Advent // Peace

Advent // Hope

The speaker in this video is name Eric. He wrote this for College Heights Christian Church, a church that I used to attend and volunteer with while I was studying at Ozark Christian College and living in Joplin.

There are four of these 2-3 minutes videos that they produced this year and I thought I would share one on each day leading up to Christmas Eve. I hope you enjoy them... and all the more, I hope they touch you, wherever you may be this Christmas, this Advent, season.

A Prayer for Trust and Confidence

A Prayer for Trust and Confidence

This is a Catholic prayer written by St. Pio of Pietrelcina that I thought too beautiful not to share today. I hope it finds you well as we prepare for tomorrow, the Sunday before Christmas.

Oh Lord, we ask for a boundless confidence and trust in Your divine mercy, and the courage to accept the crosses and sufferings which bring immense goodness to our souls and that of Your Church.

Help us to love You with a pure and contrite heart, and to humble ourselves beneath Your cross, as we climb the mountain of holiness, carrying our cross that leads to heavenly glory.

May we receive You with great faith and love in Holy Communion, and allow You to act in us as You desire for your greater glory.

O Jesus, most adorable Heart and eternal fountain of Divine Love, may our prayer find favor before the Divine Majesty of Your heavenly Father.

Formation Friday: William Wilberforce

“You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know.”
― William Wilberforce

Yesterday was the 149th anniversary of slavery finally being made illegal in the United States, thanks, in a huge way, for how God used one man in England about 60 years beforehand... a man named William Wilberforce.

If you have seen the 2007 movie, Amazing Grace or read the biography by Eric Metaxas by the same title then you need no introduction to the greatness of this man.


William Wilberforce is most notably remembered and revered for leading the fight for abolition in all of Great Britain's Empire. What motivated him through this long, stressful, and very painful ordeal though was not a desire to get his name in a history book, nor was it just about helping people find freedom. William Wilberforce felt a genuine call to do this because of his faith in Jesus Christ and his belief that ALL men and women and children were created in God's image and therefore deserved the dignity of being a human being.

Well, of course. 

In today's society, even those who do not believe in God or an endowment from a Creator, they at least share the ideal that all deserve human dignity.

But this was not the case for a majority of the world's history, most notably in the British Pre-Victorian Era.

The world was only "Christian" in the most superficial of ways. Morality was dictated by government, not by the Bible. This sense and disinterest in religion or Christian teaching was mostly due to the bad taste the religious wars of the previous century left in the mouths of the elite.

To take the Bible in any way serious was to be deemed a fanatic, barely acceptable for the poor and common folk, and socially prohibited by the cultural elite.

What Does Advent Mean?

Christmas.
Holidays.

Whatever you call it, there is no mistaking this time of year. Far from just a noticeable change in weather (though that’s a bit subjective in Florida), there is something going on around town and everyone seems to be getting involved. Music is playing (mostly a rehashing of the same 20 songs from the 1950’s), people are bustling about stores looking for particular gifts for friends and family, and all around churches and homes are setting up nativity scenes. Commercials focus on family, on men proposing to women with diamond rings, on Santa checking his list twice. TV stations run various “25 Days of Christmas” movie marathons.

Unless you live in a cave with no access to the outside world, there is no way to miss that this time of year universally holds a particular meaning.

Jesus was Born in Bethlehem, NOT Rome: Choosing to Lose the "War for Christmas"

Exactly my thoughts as well.
Kurt Willems is on point in this post:

EXTERNAL LINK:

Jesus was Born in Bethlehem, NOT Rome: Choosing to Lose the "War for Christmas"

Formation Friday: Teresa of Ávila

“It is foolish to think that we will enter heaven without entering into ourselves.”

Teresa of Ávila also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, baptized as Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada (28 March 1515 – 4 October 1582), was a prominent Spanish mystic, Roman Catholic saint, Carmelite nun, an author for the Counter-Reformation and a theologian of contemplative life through mental prayer. She was a reformer of the Carmelite Order and is considered to be a founder of the Discalced Carmelites along with St. John of the Cross.

Teresa was also the first of only three women to obtain the title "Doctor of the Church", the most prestigious canonization of any saint.

(Translation: She is a pretty big deal for Catholics and many Protestants.)

Last night I was talking with my friends, Evan and Breanna, and I told them who I would be writing on for today. Evan responded by saying that Teresa is like oatmeal. The first time you try it, you may like the taste but the texture sometimes has to grow on you. Especially if it is very soggy oatmeal.

Now before I get called out for comparing a great woman of God with a bowl of oatmeal, let me explain...

I liked that analogy when it comes to Teresa. Evan isn't convinced whether he likes her or not, but nonetheless we all acknowledge she is an important figure in Christian history. She was at the forefront of the Catholic Counter-Reformation and brought a mystical love for Christ back to a very rigid and overly-structured time for the Catholic Church... much like Pope Francis is seeming to do right now with the Roman Catholic Church. Not everyone likes this Pope, but no one can say he isn't doing good things. He has to grow on you. You have to get used to him. Much is the same with St. Teresa. Her words were shocking to the church in her time, and they remain today, just as shocking.

Advent: Wait

Oh, come, oh, come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Have you ever wondered about this song, like, why Israel is captive, or why they are mourning in exile? And why are they mourning in exile… here. Here. Where you are. Where I am.

It is a Christmas favorite, but honestly it was never meant to be sung in conjunction with songs like “Jingle Bells” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”

Why are we singing about Israel at a time like this? It’s Christmas! Where are the cookies?

There are multiple things going on in this song that point us to a greater element of this time of the year. The Church Calendar celebrates this time (the four weeks leading up to Christmas) as the Church’s New Year. This season is called Advent.

Songs I'm Meditating Through... As the Deer

This is an older worship chorus that is still sung in churches today, though it is becoming more and more seldom. This is to be expected though as newer worship styles become more popular and new songs become new favorites. "As the Deer" was written by Marty Nystrom in 1981 and quickly grew to become a beloved chorus/ hymn sung by congregations everywhere.

The song is rich, due to it being based primarily on scripture (Psalm 42 and Psalm 63) and theological truths. The title is from the first line of the song, taken straight from Psalm 42:1.

Take a listen, even if this isn't your particular style of music, it's a good reminder of who God is and what our appropriate response of worship should be.





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Nathan Bryant

is a pastor living in Phoenix, AZ. As a student at Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Missouri he majored in Biblical Leadership, New Testament Studies, and Missiology. Nathan has a combined passion for unity and discipleship in the global church.

Christ's Kingdom is bigger than our causes.

Christ's Kingdom is bigger than our boundaries.

Follow him on Twitter: Follow @nathanpbryant

Nathan's Website

Formation Fridays: John Bunyan

For today’s Formation Friday, I highlight John Bunyan. I have read only one of his works, his most famous, The Pilgrim’s Progress, though I hope to read his other works soon. My information and wording of this post is heavily relied upon by the research and writing of Tim Challies, a brother and warrior for the faith. He blogs regularly at challies.com I encourage you to check out his book reviews and articles.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about John Bunyan was his unusual ability to preach and teach. It is recorded that King Charles II once asked John Owen (another important Puritan that we could learn so much from) why he listened to Bunyan, an uneducated tinker, to which Owen replied, “Could I possess the tinker’s abilities for preaching, please your Majesty, I would gladly relinquish all my learning.”

John Bunyan, author of The Pilgrim’s Progress and undoubtedly the most famous Puritans save for maybe Johnathan Edwards, was born on November 28, 1628 in Bedfordshire, England. His father, Thomas earned his living as a chapman and as a brass worker. As was custom in their day, John was expected to take over the family business. In 1644, Bunyan turned 16, but it was not a sweet 16. It was a very sad and eventful year for the Bunyan family: in June, Bunyan lost his mother and, in July, his sister Margaret died. Following this, within two months, his father married (for the third time) to Anne Pinney and a half-brother, Charles, was born. John Bunyan soon left to join the Parliamentary Army.