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Advent is the beginning of the church year and the weeks of preparation for Christmas. If you would like to know more about the church year, click here, and more about Advent, click here.

Advent is the season of the church year when we prepare for the coming of Jesus. It can be a rich time of spiritual growth. What follows are links to various Advent resources. True North Campus Ministry hopes these resources are a blessing to you this Advent. We also invite you to add your own favorite sites, song or other resources by making a comment. You can also share them on our Face Book page.

Rob Bell on Advent

Advent Conspiracy

There are some very fine Advent devotional materials for your use. Here are a few.

Following the Star

daily Bible readings for Advent “Swords into Plowshares” :  from the Presbyterian Church (USA)

downloadable readings and prayers from the Presbyterian Church (USA)

Ready Steady Slow from the Church of England, begins with Dec. 1

Jesse Tree Advent Devotional from “Holy Experience” blogger Ann Voskamp

Praying Advent From the Creighton University Campus Ministry

Buy Nothing Christmas  From Canadian Mennonites

http://rogerlovette.blogspot.com/

Sacred Space http://sacredspace.ie/  This site is good all year but has some special resources for Advent.

Now we are ready to look at some scripture passages. We’ll begin at the beginning: Genesis.

It can be easy, when talking about the early chapters in Genesis, to get sidetracked with questions. Were Adam and Eve were real people ? Did Eden really exist and if so where was it? Is this sacred mythic story or historically accurate? Those sorts of discussions are worthwhile discussion to have, but that’s not our task here. In this study, set aside the “did it happen” questions and focus on the “what does it mean” questions.

Tilling and Toiling

Read Genesis 2:4- 3:24.

These two chapters are full of important and interesting things to think about. We are going to focus on what they have to say about work.

In chapter 2, how do people survive?

What is the man’s role in the garden?

What is the man’s relationship with the animals and birds?  (It may help to know that in the ancient near east, to name something or someone meant you had particular insight in the true nature of the person you named and you had some degree of power or authority with respect to them.)

What does Genesis 2 suggest that God’s intentions for human life in the world were? (You can read Genesis 1:26-2:3 also to supplement your discussion.)

Next read Genesis 3:14-24.  What does this text tell us about work? How has humankind’s relationship changed with animals and with the earth?

Is “tilling” different from “toil”? Did the actions, the physical tasks that humans performed change or did our relationship with, our way of understanding the tasks change?

When we consider both these texts, what do they have to say about how we ought to approach work? Do Genesis 2 and 3 have anything to tell us about our expectations about work and our feelings and attitudes toward work?

Some Bible scholars note that these Genesis passages tell us that God is a God who works. Have you thought about God in that way before? Does the idea that God works, change our understanding of work? Does it change the value of work?

How is the work of humans the same or different from the work of God?

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Here are some “big picture” items that emerge from considering these texts.

The first concept is that “work” was part of the original plan for humans. Work isn’t punishment. Humans were created to do things on earth. We were placed in the garden to care for it. Eden didn’t simple exist for us,  we also existed for Eden. Work is then outwardly directed, toward the world and not primarily  about us feeling good or happy about what we’re doing.

The second concept is that the relationship between humans and work changed after the fall. In a world that is still waiting for redemption, even the best job has times when it stops being a joy and is toil. Perhaps our search for our “dream job” is unrealistic or needs some redefinition.

Third big idea is that God works. We often think of God as one who creates and who acts, but it is not common for us to think of God as working. As creatures created in God’s image, we work with and for God.

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I’d like to know, what do you think?

Cross posted at Conversation in Faith

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Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.  Many churches will have services on Wednesday. If your church does not or you are unable to attend services at your home church, you are welcome to worship with Westminster Presbyterian Church (47 Jefferson Ave, Grand Rapids)  at 7 pm.

Often during Lent people participate in special practices. Often these practices center around personal and community prayer.

Here are several links to on line Lenten resources.

Daily Readings for Lent

Words Matter Lenten Devotions

Tread Lightly for Lent

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Lenten Resources

Sacred Space On line devotions

d365.org  on line devotions

devotions from the United Methodist Church

Our Lent at Read the Spirit

Here are local Lenten opportunities at Westminster Presbyterian Church. Students are welcome!   True North ministry coordinator, Nancy Janisch, will be co leading both the Wednesday night and Sunday morning discussions of  Against the Tide.

Westminster also has weekly meditation services each Wednesday in Lent at 7 pm. These are followed at 7:30 pm by Wednesday evening education opportunities. There are multiple classes you may attend. One series of classes is “The Language of Forgiveness”. These classes explore a variety of ways of speaking and thinking about forgiveness using music, art, faith practices and personal forgiveness. (Each of these classes is an independent offering, come to one, two or all of them). There is a three week class, “Considering Paul” which “will look at some of the new scholarship” about Paul and his letters. There will also be two book discussions. on March 16 and 23 No Future Without Forgiveness by Desmond Tutu and March 30 and April 6, 13,20 Against the Tide: Love in a Time of Petty Dreams and Persisting Enmities by Miroslav Volf.

Also during Lent, Westminster is hosting an art exhibition around the themes of forgiveness and reconciliation. You may view the art anytime the church building is open.

Finally, April 29, Miroslav Volf, Professor of Theology at Yale Divinity School and Director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture will speak at 7 pm. on “Adventure of Forgiveness”. This talk is free and open to the public.

Advent is the season of the church year when we prepare for the coming of Jesus. It can be a rich time of spiritual growth. What follows are links to various Advent resources. True North Campus Ministry hopes these resources are a blessing to you this Advent. We also invite you to add your own favorite sites, song or other resources by making a comment. You can also share them on our Face Book page.

Rob Bell on Advent

Advent Conspiracy

There are some very fine Advent devotional materials for your use. Here are a few.

Following the Star

daily Bible readings for Advent  from the Presbyterian Church (USA)

Ready Steady Slow from the Church of England

Jesse Tree Advent Devotional from “Holy Experience” blogger Ann Voskamp

Praying Advent From the Creighton University Campus Ministry

Swords into Plowshares Advent Devotions, PC(USA) Peacemaking 

Buy Nothing Christmas  From Canadian Mennonites

Dec 1 update:  Two additions to our list

http://rogerlovette.blogspot.com/  Thanks Roger for letting us know about your Advent devotions.

Sacred Space http://sacredspace.ie/  This site is good all year but has some special resources for Advent.

There are many ways to observe Lent all with the same goal, to bring us closer to Christ in preparation for the celebration of the resurrection at Easter.

Here are several on line resources for Lent.

www.d365.org/journeytothecross/

www.readthespirit.com/ourlent/

www.sacredspace.ie

If your congregation does not hold a mid week Lenten service, you are welcome to join True North at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 47 Jefferson in Grand Rapids. We will meet for a simple dinner at 6:30 pm, attend worship together at 7 pm, and a 7:30 pm have a short reflection on the Lord’s Prayer for college students.  You are welcome to attend all or part of these evenings, as your schedule allows. Come for dinner, come for worship, or come for study.

Follow this link to Following the Star.

Our prayers are with you all as you finish the semester.