Christmas
December 28, 2016

Scripture Reading: Psalm 148

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
   for his name alone is exalted;
   his glory is above earth and heaven.
He has raised up a horn for his people,
   praise for all his faithful,
   for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Praise the Lord! –Psalm 148:13-14

It has been a tough year. Uncertainty and unease seem to rule our lives. Such times are good times to look back over the year and consider the things for which we are thankful and the things for which we praise God.

There are of course personal thanksgivings. I was thankful this very morning for waking without congested sinuses and am probably one of the few people who praises God for the first freeze of the fall, pollen be gone. I praise God for a wonderful brother and sister and their offspring from whom I gain great happiness.

I am thankful for an inclusive community of faith where I can worship God, study, and work together with others in addressing human need locally and throughout the world as we seek to love God and love like Jesus in all aspects of life. I praise God for our recently called new Associate Minister and our Senior Minister who strives every day to bring light into the world.

I praise God for the advocates with whom I work toward social justice, for their commitment to the least of these, and for their desire to make our world a place where all have enough living in safety and peace on a sustainable earth.

For what do you praise God, for what are you thankful?

Prayer: God of Justice and Mercy, thank you for your constant presence and guidance in our quest to be the Body of Christ in the world today. And most importantly, we praise you for giving us the gift of Love, Jesus the Christ. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.