When I was a child, I loved the Christmas season. To me it was not just special on Christmas day, but it really was about the season. You see, my father’s job frequently required him to be gone on Christmas day; I think he missed seven years in a row. So in our family we had Christmas on Christmas day and on either the day he returned or perhaps the day before he departed. Either way, our parents made sure that we knew how much they loved us during this season.

They also made sure we knew Christmas was not just about presents, but more importantly the gift of the Christ child coming into the world. As a child I knew my parents loved me and I heard God loved me too. It was not until later in life, that I began to really experience and understand how much God really loves me. That is why I like today’s scripture so much. I can envision God on His throne looking straight into my eyes and saying, “You are mine. No matter what you do, no matter what you are struggling with, no matter what your hang-ups are, I am with you. I am your God, your Savior, and I paid a huge price for you. That is how much you mean to me! That is how much I love you.” Now as a parent, I understand better than ever. No matter what happens with my children, I will always love them.

During this Christmas season, I pray the present you receive is to feel the presence and overwhelming love of God.

Will you pray with me: Father God, thank you for your love more than I certainly deserve and more than I can fully comprehend. I pray that those who do not fully know you would open their hearts to feel your presence and be able to experience the depth of your love for them. Amen.

Today’s devotion was written and recorded by Owen Ragland.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Have you ever received a gift that was a complete surprise? Maybe it was something you had hoped for but never expected to receive. Maybe it was something you were expecting but it came from a different person in an unexpected way. Or perhaps it was something you never knew about until it arrived, but it turned out to be wonderful.

More than 2,000 years ago, the world received a gift that many did not expect and that countless others missed completely. A baby was born in an obscure village, in a place unknown to most of the world. Not in a palace, not with royal fanfare, but in a humble manger. The Creator of the universe chose to enter His creation through the back door of history.

I sometimes wonder about the choir of angels that sang to the shepherds on that hillside on the night of Christ's birth. Were the shepherds truly the only ones who heard and responded to that glorious chorus? Did others in and around Bethlehem hear the noise and simply turn over and go back to sleep? Were there people who should have known but simply missed it because they weren't paying attention?

The birth of Jesus is no longer a surprise to us today. Yet it remains the perfect symbol of how God often deals with His people. Throughout the Scriptures, we find again and again that God's gifts come as surprises. They are not what we expect. They do not arrive in the way we anticipate. They are often not even things we have thought to ask for. Like the manger-bed of Jesus, God's greatest gifts often come wrapped in the most humble packaging.

Our Father, as we celebrate this Christmas, help us remain open to the surprise gifts You have in store for each of us. Let us remember that the greatest gift of all, the birth of Jesus Christ, came as a surprise to the world. Help us not miss that gift or the many other gifts You give to us. Keep our hearts alert and our spirits sensitive to Your presence, even in unexpected places. Amen.

This devotional was written by Jim Stovall and read by Sage Jonas.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

The word “love” just might be the most overused word in the English-speaking world. We love our families, and we love pizza. We love our friends, and we love certain books, movies and songs. We love one another and we love baseball or football. . .and so on and on. The English language presents many difficulties in communicating clearly, and this lack of differentiation in the use of the word love for different feelings and situations is certainly one of its biggest challenges.

We really cannot compare God’s love, displayed in the sacrifice of his Son for the salvation of the world, to how we feel about pizza, or even an adored spouse or child. We need different words to describe and understand the agape love of the Bible, the unconditional, selfless, and sacrificial love that God shows to us and that we are to show to others.

Christina Rossetti, 19th century English poet, expresses the wonder of God’s agape love in the person of Jesus Christ in a three-verse hymn written in 1885.

Our Christian faith is based on believing that at the center of the universe is God, overflowing with love for His world. The purpose of human existence then is to receive this love that has come to us through Jesus and then to give it back out to others. Christian love is others-focused, self-giving love, and that is agape love. It begins with Jesus’ birth at Christmas, but it is eternal.

Heavenly father, no matter how hard we try, it is difficult for us to imagine the breadth and depth of God’s love for us. We give you thanks for showing us this love in the life and works of Jesus Christ. May we always seek to be more like Him in all that we say and do.

Amen.

This episode was written by Pat Scruggs and read by Grace Jonas.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

I was on a weekend getaway driving through a trendy downtown area filled with coffee shops, restaurants, and breweries when I looked at a business and saw it was called Agape (uh-gāp). My first reading was the adjective with a long A (uh-gāp), and I thought what a weird name for a business. Then I read the second line of the sign and realized it was a health clinic-Oh!- agape (a-gáp-ē) the Greek for love. It made me wonder how often that caused confusion. It made me consider how easy or hard it is to recognize agape—God’s Love.

Agape: the love of God that is shared with all. A kind of love that means thinking of others, putting others first, serving others, sharing, and empathizing.

Mother Teresa, now known as Saint Teresa of Calcutta, is quoted as saying, "Prayer in action is love, love in action is service."

Does this seem like a paradox? Does prayer seem the opposite of action? Sometimes I think paradox is the reaction of viewing reality but realizing we haven’t been seeing what is really there.

Prayer is the act of expressing our hope. To bring hope into life, one must have faith that it will do good and then act to bring it to life. So let us pray that our actions will be filled with love.

The infinite love of God is shared with me and with all: every breath, every sip of water, every cell in my body, every moment in time, every leaf on every tree, every past, every future. All. I struggle to comprehend, let alone express, what God has shared with me. To return God’s love is to share it. To share in it. To give and to accept. To accept and to give.

Prayer gives me a quiet moment to think about this. To thank God for this. To be overwhelmed by this. To hope that in some small way I may share this.

Whether your action is big or small, it is action. Make it an act of love by thinking of others. Spread the agape!

Dear Lord of All, may we see your glory in everything. May we have the strength to see the things that we think are wrong and accept that we do not see well enough to know. Love us when we do not know what your plan holds for us or those around us. May we have the strength to turn our prayers into action. May we have the strength to share your love. Bless us in our efforts, and amen.

This episode was written by Jill Pope and read by Greta Smith.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Once when Fred Craddock, the renowned professor of preaching at Emory University, preached on the parable of the prodigal son, he began by telling the story. The young man, the prodigal, grabbed his inheritance, left home, and wasted what had been given him. After he “came to himself” as Jesus described it, he turned for home. In Craddock’s telling of the story, when he arrived back the father met him and said, “You listen to me. You made your decision, now you must live with it. From now on my love and effort will be for your sensible older brother.” “That,” said Craddock, “is the end of the story.” Long silence. “Well, that’s the way the story should have ended.”

As we know, it doesn’t end that way because it is a story about God’s love, and God’s ways are different. I have observed that most of us want justice for others but mercy for ourselves. But God offers mercy to everyone. Even those who certainly don’t deserve it. Including you and me. The gospel message is: God still loves you. Wherever you have been, whatever you have done. God loves you anyway. We all are the prodigal. And the father runs down the road with open arms to welcome us home.

It’s the message of Christmas. “For God loved the world (and all of us in it) so much that he gave us his son.” Christmas is about love—God’s love—for you and me and everyone!

Loving God, Thank you for Christmas, for coming to be with us, for loving us anyway. Amen.

This episode was written and recorded by Herb Sadler.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

You are listening to Grace for All, a daily devotional podcast produced by the people of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee.

This is Scripture Saturday, a time when we pause and reflect on the scriptures we have read throughout the week. If you missed any of our devotionals on these passages, you can find them on our website at firstchurch.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Now, we invite you to listen and receive Grace.

Welcome and thank you for joining us.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

“Oh little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie!” These words echoed in my head this past Spring as I was fortunate to have traveled to Israel. One of the most memorable places was Bethlehem which, of course, now is neither the “little town” nor “lying still” as in the carol we love to sing. It is a bustling, diverse city. However, as others can witness, kneeling to touch the star located in the Church of the Nativity, where tradition says Christ was born, is humbling and standing in “Shepherd’s field” stirs your imagination as you gaze upward. While it is not the small, quaint village imagined in my childhood or often depicted in art, it still gave me new eyes and tugged at my heart. I felt different there. Israel is a place sacred to several religions and many feel different and find solace there. How sad that we cannot also find peace.

Lord, you sent your Son into a troubled world and the world did not know him. As we experience another Advent, our world is still troubled. Please help us see Bethlehem and Christ’s coming with new eyes. Help our hearts to feel that tug and be changed. Indeed, may the world feel that and find peace. Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Susan Daves.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

A recent article in Time magazine reported research that questions a bit of conventional wisdom. We may think we shouldn’t bottle up our anger, that it’s healthier to vent and get it out of our system. But Professor Brad Bushman says venting is the worst thing you can do when you’re angry. A professor of communication at the Ohio State University who studies the topic, he says venting is just “adding more fuel to the fire.”

Paul knew that a couple of thousand years ago. He doesn’t tell the Colossians (and us) to put a lid on our anger, but to put the peace of Christ in control of our hearts. That peace doesn’t result just from a lack of conflict, but from the active pursuit of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

That sort of peace begins with gratitude. In my experience, I have found it impossible to feel upset while I’m focusing on things for which I’m grateful. I’m not ignoring our challenges, of which we have many in our family. But when I focus on those things for which I’m genuinely grateful, peace descends upon me—ironically, giving me more ability to deal with the challenges!

This devotional was written and read by Donn King.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.