JourneyWise
Articles
Engaging insights and educational musings to guide and inspire you on your journey from the scholars and thinkers at the JourneyWise network.
ARTICLES BY TOPIC
Advent
Christmas
Lent
Easter
Health & Wellness
Bible Reading
Faith
Joy
Love Jesus
Grief
Press Releases
Advent
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
Christmas
Thoughtful vs. Lavish Gifts
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells us not to worry because we have a Heavenly Father who meets our needs. The verses say:
“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?” (Matthew 6:25-26 NLT)
Advent: The Gift of the Unexpected
I love Christmas because it is about surprises! We sneak around and buy gifts, then we wrap them and place them under our Christmas trees. There is still a little kid in most of us. Have you ever gotten one of those gifts that totally caught you off guard? Have you ever given a gift that you could hardly keep secret because you knew the person opening it would be so surprised? There is so much joy in watching someone receive a gift they never expected.
Have a Cup of Cheer
“WOOOOWWWW!” I hear for the 100th time followed by pitter-patter feet as my little girl races towards the Christmas tree. She never gets tired of it. Time after time, we come down the stairs, we round the corner, and her reaction is the same:
Lent
Our Comfort in Mourning
As Advent is a season to prepare for the coming of Jesus, Lent is a time to face the reality of death in the world as we look forward to the resurrection power brought to us on Easter. As we sit with the brokenness, death, and suffering we see around us, we can learn from Jesus who took our mourning seriously.
Preparing for Lent: A Time for Fearless Inventory of Your Life
Lent is a six-week season of intentional self-denial and focus in preparation for Easter. Many followers of Jesus Christ struggle with understanding the meaning and purpose of Lent. Does it even matter?
The Key to a More Meaningful Easter
One of the most pleasant surprises of my three years in seminary in Washington, D.C., was learning about the Christian calendar. I knew something about it, but not much. I knew, for example, that Advent came before Christmas.
Easter
Preparing for Lent: A Time for Fearless Inventory of Your Life
Lent is a six-week season of intentional self-denial and focus in preparation for Easter. Many followers of Jesus Christ struggle with understanding the meaning and purpose of Lent. Does it even matter?
The Key to a More Meaningful Easter
One of the most pleasant surprises of my three years in seminary in Washington, D.C., was learning about the Christian calendar. I knew something about it, but not much. I knew, for example, that Advent came before Christmas.
“What is Lent, Mommy?”
Talking about Lent with young children can often be difficult. For adults, Lent is a deliberate time of prayer and preparation for the Week we know is coming. Even as an adult, I still get very excited about Holy Week and Easter morning. The joy of the Easter morning victory becomes very solemn when couched in the incredible pain and suffering of the violent and cruel treatment of Jesus in the arrest, trial, and crucifixion that we often talk about during Holy Week.
Health and Wellness
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
Bible Reading
Are You Ready for Real Methodism?
Have you ever wondered what it means to be a Methodist, really? Or, maybe you’ve wondered if there is really a core of essential content to Methodism? Maybe it is just the church you go to if you get married and he’s Baptist and she’s Roman Catholic. You know, the compromise church. Or maybe some of you know recent Methodism too well and you see it not as the compromise church but as the compromised church.
Epiphany of Epiphany
I was asked to write this article on Epiphany by Chip, and in all honestly my first question was, “Chip… what is Epiphany?” You see, most of the great folks I work with have a Methodist or Anglican background. I, on the other hand, have a Baptist background, and we Baptists don’t celebrate Epiphany. When I asked Nicolet, “What is Epiphany?” she laughed and said, “Chip probably doesn’t remember you’re a Baptist.”
What’s In A Name?
His arrival astonished our human expectations. Matthew describes it in this way: “‘They will call him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’)” (Matthew 1:23). God came to earth in Jesus Christ to be with us. We have the privilege of traveling through life with the greatest Teacher, Friend, and Savior we could ever know.
Faith
What Are You Planting?
A few years ago, my husband and I traveled to Montana in April. We were so excited for our trip to fly fish, horseback ride, and hiking- all the great things you do at a ranch. We kept watching the weather thinking it was going to be great weather. The forecast was showing around 70 degrees during the day and in the 50’s at night. We were imagining sitting out by the fire at night, enjoying fishing in the creek with fresh green grass all around us.
Preparing for Lent: A Time for Fearless Inventory of Your Life
Lent is a six-week season of intentional self-denial and focus in preparation for Easter. Many followers of Jesus Christ struggle with understanding the meaning and purpose of Lent. Does it even matter?
Cultural Differentiation
In Daniel 3, every but Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego bow down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. These three men refused to bow down, even though it came on penalty of death (though we know that the Lord delivered them from Nebuchadnezzar’s hand).
Joy
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
Love Jesus
Preparing for Holy Week
Holy Week is the centerpiece of the Christian year. During this week, we celebrate the events leading to his crucifixion and resurrection.
Blessed Are Those Who Mourn
Jesus encourages us to love with real openness and honesty, but such love also brings great vulnerability. By loving and living in a way that we mourn deeply, we open ourselves up to incredible heartache, trouble, and hurt. But! We also draw closer to Jesus, and, with Him, there is potential for great joy because Jesus has overcome the world. (See John 16:33.) In other words, the risk of grief or mourning can be overwhelming. It is not easy to love people to a point where we mourn over hardship and loss. But, through it, God promises life-changing joy if we are willing to take the chance.
He Meets Us Where We Are
When we receive something from someone without seeing our need for it, we tend to be less grateful toward them. We don’t take the gift seriously, and it doesn’t affect our lives as much. A similar result can happen in our relationship with Jesus. He meets us where we are, but if we aren’t in a place where we recognize our need for Him, we can easily brush Him off.
Grief
Navigating Stress and the Holidays
What comes to mind when you think about the Christmas holidays? For me, I think of family traditions like seeing extended family, eating good food, Christmas decor, music, movies (e.g., “you’ll shoot your eye out” and cousin Eddie), and most importantly the birth of...
Press Releases
JourneyWise Launches New Book
JourneyWise, a multimedia network dedicated to helping people “Love Jesus and Love Like Jesus,” will launch its first two books this fall with publishing partner Whitaker House.
DR. REV. CYNTHIA DAVIS NAMED EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
In the Center for Applied Theology, Davis will be overseeing the existing relationships with its partners including United Theological Seminary, Asbury Seminary, and World Methodist Evangelism.
JOURNEYWISE LAUNCHES RESOURCES
JourneyWise, a multimedia network dedicated to helping people “Love Jesus and Love Like Jesus,” will launch its first two books this fall with publishing partner Whitaker House.