Title: Like Mary, Like Joseph Text: Isa 7:10-16, Matt 1:18-25 Date: Dec 19, 2010 Author: Isaac Villegas Loved and Liked The story of Christmas, of Immanuel, God with us, is that we are not only loved by God, but that God likes us. Not only does God love us, God actually likes us. (See James [...]

A meditation on prison and Christmas. Here are a few lines from Isaac’s column: As members of our church gather for fellowship and prayer in prison, we receive the flow of God’s life through our hands. The love and friendship of God revealed at Christmas come to us again as the Spirit overshadows our circle [...]

Title: The House Doesn’t Always Win Text: James 5 Date: December 12, 2010 Author: Chris Gooding Many of you know that I haven’t always been Mennonite. I grew up as a member of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS), which is the most conservative branch of the Lutheran church in America. To cite only a [...]

Isaac wrote a reflection on his visit to a Mennonite church in Chicago. Here’s an excerpt: …His voice wavers, fading in and out; and it sounds as if his throat is full of gravel. Yet he sings with confidence: “Just a closer walk with thee; Grant it, Jesus, is my plea.” The rest of us [...]

Title: Becoming Fire Text: Matt 3:1-12 Date: Dec 5, 2010 Author: Isaac Villegas John the Baptist appears in the wilderness and says, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me… He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matt 3:11). First John [...]