Book Review: A Year With Jesus

Nettlehorst, R. P.,  A Year With Jesus:  Daily Readings and Reflections on Jesus' Own Words.  Thomas Nelson, 2011.


We can understand Jesus' message best when we approach it with humility and openness.

R. P. Nettlehorst

In many ways, R. P. Nettlehorst's A Year With Jesus:  Daily Readings and Reflections on Jesus' Own Words is a typical devotional collection.  It follows the usual formula:  a daily scripture passage labeled "Day 1" through "Day 365" followed by a brief (approximately half page) reflection on the meaning and application of the scripture.  The daily readings are grouped into sections with names like "Love and Hate," "Truth and Lies," "Arrogance and Humility," "Friends and Enemies," "Belief and Disbelief," and "Patience and Impatience."

Several things set this book apart from other devotional collections.  The theme is unique in that the scripture selections are Jesus's words from the Gospels, Acts, and Revelation.  They follow a rough timeline of His ministry and conclude with the crucifixion and resurrection.  The reflections that follow the selections are straight-forward and action-oriented, designed to impel the reader forward in his or her faith journey.

Daily Readings for Season After Epiphany

The daily lectionary readings for the Season After Epiphany are available.  Download them from this link:

Season After Epiphany Daily Readings

Happy New Year!

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Advent & Christmas Readings 2011

It's beginning to sound a lot like Christmas!  Carols pervade the malls, Santas twinkle from every window.  But there is a season before Christmas.  Advent's message is very simple:  Prepare Ye The Way of the Lord.  The lectionary readings for the season lead us, step by step, to a manger in Bethlehem.  Prepare your hearts for the coming of the King!

Advent Reader 2011

2011 Readings for the Season after Pentecost

Join me in study of the Lectionary texts for this season of growth.  Find the daily readings here:

2011 Readings for the Season after Pentecost

May this time be one of growth for you!

2011 Lenten and Easter Readings

The Holy Season comes soon.  Immerse yourself in the Holy Scriptures through reading the Daily Lectionary.  With dates assigned to the Year A readings, the 2011 Lenten and Easter Readings makes it easy.  Print off the reader (it contains one page for Lent and Easter Sunday and the second page for Eastertide), and slide a copy into your Bible for a handy reference.  May this be a season of growth for you.

Come to the Water

With the close of Christmastide on Epiphany—Twelfth Night or the twelfth day of Christmas, the community of faith returns again to Ordinary Time for nine Sundays until Lent begins. With the exception of the first and last Sundays after Epiphany, the chancel is again vested in green. On those “bookend” Sundays, however, the chancel is vested in festive white for two festivals: Baptism of the Lord and Transfiguration. Christ's baptism by John the Baptist marked the beginning of His public ministry (Matthew 3:13-17) and this feast day offers believers the opportunity to examine again the covenant embodied by the sacrament and to reaffirm their commitment to that covenant.

The provisions of this covenant include the renunciation of sin, the acceptance of God's freedom and power to resist sin, and the confession of the Christ as Savior. While this seems innocuous enough, it is in the remaining provisions of the covenant that the mission handed to Christians becomes apparent. Because of the salvation professed, the Christian covenants to serve Christ as Lord in union with the Church, to remain faithful members of Christ's holy Church, and to be God's representatives in the world. Being God's representatives in the world means that each Christian has a unique ministry ( I Corinthians 12:12-31) which may be demonstrated singularly but, more often, in conjunction with others.

This supposedly minor feast, often ignored, offers the Christian the opportunity to again examine how his or her own personal ministry manifests God in the world. It reminds the believer to form an answer to the following: “What difference does Christ make in my life? What difference does Christ in my life make in the lives of others?”

Let these nine Sundays of Ordinary Time become a period of growth as you examine how your own personal ministry is the presence of God to those around you. Literally or figuratively, dip your hand again into the water which washes away the sins which impede a personal ministry: doubt, fear, self-consciousness, lack of education, lack of motivation, pride.

Come to the water; Christ awaits.

Resources

The United Methodist Book of Worship. 1992. The United Methodist Publishing House: Nashville, TN.