Bring me pine logs hither
Thou and I will see him dine
When we bear him thither."
Page and monarch forth they went
Forth they went together
Through the rude wind's wild lament
And the bitter weather

"Sire, the night is darker now
And the wind blows stronger
Fails my heart, I know not how,
I can go no longer."
"Mark my footsteps, my good page
Tread thou in them boldly
Thou shalt find the winter's rage
Freeze thy blood less coldly."

In his master's steps he trod
Where the snow lay dinted
Heat was in the very sod
Which the Saint had printed
Therefore, Christian men, be sure
Wealth or rank possessing
Ye who now will bless the poor
Shall yourselves find blessing.

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Tuesday Tome - Charles Beck

Charles Beck is my new favorite Minnesota artist. Here are a couple of books I'd like to get someday. Leave a comment if you know of other books featuring his art.

A native of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, Charles Beck studied art at Concordia College in Moorhead and received his M.F.A. from Iowa State University in Iowa City. After being selected in 1950 for the group show, American Painting Today, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Beck studied at the University of Minnesota with Cameron Booth, where he was first introduced to woodblock prints. He has exhibited widely and is held in numerous collections.

Beck Wood Cuts 1950-2000
by Charles Beck

C. Beck: Charles Beck Retrospective 1942-1986
by Charles Beck

Monday, December 14, 2015

Monday Music - Christmas Playlist

https://youtu.be/2IVrvg1zGzk

Here's a great old gospel Christmas song the Cactus Blossoms are performing on their current tour with Nick Lowe. When was Jesus Born? Last month of the year. Enjoy!

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Sunday Supplication - Everlasting Life

O Lord, move in our hearts with your great might. Work in our lives with your power. Through your boundless grace and mercy, deliver us from the sins that entangle and destroy us.

Thank you for the forgiveness and renewal you have given to us through Christ Jesus.  Help us as we extend that same forgiveness to others who have sinned against us. Help us to be a community of grace. Make us a church that has a redemptive and healing impact on the world around us.

Thank you, O God, for the forgiveness and life we have through Jesus. You have promised that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life.

May all who seek you find you, O God. Help us to recognize Christ as King. Help us to make room for his saving and shaping work in our lives.

It is in his Name that we pray all these things. Amen.

Friday, December 11, 2015

Friday Favorites - Valley Kids Musical

Tonight and tomorrow. Friday, December 11, 5:30pm, and Saturday, December 12, 12:30pm. Enjoy great performances and good food as we celebrate the coming of Christ! 
Cost is $7 per adult and $4 per kid.

Click here to reserve your tickets and for more information.

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Thursday Thinking - Character Benefits of Reading

Reading Literature Makes Us Smarter and Nicer
"Deep reading" is vigorous exercise from the brain and increases our real-life capacity for empathy
by Annie Murphy Paul, Time Magazine 2013

Recent research in cognitive science, psychology and neuroscience has demonstrated that deep reading — slow, immersive, rich in sensory detail and emotional and moral complexity — is a distinctive experience, different in kind from the mere decoding of words. Although deep reading does not, strictly speaking, require a conventional book, the built-in limits of the printed page are uniquely conducive to the deep reading experience. A book’s lack of hyperlinks, for example, frees the reader from making decisions — Should I click on this link or not? — allowing her to remain fully immersed in the narrative.

That immersion is supported by the way the brain handles language rich in detail, allusion and metaphor: by creating a mental representation that draws on the same brain regions that would be active if the scene were unfolding in real life. The emotional situations and moral dilemmas that are the stuff of literature are also vigorous exercise for the brain, propelling us inside the heads of fictional characters and even, studies suggest, increasing our real-life capacity for empathy.

READ MORE

Wednesday, December 09, 2015

Wednesday Words - Made Flesh

After the bright beam of hot annunciation
Fused heaven with dark earth
His searing sharply-focused light
Went out for a while
Eclipsed in amniotic gloom:
His cool immensity of splendor
His universal grace
Small-folded in a warm dim
Female space—
The Word stern-sentenced to be nine months dumb—
Infinity walled in a womb
Until the next enormity—the Mighty,
After submission to a woman’s pains
Helpless on a barn-bare floor
First-tasting bitter earth.

Now, I in him surrender
To the crush and cry of birth.
Because eternity
Was closeted in time
He is my open door
To forever.
From his imprisonment my freedoms grow,
Find wings.
Part of his body, I transcend this flesh.
From his sweet silence my mouth sings.
Out of his dark I glow.
My life, as his,
Slips through death’s mesh,
Time’s bars,
Joins hands with heaven,
Speaks with stars.

“Made Flesh” by Luci Shaw, from A Widening Light: Poems of Incarnation, Regent College Publishing, © 1984.

Tuesday, December 08, 2015

Tuesday Tome - A Widening Light

A Widening Light: Poems of the Incarnation
Edited by Luci Shaw

"I can think of no other anthology which celebrates with such intensity the entire drama of the Christian faith. Here we have a host of poets praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest.' A Widening Light moves the reader through recognitions and meditations toward prayer."
Harold Fickett

"Luci Shaw has compiled perceptions both delicate and powerful of Jesus the baby prince, the Man, the golden Lion, Jesus Christ the Lord. For those who love poetry and those who think they don't, I recommend a slow and thoughtful reading of this lovely book. Each page reflects from a different angle the Light of the World.”
Elisabeth Eliot

"A Widening Light ranks as one of the very best anthologies of Christian poetry."
John H. Timmerman

Monday, December 07, 2015

Sunday, December 06, 2015

Sunday Supplication - Walk in the Light

Merciful God, we thank you every voice you’ve sent into our world to preach repentance and proclaim the way of salvation. Give us contrite hearts and help us to turn away from sin. And give us open and receptive hearts that joyfully welcome the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer.

Help us in this Christmas season to honor Jesus in thought, word, and deed.  Help us to follow him and to walk in the light as he is in the light.  We confess our sins, trusting that you are faithful and just to forgive us and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Thank you for the forgiveness and renewal you have given to us through Christ Jesus.  Make us able and ready to graciously forgive those who have sinned against us.

Restore and renew us today, O God. And make our lives a testimony of your power to restore and renew us. Help us to live by faith. And make our lives shining demonstrations of your promise to save and restore.

Through Christ, we pray. Amen.

Friday, December 04, 2015

Friday Favorites - Just Two Weeks Away

https://youtu.be/zk-RQz6jZqw

Handel’s Messiah
Celebrate the holidays with one of classical music’s most beloved traditions as the SPCO performs Handel’s Messiah with British conductor Matthew Halls. A cherished holiday custom since its premiere in 1742, this masterpiece of the Baroque repertoire features some of the most popular refrains in Western music—from “Comfort ye, my people” to the iconic “Hallelujah Chorus.” This is sure to be a wonderful musical experience for the whole family and a highlight of the Twin Cities holiday season.

Co-presented by The Basilica of Saint Mary and The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra

Thursday | Dec 17 | 7:30pm


Friday | Dec 18 | 8:00pm
Basilica of Saint Mary, Minneapolis

Saturday | Dec 19 | 8:00pm
Ordway Concert Hall, Saint Paul

You can also purchase tickets to these events by calling the SPCO Ticket Office at 651.291.1144 Monday-Friday from 12:00pm-5:00pm.

Thursday, December 03, 2015

Thursday Thinking - After Paris: A Christian Response


Philip Yancey has posted a thoughtful article on Christian responses to recent events in a world filled with tensions fueled by religious, ethnic, political, and cultural differences – Paris and Beyond: How Should Christians Respond. I'll give you Yancey's closing statements in the hope that it will spur you into reading his entire piece.

Can we respect and dignify the majority of Muslims while simultaneously striving to root out the extremist minority? Can we resist the temptation toward vigilantism and prejudice against all Muslims? Can we not only accept them as neighbors but love them, as Jesus commanded? Can we live in a way that demonstrates to the Muslim world that "the Christian West" does not equal decadence, just as "the Muslim world" does not equal extremism? Can we maintain our cherished values of freedom and justice while under assault from forces that undermine them?

ISIS has proved how a dedicated minority of zealots can disrupt the world. What can Christians do to show the troubled world another, better way?

CLICK HERE TO READ "PARIS & BEYOND: HOW SHOULD CHRISTIANS RESPOND"

Wednesday, December 02, 2015

Wednesday Words - How Is It that the Snow


How is it that the snow  
amplifies the silence,  
slathers the black bark on limbs,  
heaps along the brush rows?  

Some deer have stood on their hind legs  
to pull the berries down.  
Now they are ghosts along the path,  
snow flecked with red wine stains.  

This silence in the timbers.  
A woodpecker on one of the trees  
taps out its story,  
stopping now and then in the lapse  
of one white moment into another.

“How Is It That the Snow” by Robert Haight
from Emergences and Spinner Falls, © Copyright © 2002.

Tuesday, December 01, 2015

Tuesday Tome - Watch for the Light

http://smile.amazon.com/Watch-Light-Readings-Advent-Christmas/dp/087486917X/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1448895246&sr=1-5&keywords=advent
Are you someone who enjoys daily Advent readings? Watch for the Light is a book I learned about a few years ago with Advent meditations from a wide variety of thinkers, theologians, and writers – some historical, and others current day, some expected and some very unexpected.

Publisher's description...
Though Christians the world over make yearly preparations for Lent, there’s a conspicuous lack of good books for that other great spiritual season: Advent. All the same, this four-week period leading up to Christmas is making a comeback as growing numbers reject shopping-mall frenzy and examine the deeper meaning of the season.

Ecumenical in scope, these fifty devotions invite the reader to contemplate the great themes of Christmas and the significance that the coming of Jesus has for each of us – not only during Advent, but every day. Whether dipped into at leisure or used on a daily basis, Watch for the Light gives the phrase “holiday preparations” new depth and meaning.

Includes writings by Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt, Sylvia Plath, J. B. Phillips, Friedrich Wilhelm Foerster, Henri Nouwen, Bernard of Clairvaux, Kathleen Norris, Meister Eckhart, St. Thomas Aquinas, Karl Rahner, Isaac Penington, Madeleine L’Engle, Alfred Delp, Loretta Ross-Gotta, William Stringfellow, J. Heinrich Arnold, Edith Stein, Philip Britts, Jane Kenyon, John Howard Yoder, Emmy Arnold, Karl Barth, Oscar Romero, William Willimon, Johann Christoph Arnold, Gail Godwin, Leonardo Boff, G. M. Hopkins, Evelyn Underhill, Dorothy Day, Brennan Manning, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Romano Guardini, Annie Dillard, Martin Luther, St. John Chrysostom, Giovanni Papini, Dorothee Soelle, C. S. Lewis, Gustavo Gutiérrez, Philip Yancey, J. T. Clement, Thomas Merton, Eberhard Arnold, Ernesto Cardenal, T. S. Eliot, John Donne, Gian Carlo Menotti and Jürgen Moltmann.