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Praying about the flow of time: Two after-Christmas events

Lynne Baab • Thursday December 26 2024

I experienced seven Christmases as a Presbyterian associate pastor. Here’s how it works when you’re an associate minister. The senior minister preaches at Christmas and Easter, and you get the Sundays immediately following. The senior minister, usually experiencing fatigue from those two big events, deserves a Sunday off to recover.

The lectionary Gospel readings for the Sunday after Christmas focus on these stories in the three-year cycle: the wise men (Matthew 2:1-12),the slaughter of the baby boys in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16-18), and the boy Jesus in the temple (Luke 2:41-52). For some reason, I never got to preach on the boy Jesus...

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Praying about the flow of time: The incarnation and prayer

Lynne Baab • Tuesday December 17 2024

In a recent guest sermon at our church, artist/writer/performer Scott Erickson said, “Prayer is paying attention to God’s presence already there in our lives.” His words summarized the central idea I was pondering for this just-before-Christmas blog post.

I encourage you to ponder what difference it makes for your prayers that God became incarnate in Jesus. At Christmas, we celebrate Immanuel, God with us here on earth. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit brought the incarnate God into our hearts and minds — “God’s presence already there in our lives.” We can grow in prayer by pondering this amazing reality of God with us.

Sure,...

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Praying about the flow of time: Naming who Jesus is and praying in response

Lynne Baab • Tuesday December 10 2024

O come, O come, Immanuel, and ransom captive Israel.

O come, O Wisdom from on high . . . to us the path of knowledge show.

O come, O Branch of Jesse’s stem, unto your own and rescue them!

O come, O Key of David, come and open wide our heavenly home.

O come, O Bright and Morning Star, and bring us comfort from afar!

O come, O King of nations, bind in one the hearts of all mankind.

Notice the structure of these prayers. First, we call on a name or characteristic of Jesus, and then we request something that corresponds to that name. You’ll recognize...

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Praying about the flow of time: Why Jesus had to come

Lynne Baab • Tuesday December 3 2024

One of the best preachers I’ve ever heard is Paul Windsor. He taught preaching at Carey Baptist College in Auckland, then moved to Langham Partnership. He teaches preaching for Langham worldwide and trains local Christians who teach preaching. He is passionate about understanding our cultural context as well as the Bible. He talks about “the importance of listening to both Word and World.” [1]

He wrote a fascinating blog post in which he describes the major lessons of each of his six decades of life. In describing his 50s, he writes about “a way of exegeting.” He gives one example of that...

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