Advent is a time of waiting. In the mania of all that the Christmas season has become, it seems impossible to make time for anything, much less to practice this waiting for Jesus’ birth. Lumina Arts Incubator and Grace Church United Methodist are excited to share a daily devotional that was created with this in mind—to help us all make space and time for the spiritual practices of prayer, scripture study, and general quiet time with God during the most wonderful (i.e. hectic) time of the year.
Through Lumina, a ministry of Grace Church United Methodist, I have spent time working with artists from all different walks of life, who identify all over the spiritual-religious spectrum. What I love most about this work is watching people connect with their creativity and explore in community how that connection intersects with the spiritual. We hold weekly small group workshops around “The Artist’s Way” a book by Julia Cameron that reminds us, first and foremost, that God is an artist and perhaps, most poignantly, that God loves artists. The devotions we'll be sharing during the next few weeks were written by participants of these groups and our wonderful Grace Church staff. They contain a special Creative Call-to-Action at the end of each weekday, to help you experience this time of waiting with purposeful and active reflection.
If you don’t consider yourself an artist, I hope this Advent you will be open to exploring these Creative Call-to-Actions at the end of each day, exploring God’s creation with new eyes, opening yourself up to the music and color that is all around us. What better time of year is there to relish in the blessings of God’s great masterwork? What have we been waiting for?
Join us on Sunday mornings at Grace Church (900 N Washington Street, Wilmington Delaware) at 10:25 worship to hear each week’s scripture and sermon/meditation on God’s Word. At Grace you can pick up a hard copy of the devotional and within it's pages you'll find space to take notes in Sundays entry. During or after the service, feel free to write down the things you’d most like to keep in mind as you dive deeper into the scripture throughout the week. Beginning on Mondays, Sunday’s scripture is divided into bite-size pieces to explore daily through a reflection, prayer, and creative call-to-action. On Saturdays we will rest from our devotional practice. As you recharge, be thankful for all the week has brought.
Below is today's scripture. Hope to see you in worship in a few hours!
Blessings on your Advent waiting!
Merideth
___________
Sunday, December 3, 2017:
6 For a child has been born for us,
a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders;
and he is named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 His authority shall grow continually,
and there shall be endless peace
for the throne of David and his kingdom.
He will establish and uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time onward and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Isaiah 9:6-7
Attend worship today and take notes on what struck you most about the service. We will meditate and reflect on select verses of this scripture each day this week.