Grace for All

Advent

(our theme for December)

John 1:5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

A few years ago, I learned the story of St. Lucy, a girl who was martyred in the 4th century.  Lucy, or “the light,” was offered in marriage to a nobleman at the age of 13, but she refused, having consecrated herself to Christ with the intention of giving away her dowry to the poor.  Her sentence for disobedience was to work in a brothel, but reportedly, when her captors came for her,  she could not be carried away.  She was given a second sentence, to be burned at the stake but her accusers could not accomplish this either.  Ultimately, she was killed by the sword.

Tradition teaches that Lucy, a follower of Christ, carried food to other early Christians who were hiding in the catacombs.  She wore a wreath crown lit with candles on her head to light her way.   It is said that she devised  the wreath with the candles atop because she did not want to waste the capacity of her arms and hands.  Instead of using a hand to carry a lantern or torch into the caves and tunnels, she would wear the wreath and deliver as much nourishment as she could with each trip, filling her arms with food.  She carried the light of love. And now she is venerated and celebrated around the world as a symbol of hope.  Her feast day is December 13. 

Since I learned her story, I think about St. Lucy every Advent season. She inspires me–inspires us all– to be a harbinger of light.  Isn’t it a beautiful image, to envision walking around with candles aflame, lighting the darkness, even as both hands are free to do the busy work of serving?   That is the desire of my heart–to be like St. Lucy–even as I feel pressed on all sides, and even though it requires the repeated and continual surrender of my flesh, my earthly body and selfish desires.  Because when  I feel pressed, crushed, threatened, my natural desire is to conserve, withdraw, and hide, to protect what is “mine,” to hold on tightly.  Instead, God calls me to let go, to free my hands. To use them to carry more and more grace into the darkness.

Hope is never earned or claimed or grasped.  Hope cannot be found by holding on tightly.  It can only be received by letting go, by opening to what might be rather than clinging to what is.

Prayer: 

Light of the world, place your light on our heads and in our hearts, and empty our hands that we may carry and share more and more of your love and grace.  Amen.

Today’s devotional was written by Greta Smith, and read by Sally Stovall.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected].

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Advent

(our theme for December)

Romans 5: 3-5We even take pride in our problems, because we know that trouble produces endurance, 4 endurance produces character, and character produces hope. 5 This hope doesn’t put us to shame, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Common English Translation

One of my favorite Christmas stories is O’Henry’s The Gift of the Magi. First published in 1905, this is the story of a young married couple, Jim and Della, on the eve of Christmas. They are barely eking out a life together because of Jim’s meager income. But Della is determined to give Jim a special Christmas gift that shows her love for him. She finds a platinum watch fob that will go perfectly with Jim’s treasured pocket watch. But she has no money to buy it. What Della does have is luxuriant long hair, which was much prized in that day for ladies’ hair accessories. 

So she goes to the hair shop and sells her hair and buys the watch fob. When Jim comes home and sees her short hair he is stunned. But Della pulls out her precious gift to show him, expecting he will understand. 

He instead shows her the gift he purchased for her, a set of beautiful hair combs. The couple has sacrificed the very things the gifts are meant to embellish. 

Della and Jim endured economic hardship as a young couple. They endured their meager income all year long until Christmas. But their love for each other brings out a character of sacrifice. Ironically, they each sacrifice the item the other values most. 

On one level, this is a story of cosmic irony. But O’Henry titles the story, The Gift of the Magi. In the ending sentences he says, “Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.” Like the original Magi, Jim and Della bring their most prized gifts. 

Like the Magi, they act out of sacrificial love. Like the Magi, they gain much more than they give. This spirit of sacrificial love is the love that God exhibits with the birth of Jesus Christ into our human world. And it is this love that gives us hope as we live out our lives. These are the glorious gifts of Christmas.

Let us pray:

Dear Lord: Thank you God for the sacrifice and love you have shown humanity with the gift of Jesus Christ. You gave us the one whom you loved the most. We pray that your sacrificial love will open all human hearts at Christmas to sacrifice for each other. In Jesus name we pray, Amen. 

This episode was written by Laura Derr and read by Sally Stovall.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected].

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Advent

(our theme for December)

Romans 15:13 (CEB) May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in faith so that you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Too often we confuse wishes with hope.  We wish for many things: a good report from the doctor, that tomorrow will be a sunny day, or that we will hear from a friend or family member.  We might wish that a child or grandchild gets the job they have been wanting.  Yes, we wish for many things and at times we are disappointed that our wishes don’t come true. 

Hope is different from wishes.  We are even told that hope never disappoints, as wishes sometime do. In Scripture, hope always focuses us forward with confident expectation that God’s promises will be fulfilled. Advent is a time to celebrate the fulfillment of the promises of God.  God promised to send a Messiah, a savior.  In the birth of Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, the promise was fulfilled. 

In Romans Paul calls God the God of hope.  We often think of other attributes of God, like God is love.  But here, Paul says, “God is the God of hope.” Paul wanted us to face the future with confidence.  No matter what we are experiencing in life at this moment we have hope.  What are the promises that help us face into the future with joy and peace?

We are promised that God in Christ is with us.  No matter what we are facing, we are not doing it alone.  We are promised that if we believe, we will receive eternal life. This means that the worst thing that is happening to us is never God’s last word.  

This hope is not to be confused with wishful thinking. Hope is the gift of the Holy Spirit, part of the comfort we are promised by Jesus. 

I might wish that what I or a loved one is experiencing might be different.  I might wish that the world was a different and more loving and less scary and conflict-filled place.  These wishes might or might not happen. But the God of hope gives me peace because I know that the baby born in Bethlehem was one of God’s promises fulfilled. This allows me to look at today and tomorrow with confident expectation because I have the hope that God is with us, that he loves us, and that he will give us peace, joy – and yes, eternal life. 

Let us pray: 

Loving God, when we become discouraged, and our hope in you falters, remind us anew of your constant presence in our lives.  Face us forward with trust knowing that you are with us now and always.  AMEN.

This episode was written by Bill Green and read by Dwight Dockery.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected].

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Advent

(our theme for December)

Psalm 42:2-5 My whole being thirsts for God, for the living God. When will I come and see God’s face? My tears have been my food both day and night, as people constantly questioned me, “Where’s your God now?”But I remember these things as I bare my soul: how I made my way to the mighty one’s abode, to God’s own house, with joyous shouts and thanksgiving songs—a huge crowd celebrating the festival! Why, I ask myself, are you so depressed? Why are you so upset inside? Hope in God! Because I will again give him thanks, my saving presence and my God. (Psalm 42:2-5)

I had my 50th High School reunion recently. It brought back many memories, not least being reminders of favorite songs from the 1970s. They stuck with me, not just because they were good songs (although, of course, they were excellent), but because many of them incorporated techniques to make them memorable, like strong, repetitive choruses.

I may have trouble remembering why I walked into a room, but I can remember every word of “American Pie” by Don McClean, especially the chorus.

In the twenty-first century, it’s easy to forget that what we know as the Book of Psalms served as Israel’s hymnal. And just as with modern songs, many of them had strong choruses. Scholars believe Psalm 42 and 43 were originally a single song, partly because of the repeated chorus that appears in both. And just as songs uplifted my spirits in the challenging days of high school and songs of worship uplift our souls today, the chorus of Psalm 42 and 43 encouraged the Israelites in Babylonian exile. These psalms capture the deep sense of displacement and spiritual deprivation felt by those who could no longer worship in the Temple. The chorus of verse five doesn’t say, “Why are you so depressed? Just cheer up! Things will get better.” They could hope in God because they had his promise (such as in Isaiah 43) that the exile would end and they would return home.

Let’s pray.

Dear God, we live in a stressful time. It is easy to get depressed, hard to stay upbeat. We are grateful for realistic hope in your promises! When we get discouraged, remind us of your promises and your support. In Jesus’s name, Amen!

This devotional was written and read by Donn King.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected].

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

AdventLuke 2: 13-14And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

When I think of the songs of Christmas, it's not just one particular song that stands out. My mind and heart go to one particular song at one particular place at one particular time. In years past, the cantata service in our church has begun with Angels We Have Heard On High. 

When that happens, I always try to get up to the balcony. From there, the confluence of choir and orchestra and organ and 600 voices make for a "joyful noise" that is simply overwhelming to me. In those instances, I can't even sing along; all I can do is stand and listen as "the mountains in reply, echo their joyous strains". If the angels sounded anything like this, it's no wonder that the shepherds ran to Bethlehem to see this thing that had come to pass. 

While I love the lullabies of Christmas like Away in a Manger and Silent Night, it's the celebration songs that touch me the most and this one in particular. While we don't want to wake the baby, we can always go to the hills and sing with the angels.

So, if the perfect storm of song and place and time happens again and the balcony dwellers see me slip in, just go on singing. I'm just there to here angels rejoice.

Prayer:

Lord, help me to add my voice to the celebrations of the angels and sing “Joy to the World”! Amen.

This devotional was written by Charlie Barton and read by Sally Stovall.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected].

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Advent

(our theme for December)

Matthew 2: 1-2 (NIV) “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?  We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.’”

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.  But how many of us would begin the long journey, without knowing where we were going, with no map, with no address, with no phone number for the person on the other end of the journey? Nothing but a star to guide us!

The Magi, wise men from the far East, took such a journey.  We are not told their country of origin.  No number or names are given for the wise men, though three was destined to become the most common number because of the three gifts they were bearing – Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh.  In fact, the term Magi/Magus, or “wise men” was translated from the Greek and Google says these men were probably astrologers as their study of the sky led them toward Jesus. 

But regardless of who they were, they were brave, determined, and keenly focused on reaching their goal, of finding the newborn King of the Jews!  Surely God inspired their journey and gave them the confidence to follow that mysterious Star to reach that Goal.  And though they didn’t know his name, we do – they were seeking Jesus!

Our personal journey to find Jesus, also begins with a single step and trust in the calling to seek him.  God will lead us, just as he did the Wise Men.  God will not lead us astray or leave us on the trail with no idea of which way to turn.  God will keep the star of hope shining in our hearts, if we but seek him, every day, as we journey onward toward the goal.

And our goal is not only to find Jesus, and God reassures us that we will, in Jeremiah 29:13 “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”  But once we have found him, we are to work to become more like him, one step at a time, toward his bright, shining example.  We don’t know where the journey will take us, but we do know that Jesus himself summed up our goal in the greatest commandment – LOVE God and LOVE people.  That is the Way we must go!  We need to focus on Him.  His star is always bright – leading us onward to the goal of great LOVE!

Please pray with me now…

Dear God – Even though we don’t always know exactly where you are taking us, please keep that star burning bright in our hearts; give us courage and keep hope alive; keep us focused on the goal of growing a little more like Jesus each and every day.  And in His name we pray.  Amen!

This episode was written and read by Bernice Howard

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected].

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

With a Thankful Heart 

(our theme for November)

Thank you for joining us for today's Grace for All podcast.

On Saturdays, we pause for a few moments to look back on our week and to review the scriptures that we have used in our podcast. We encourage you, after listening to this episode, to go back and listen to the episodes you missed, or to review the ones that were particularly meaningful for you.

We trust that the thoughts that we have shared with you this week have provided a full portion of the joy, peace, and love of Jesus Christ.

Now, let's hear this week's scriptures.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life. 

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected]. 

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.  

With a Thankful Heart 

(our theme for November)

Luke 7: 1 -10  After Jesus had finished all his sayings in the hearing of people, he entered Capernaum.  A centurion there had a servant whom he valued highly and was close to death.  When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his servant.  When they came to Jesus, they appealed to him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy of having you do this for him, for he loves our people, and it is he who built our synagogue for us.”  And Jesus went with them, but when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; therefore I did not presume to come to you.  But only speak the word, and let my servant be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me, and I say to one, ‘Go’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this’ and the slave does it.”  When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, he said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”  When those sent returned to the house, they found the servant in good health.

Clearly, the centurion understood that Jesus held the ultimate authority.  While it was also known the centurion had a significant degree of power in Capernaum, it paled when compared to that of Christ.  That also rings true today, as Jesus said, “I am the alpha and the omega.”

Personally, within the last year I had good reason to pray when my wife suffered tremendous abdominal pain.  When urged to go to the ER, she refused.  It turned out to be the weekend and the next day she relented and agreed to go to the clinic.  She was not there long, when she was sent off to the ER anyway. Fortunately it was an early Saturday morning, the ER was empty and she was evaluated quickly.  Just as quickly she was given a shot of morphine and was taken away as the door locked behind her.

Turns out she had lifesaving abdominal surgery.  To that time she had lived with a congenital defect which resulted in her ascending colon collapsing upon itself.  It could have happened anytime before our marriage.  It could have happened when she was at work, the gym, on a cruise, overseas on vacation.  The list goes on, but it did happen.

It just so happened that a highly skilled surgeon was on call at Blount Memorial Hospital, along with an equally skilled anesthesiologist, incredible operating room nurses and support staff.  She had outstanding post operative care and made a swift recovery, as I prayed.  

That same Jesus that was at Capernaum hears our prayers today.  He loves us.  He commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves.  He commands us to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul and all your mind.  It is something we can all do and walk a closer walk with Jesus.  He walked the walk to Capernaum, but was stopped in his tracks by the faith of the centurion.  I am sure we can all do likewise.

Let us pray:

Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your son Jesus to be your messenger, to teach us.  Not only did you send him, but you sent a helper too, the Holy Spirit.  Fill us with your Holy Spirit to have the faith of the centurion and give us determination to walk the walk that Jesus would have us walk.

Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Sam Barto.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life. 

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected]. 

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/. 

With a Thankful Heart 

(our theme for November)

Psalm 100:4-5  Enter his gates with thanksgiving; Go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him  and praise his name.

 My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. Don’t misunderstand me, I love Christmas. And the 4th of July. And, of course, Easter! My goodness, yes Easter! But for national holidays, it’s Thanksgiving. And the reason, probably, is tradition. There are so many traditions associated with Thanksgiving.

My family always gathered at my parent’s house. We always had the same meal. My dad made his cornbread dressing. It was legendary. I have continued to make it. My son has the recipe and makes it. We don’t have the magic so it’s not as good, but we make it.

The national holiday we celebrate as Thanksgiving has biblical roots. Of the major Bible themes, this is a leading one. Faith, joy, hope, and of course, love, are joined with gratitude as recurring themes in the Bible.  We are told to be thankful. Regardless of the circumstances. And when we are, life unfolds the way God intends.

This Thanksgiving celebrate in the way God invites us to. Being grateful not only for our blessings but for all of the goodness God provides. In the midst of hardships, be thankful. When times are tough, be thankful. When you are alone, be thankful. When others don’t understand, be thankful. And you will learn that our God is faithful. And that gratitude changes things from discouraging to encouraging, from despair to hope, from doubt to faith.

Just look at the cross. This is God’s way of responding to the worst that life can do. He will redeem everything. Give thanks.

Prayer:

God, You have the capacity to bless everything. Bless my life so that I will be truly grateful for all you give me and I will live in such a way that I reflect your glory. Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Herb Sadler.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life. 

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected]. 

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/. 

Thankful Heart 

(our theme for November)

James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

I often think about nature when I think of God’s good and perfect gifts. Perhaps that’s why I studied biology in college.

My college advisor was a botanist who encouraged me to take field botany. It was quite an eye-opening experience. Even the smallest plants and flowers reveal great complexity when looking through a magnifying loop. 

The process for identifying plants was fascinating to me—almost like solving a mystery. By answering a series of questions with two possible answers, you can identify a plant. I was amazed. Of course, the complexity of a plant is nothing compared to the complexity of animals, humans, or the planet. In examining the complexity of something so small, it’s easy to be in awe of creation and the Creator. 

We don’t need a magnifying lens or a taxonomic guide to see God’s gifts all around us, from plants and animals to friends and family and love and peace. Everything around us is a reflection of God’s love for us. The challenge is to not take these good gifts for granted.    

The second part of this verse reminds us of God’s constancy. He is the same today, tomorrow, and forever. When we have good, bad, or frustrating days, it often affects our interactions with others. That is, we are not the same each day—our response to others may vary depending on circumstances and timing. 

How comforting to know that God’s interactions with us do not change. His care and concern for us never changes. When we are angry and upset, God is there. When we are elated, God is there. In a world that often seems unstable, God is our stability. 

In this season of gratitude, may we reflect on the good and perfect gifts God has given and will continue to give us. May we praise God with a thankful heart. 

Let us pray.

God, help us recognize every good and perfect gift you provide. Let those gifts remind us of your faithfulness and increase our trust that you are our provider. Further, let us share the gifts we have received with others that they may learn of your steadfast love throughout the generations. Amen. 

 

This devotional was written by Kathryn King and read by Greta Smith.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life. 

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected]. 

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.