Advent Devotional 3

Finding hope in gratitude

By Carrie Gruhn

As the season of Advent begins, we reflect on the candle of hope. 

Advent, in my own experience, has been a time of preparation.  

Waiting. Watching.  Hoping.  Looking towards Jesus’ birth, and what God will do in the coming year. 

One of the songs in our hymnal is “Be Still My Soul.” 

During times of stress, anxiety, grief and worry, I find it is really hard to be still. 

It is really hard to wait. 

It is really hard to place my concerns with God 

      and leave those concerns with God. 

It’s also been difficult to hope. 

The second verse of the hymn says 

“Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake; 

all now mysterious shall be bright at last.” 

There are so many things that shake my hope some days, 

And yet I remind myself that God is at work in my life. 

Those of us in overwhelming times can’t often see what is happening 

Yet God *is* with us. 

As we take steps in discipleship, or following God more closely, 

it is easier to keep our confidence in the truth of God’s word -  

that what is mysterious will become brighter in our understanding  

as we continue walking the path of faith. 

Gratitude helps me find glimmers of hope.  

I take time to make a small list each day. 

Remembering even the small things that I experience, 

   holding them as a flickering candle 

   letting the light grow 

   Helping hope feel renewed. 

Hope begins our month of anticipation.  

Waiting for the birth of the baby who becomes our Lord. 

May we find and renew our hope in the stories of the season 

In the songs we will sing 

And within our conversations with those around us 

Lord, we reflect on Hope today; the first of the five candles we’ll light this month. 

Help us feel confident in our hope, and aware of how you are working with us and through us. Renew and strengthen our hope, so we can joyfully share your light within our world.  Amen. 

St. John member Carrie Gruhn is a Certified Lay Servant and part of our youth group leadership team.

Advent Devotional 2

A Megadose of Hope

By Sed Charic

Luke 2:52 (NIV): "And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and [people]."

I know that many of us can look at the world around us and find it hard to find hope. This is not too foreign a feeling for those who were living in Judea and Galilee at the time of Jesus' birth: they were under the control of an occupying power, their homeland was divided, and there was no temple (though it was under construction). They had plenty of reasons for despair.

Enter Jesus, who is introduced as a megadose of hope! See, in the early days of Israel the prophet Samuel was considered one of the great leaders of their nation, and was instrumental in helping them to turn back to the Lord and experience God's favor once again. In Luke's Gospel, we get very clear comparisons to Samuel that show us how much better Jesus is! With Samuel, there was one unexpected pregnancy (1 Samuel 1:1-20); with Jesus, there are two (Luke 1:5-25,26-38)! With Samuel, there's one song to celebrate this miracle (Hannah's song, 1 Samuel 2:1-10), but in Luke, two miracles means two songs: Mary's (Luke 1:46-55) and Zecharaiah's (Luke 1:68-79)! And this is just the start; if you have time, I highly recommend reading the first four chapters of 1 Samuel and then the first two chapters of Luke and see what jumps out to you (I'm confident the Spirit will aid you in this).

So what does all of this have to do with the verse at the beginning? Well, first off, if you suspect I'm grasping at straws, that verse is almost identical to 1 Samuel 2:26: "And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people." Secondly - and just as important - as followers of Jesus, we are empowered to become more like Jesus through the Holy Spirit, which means we too can continue to grow in wisdom, stature, and favor with God! In a world where the church continues to strive towards this goal, that is a reason to hope because goodness will continue to increase. That increase may look (or be) inconsistent at times, but I firmly believe it is the key to God's will and kingdom being done here on earth, just as it is in heaven.

Lord, thank you for sending Your people - and us - a megadose of hope in Your Son, Jesus Christ. Help us to grow in wisdom and stature and favor, so that we may use these attributes to influence those around us as a force for good in this world that you have entrusted to us. Amen

Sed Charic is a St. John member and plays in the worship band.

Advent Devotional 1

Digging deep for hope

By Betty Hertz

From Romans 15:12-13 (The Inclusive Bible)

12 and again Isaiah says,

“The root of Jesse is coming,

and will arise to rule over the nations,

and they will place their trust in the Coming One”

13 May the God of hope fill you with such peace and joy in your faith, that you may filled with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The first Advent candle is Hope. It is also known as the Prophet Candle. In the Old Testament prophets, like Isaiah, foretold the coming of the Messiah. For us the Hope candle represents our anticipation of the birth of Jesus and the hope He brings to the world.

Honestly, I have had to dig deep in my heart to feel hope recently. When I chose to write about hope, I know God chuckled because He knew my recent struggles. As I read Verse 13, I thought about the relationship between faith and hope. That led to asking if I am struggling with hope, am I also struggling with faith?

Of course, God decided I needed a refresher course on faith. I have given up counting the number of times I have needed that refresher! Do I have enough faith? Do I need more faith? Well God sent me an answer through The Kingdom Of The Poor by Charles Strobel. I read these words: “We do not need more faith. We need confidence in the faith we have.” As long as I allow the Holy Spirit to work within me my faith is restored and refreshed. I experience confident faith. With that faith, I have room to allow hope to grow.

Hymn of Promise (from UMH, p. 707) has anchored me when my faith has wavered, and everything has seemed hopeless. Verse 2 especially speaks to me:



“There's a song in every silence, seeking word and melody,

There’s a dawn in every darkness, bringing hope to you and me

From the past will come the future; what it holds, a mystery,

 Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.”

Ever Faithful God,

Thank you for your patience as I wander from your plans for me. You remind me that when I let your Son’s words and the Holy Spirit’s power work in me, I return to your path. My faith is restored, and I experience peace, joy and hope. In your beloved son’s name, Amen.

Betty Hertz is St. John Lay Leader and a Stephen Minister.

Where are You?

As Christians, we know that the gospel is literally the good news of what God has done in Jesus Christ.  We know this cognitively and celebrate it weekly at church.  But, it’s easy to be distracted by chores, career, family, health, everything — so much so that the gospel barely skirts the edge of our minds.  God, in His mercy, knows life is hard and we are pulled in many directions, doing the best we can. But still, how can we live a more technicolor, high-def gospel life?

As much as we hate to acknowledge it, traumatic times in our lives can make God pop off the page, so to speak.  In our pain and desperation, we may dive deep spiritually, reaching-out to God for divine help.   

At the same time, it’s also easy to feel disconnected from God, questioning where He is when life goes sideways.  We can be reassured, though, that God is always with us, even when we don’t feel it.  The last sentence in the gospel of Matthew encourages us, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  Chew on that a bit:  Jesus is ALWAYS with you.  Always!

For me, I need to rehearse the awesome beauty of the gospel, over and over — tumbling it around in my mind, sifting out ever more gemstones from its message, savoring the amazing truth that Jesus is the lover of my soul, of everyone’s soul.  

In my St. John UMC grief support group, Betty Hertz suggested that we journal our grief.  Thank you, Betty, for helping me along my path of healing.  I dedicate this poem to you.

Where are You?

By Karen Biggs

Jesus, where are You today

In my doomsday disarray?

Will You stay, I pray, or be away?

In the flurry, I hurry and worry,

My mouth turned down

In a heartache-heavy frown.

What do I do now

With that 1-2 punch-pow?

Jesus, where are You?

Getting ready for Your big debut

Seated in the heavenly-high

Like in another-dimensional sci-fi?

But I need You to meet me

Right here under the ash tree

Where I’m humbled in dust,

(A reminder to trust)

Sensibilities slipping into hoodoo,

Personal peace fluttering up the flue too.

I overhear that You aren’t here. 

Will my Dear ever appear?

Jesus, I want to find You,

The Way, the Life, the True,

In my splatter-shot still-life

Dripping with distress and strife.

Come save me, away me

Cast me a glance at least

A dash of Your love unleashed.

Any favor for me to savor

To bless my worn soul,

To make my half whole.

Jesus, come quickly.

The brambles are thickly

Obscuring and blurring

The Life-Love You’re stirring.

Bring courage and repairing,

Your caring forbearing.

Elevate my spirit —

Jesus be near it.

Jesus, You are here.

Enduring every sneer-jeer,

Emptied entirely for all,

Lashes, nails, and bitter gall

You pick up my pain

And bear the dark stain.

Now let me weep at your feet,

With my hair wipe complete.

Forgiveness, wholeness,

Aware of Your holiness,

Ever-present in my aloneness.

Jesus, in the quiet I find You

When I’m catawampus askew

Crying, cat-calling, craving You

Only You, only You will do.

GBGM Reflection

Last week, I was blessed to travel to Nashville for the joint board meetings of the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) and the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM). Much of our time was spent orienting the new directors (two-thirds of us are new) to the work of both of these agencies of the United Methodist Church, and our responsibilities as directors. Over the coming quadrennium, it is my intention to write short blurbs periodically to share about the excellent work these two organizations are doing on our behalf throughout the world.

Roland Fernandes has served as the General Secretary for GBGM for a number of years, and this year GBHEM has elected him to serve as their General Secretary as well. This is a first in our denomination, with one person serving as the executive of two different agencies within the church.

With disaffiliations significantly impacting the budgets of all of our General Agencies, GBGM and GBHEM are leading the way in working together, finding efficiencies and alignments that will allow the global work of these agencies to continue well into the future. I am very impressed with the excellent work the staff have accomplished thus far, and excited for what is yet to come.

One funding source for each of these organizations, is through the six special Sunday offerings local churches receive each year: Human Relations Day, UMCOR Sunday, Native American (and Native Alaskan!) Ministries Sunday, Peace with Justice Sunday, World Communion Sunday, and United Methodist Student Sunday (coming up in just a few weeks).

If every United Methodist gave $1US to each of these special offerings ($6 per person annually), over thirty million US dollars would be generated annually for the work of our annual conferences and general agencies. Now I recognize $1US has a very different value in the states than it does in other parts of our connexion around the world, but even if only US members contributed in this manner, we would still exceed thirty million US dollars annually in generated revenue.

As many of our local churches are preparing budgets for 2025, I would encourage you to consider budgeting $1 for every church member in your local church for each of these Sundays. On the Sunday we receive the offering, if less is received, consider making up the difference from your budget. If more is received, send in all the receipts.

For example, if your church has 50 members, consider budgeting $50 for each Special Sunday for a total of $300 annually. If you receive only $45 on a given Sunday in Special Sunday envelopes, consider covering the final $5 from your general budget. If you receive $55, send all of it in, and there will be no impact to your budget. This is one small way for us to prioritize the connexional work of our beloved church.

Even if you choose to not use the above approach, it is my hope that each of our local churches will give their members the opportunity to participate in this second-mile giving through our six Special Sundays. You can read more about each of these Sundays here: https://www.resourceumc.org/en/churchwide/umcgiving/special-sundays.

I invite you to join me, in lifting in prayer all the staff members of GBGM and GBHEM in the coming weeks, asking God’s blessing upon their work and their families, for indeed as Heather McGhee said “We are greater than, and greater for, the sum of us.”

All grace and peace,

The Rev. Andy Bartel
GBGM Director 2024-2028
St. John UMC Anchorage AK, Lead Pastor