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/.

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:

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 1stChurch.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/.

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/.

One of the most powerful and meaningful things anyone has ever done for me was sit with me in silence through my deepest grief. Sometimes there are no words powerful enough to speak comfort to the hurting. Sometimes presence is the greatest gift.

Being with those in pain is not easy. Our natural inclination is to move away from suffering, not towards it. But that is not God’s way. Throughout scripture, we find that where there is sorrow or anguish, God draws near. Where there is grief, there is grace.

God does not abandon God’s people. That is a promise. God’s intention to dwell with us is such an inherent part of God’s character, the prophet Isaiah reminds us, that we can call Christ Jesus by the name Immanuel, God with us.

The name Immanuel speaks comfort to me in this holy season, but it also challenges me. It reminds me that I am not alone, but also that no one should feel alone. As I ask God to keep perfecting me in love, as I seek to be more Christ-like, I am called to move closer to those who are suffering. I am called to enter into new spaces where people are in distress. I am challenged to be present with the ones who are most in need, just as God is.

God with us is a promise, but it is not a secret. It is meant to be shared, and there is no greater way to share God’s promise than to perform it, to embody it.

Immanuel, God with us, during this busy season, may we not be so hurried that we forget to give the gift of our presence to those who need it most. Give us the courage to enter into the painful places, knowing that we will find you there. In Christ Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

This devotion was written 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/.

Recently, I again reflected on the fact that in the Gospels, Jesus’ life is bracketed by the word “Peace.” When the angels announced the good news of his birth to the shepherds, their song contained the hope of Peace for the world.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus, in one of the last conversations he had with his disciples, promises them the gift of peace.

Peace is a gift that we still need. Tonight, many of us will gather for worship. The high point of this evening is when the lights are turned off, and we pass the light of Christ from candle to candle.

For many years, as pastor, I had the privilege to not only start the light moving out through the congregation but to be able to watch people's faces illumined by candlelight as they sang. I was always touched to literally see Peace settle on people in that moment.

I saw a family where the main breadwinner had just lost their job. For just a moment, they weren’t worried about tomorrow. They were celebrating being together as a family, surrounded by church friends who loved and cared about them. I would look specifically for people whose loved ones had died recently, and this was their first Christmas alone. In almost every situation, there was that brief moment you could see that they shed the blanket of grief that weighed on their hearts and were filled with loving memories of the past. Those memories brought them joy and peace.

For some it was the first time I had seem them smile since the loss of their beloved. The gift of Peace, sung about by the angels and promised by Jesus, is real and available if we but open our hearts.

Peace, we all need it. The message of this night and the day to come is that into a world of darkness, light is dawning. In a world of hurt, love breaks forth. In a world of loss, new life is ours. Jesus asks us to let this message fill us and gives light and peace. And if we do this, our troubled hearts will find rest, and our fears will subside, just as Jesus promised.

O Lord, giver of Peace, on this Holy night, fill us with your presence. Help us to quiet our minds so that we may hear the angels sing “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace,” knowing their message was not just to shepherds but to us as well, AMEN.

This devotion was written by Bill Green and read by Cliff McCartney.

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/.

Our theme for the Grace for All Advent devotions is Hope, Joy, Peace, and Love. This verse in Paul’s letter to the Romans just about says it all. He concludes by reminding us that we have this hope, as well as joy and peace, because of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Have you ever known a person who showed the strength and power of the Holy Spirit in all circumstances? I have had the privilege of knowing several, but my 98-year-old mother-in-law is to me the ultimate role model. She has lived through so much in those 98 years. She shared with me how much she missed her father while he served in the Pacific in World War II, as well as her fear that he would not return. She prayed without ceasing for his safety and return.

As a young woman, she desperately wanted to go to college and become a teacher, but she was unable to continue after one year due to family circumstances. So she set about working with children at every opportunity while raising her own two children.

She led Sunday school classes and Bible school classes, having a profound effect on hundreds of children, and she prayed for every one of them.

Later, she was chosen to be trained in the first class of Title I teacher assistants in Knoxville City Schools. She faithfully worked with the children in the poorest of schools in the city and shared hope with them as well as math lessons.

Then came the losses over a period of years: first her grandmother, who greatly influenced her in many ways, especially her faith, then her parents, her in-laws, her only brother, her husband over 60 years, and finally the most cruel loss of all – her beloved son. While these losses caused her pain and sadness, her faith never wavered. She still found joy and laughter with those who remained, especially her granddaughters, grandsons, and great-grandson. She knows without a doubt that she will see the loved ones who have gone ahead again someday.

Many people would become despondent, even bitter, about the experiences she had. But she had the power of the Holy Spirit to guide her in holding onto hope, joy, and peace, and, most of all, love. Her physical strength is failing now, but her spirit is not. As long as she has breath, she will depend on God to guide her, even into the next life. I thank God for her love and example of faith in my life and the lives of all who have known her.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit, which allows us to experience hope, joy and peace in all circumstances. We thank you for your love and the strength and assurance it provides. We thank you for friends and loved ones who show us how to live out our faith and inspire us to be better followers of Christ in this world. Finally, we thank you for the gift of your Son, who came to this world at Christmas to shine a light in the darkness and give us the gift of salvation. Amen.

This devotion was written and read by Pat Scruggs.

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

It is only a few days until Christmas, and many of us are working on last-minute preparations. Our plans for celebrating involve gifts, feasting, laughter, and joy. We will attend Christmas Eve worship services and joyous family gatherings. Christmas music will fill our ears and touch our hearts. Our church choirs will blend their voices and remind us of the Angels singing on the first Christmas and the listening shepherds tending their flocks.

All manner of happy festivity will fill our time, and we will feel happy and blessed.

But the news will continue to fill our eyes and ears with the worries of the world – wars and rumors of wars, political fighting, the loss of financial help or income for so many, joblessness, and homelessness suffered by millions of our neighbors.

We can tune all that out and carry on, or we can help. We can remember that we are the hands and feet of Jesus and ask ourselves, “What would Jesus do?” We can’t feed the whole world, but we can donate more to the blessing box, serve on Thursday nights at Welcome Table right here at our church, and donate more to local food banks. We can open our eyes and hearts to the needs all around us and make those in need more important than usual. We can sacrifice a few extravagances to give more to the needy, the sick, the lonely, the homeless.

We can let the sad news we see and hear pull upon our heartstrings and remind us of today’s scripture as we give generously of our time and money. And overflowing with hope for the needy, hope for the homeless, hope for those in great need, hope for peace of mind, we will be filled with that promised joy at Christmas and beyond.

Let’s pray together using the words from today’s scripture – “May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” And as we overflow with hope, joy, and peace, help us Lord, to let ourselves overflow with generosity of time, hearts, and pockets, today and every day. Thank you, Jesus. Amen!

This devotional was written and read by Bernice Howard.

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 noticed that when plants produce, they simultaneously produce a gift that is the food of others and the birth of the next generation of their species? Like these seeds, there is an infinite abundance in God’s love and God’s gifts to us that is incomprehensible. God has given us forgiveness and love before we even knew that we needed it. It is there for us, to catch us, when we fall. It is there for us to fill the emptiness when we thought we could do it alone. It is there for us when our wounds won’t heal on their own.

During this season of Advent, let us reflect that God took the Word and made it flesh so that we could see and experience God’s love. As we wait quietly this season in anticipation of the birth of baby Jesus, let us consider the love God shares that is ever-present. If we are to be children of God, then we should nourish our souls on the love that helps us, feeds us, heals us, and forgives us.

Love is such a big topic, and yet it is so small. In every moment of every day, God’s love is present. In every object and every act, God’s love for us is waiting. God’s love was waiting for us before the birth of Jesus. It was present and welcoming us in Jesus. It was in the shadow of the cross waiting for us. It waits for us to follow the path made straight and to follow the example that we have been given in Jesus. It is ever-present and in everything, every person, and every action. It always has been and always will be. God loves us whether we are sinning, confessing, or loving others.

So, be loved. And be loving. Like the seeds that give life through nourishing others and give birth to new plants, we can both be loved into new life and give love to nourish others at the same time. Let us all be amazed and awed at just how powerful this is!

God in heaven, on earth, and in our hearts, may we be the seeds that grow to nourish others. May we be both born again in your spirit and love while also giving life, love, and nourishment to others so that they may live in your spirit and love, Amen.

This devotional was written by Jill Pope 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/.