Generous God
The 3rd Sunday in Advent
My wrongdoings are stacked higher than my head; they are a weight that’s way too heavy for me. ~ Psalm 38:4 (CEB)
The angel said to Joseph: Then after Mary's baby is born, name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” ~ Matthew 1:21 (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
Since we can't make things right, God sent Jesus into the world to do it for us.
PRAYER:
Thank you, God, for sending Jesus into the world to relieve us of the heavy load we are carrying. I don't properly acknowledge how big of a Christmas gift that is. I am easily distracted by lesser things -- the lights, the holiday shopping lists, all the parties and Christmas events... Help me to keep the focus on Jesus. Thank you for your generosity. I'm going to mention the birth of Jesus to at least one person today. Amen.
*ABOUT THE
DAILY TEXTS
The Daily Texts have been published by the Moravian Church since 1731. In 2011 I started posting these Bible verses for my spiritual formation students at Pacific Islands University. In the process of responding to the verses, I found the rhythm of looking for a common thread and writing a prayer based on that key idea to be helpful for my own soul. The prayers are more or less modeled on the TRIP method, which is what I ask my students to do in their journaling. ~ Brad Boydston
TRANSLATIONS
ABP = Authorized Boydston Paraphrase -- a freestyle biblical adaptation -- somewhere between paraphrase, commentary, and sermon
CEB = Common English Bible (©2011, the Common English Bible)
CEV = Contemporary English Version (©1995, American Bible Society)
MSG = The Message (©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson)
NIRV = New International Reader's Version (©1996, 1998, Biblica)
NIV = New International Version (©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011, Biblica)
NLT = New Living Translation (©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, Tyndale House Foundation)
