Last night as I drifted off to sleep, my eyes beheld a uniquely bright start through the skylight window above my bed. Above my deep and dreamless sleep, a not-so-silent Star went by and was waiting for me this morning to teach me one more lesson before heading home this Christmas Eve. … More Christmas on Mt. Mystic 6: Morning Star
O, Morning Star, rise in our hearts this Christmas Eve, show us the Way to live in your light and display your glory each and every day. Join us for Christmas Eve worship at 6PM. … More O Morning Star, Rise in Us this Christmas!
In the fullness of time God came again to His people. No longer cloaked in a terrifying tornado, this time His presence dwelled in a teething toddler. His radiant glory, instead of flashes of lightning across the eastern sky, now shone from the eyes of a humble baby in a manger. … More Christmas on Mt. Mystic 5: The Cloud
I don’t know about you, but it sends a shiver down my spine to think that there was a strange moment on a mysterious mountain long ago and far far away where three heroes of history huddled up to discuss my deliverance! … More A Holy Huddle and a Game Winning Play
I drifted off to sleep reading a copy of A Christmas Carol by Dickens and didn’t sleep well, expecting to be awoken by three spirits ready to lead me on an inner journey. I was relieved to wake up to the bright sunshine of Mt. Mystic rather than the gloomy darkness and shadowy streets of Dickens’ 19th century London. But my relief was short lived. … More Christmas on Mt. Mystic 4: Unexpected Visitor
“What if all of my quiet times with God could be so electric and real? What if my prayers felt less like a floppy paper airplanes crashing into the carpet, and more like bright bolts of lightning flashing across the sky?” … More Christmas on Mt. Mystic 3: Dazzling Light
In today’s Mount Mystic Meditation, I want you to reflect on what it feel like to be “chosen” for something special. Can you think of a time you were selected for some special role, or reward, or experience, or trip? Likewise, how does it feel to be overlooked and watch others get chosen ahead of you? … More He Chose Them, And Us Too!
Many Christians’ faith is more about reaching a destination (Heaven) and avoiding another (Hell), than it is about adjusting our eyes to the light of God’s Kingdom and contemplating His divine glory now. … More Seeing the Kingdom of God
Well, here I am in the cozy surroundings of Eli and Sophia’s log cabin. A neighbor down the road, a carpenter by trade, was sent by Eli to prepare a fire for when I arrived. All I had to do was strike one match and the fire was burning warm and bright. The crackling and glow are already calming my restless soul. … More Christmas on Mount Mystic 2: Arrival
Amanda answered the phone to hear the voice of her great uncle on the other end. She is exhausted and at the end of her rope at work and the end of her patience at home.Uncle Eli and Aunt Sophia offer her a retreat at their cozy cabin on Mt. Mystic during the weeks leading up to Christmas. … More Christmas on Mount Mystic 1: Invitation
For me, Advent is a season tinged with awe and wonder, and the enemy is the tyranny of less important time commitments that steal all our time and prevent us from staring at the lights on the Christmas tree, pondering the Star of Bethlehem, imagining ourselves into the shoes of the shepherds and wise men, Mary and Joseph, and rediscovering the childlike wonder of the season. … More A Christmas Escape
The story of the wise men on camels bringing their gifts is intertwined with the story of an insecure, paranoid, narcissistic tyrant orchestrating terror and chaos from his palatial office. Listen to the familiar story again, this time with your eyes glued on the pathetic sociopath spinning lies and plotting peril in the Christmas story. … More Tyranny & the Wise Way Out
This Christmas we need more than a sermon, more than words, more than a heart-warming thought that will dissipate by Christmas morning. We need the gift of Christ’s peace to fill our hearts—not a sentimental idea of peace, but a lived and deeply felt reality of Christ’s abiding presence. … More Blessed is the Prince of Peacemakers
This Christmas Eve we gathered outside the chapel in subzero temps under the stars that decorated Christ’s birth. In the midst of a global pandemic, we could not gather inside the chapel together. Still we came, the few but faithful, to receive the Holy Eucharist while trembling in the cold, and perhaps trembling with anxiety in these uncertain days. … More Christmas Communion (in Subzero Temps)
On Christmas Eve we wrap up our “Beatitudes of Bethlehem” Advent series by looking at the Prince of Peacemakers. What if ‘peace’ was more than a sappy sentiment or pretty proposition? Take a journey back to a first century prison cell to discover a “peace that surpasses understanding” and Paul’s “secret to contentment” (Phil 4).
This is the idea Jesus has in mind when he says, “Blessed are the undivided in heart or single-minded in devotion, for they will have eyes to see God when he passes by in unexpected places and wearing strange disguises. … More Blessed are the Horoscope Readers
In our “Beatitudes of Bethlehem” Advent series, we’re looking at how the familiar characters in the Christmas story already foreshadow and embody the Beatitudes Jesus would launch his upside-down Kingdom ministry talking about. This message looks at Blessed are the Merciful and Zechariah’s speechlessness in the face of God’s tender mercy. … More WATCH: Blessed are the Speechless
We are only reading half the story if we focus only on the speechlessness of Zechariah. Before long the mute will become a minstrel, the silenced one will become a songbird, the castigated will become a crooner for Christ. And what will be the song on Zechariah’s lips? … More Blessed Are the Speechless
This week’s service features a talking camel, jumping jingle bells, a message on “Blessed are the Merciful” from Jonnie Goodmanson and music from our MainStreeters abroad – Jared & Shannon King – who live in Slovakia, as well as special music by Jonnie & Jeremy. … More Advent Service (Week 3)
In this fourth beatitude, Jesus gives a sympathetic nod to all those who are so hungry for a more just world that they have become angry at all that stands in the way. Blessed are all the irritable and bad-tempered perfectionists and battle-weary social activists who are ready to punch a hole through the wall or throw a brick at the television. … More Blessed are the Fed Up
Online service for the 2nd Sunday of Advent featuring a message in our “Beatitudes of Bethlehem” series by Pastor Mike Fox. … More Advent Service (Week 2)
This is from our “Beatitudes of Bethlehem” Advent series. This message speaks to the paradoxical truth that the saddest people on earth are those who haven’t learned how to mourn. … More Video: “Blessed are the Emotional Wrecks”
Online service for the 1st Sunday of Advent featuring a message on “The Beatitudes of Bethlehem” plus other cute silliness involving the Berg children. … More Advent Service (Week 1)
While the “Most Likely To Succeed” badge may come with a superstitious curse attached, the “Class Mooch” has a very real cultural curse attached to it. In America we celebrate self-made successful people, and look down on the moochers who are dependent on others. What do we make of Jesus’s 3rd Beatitude that seems to promise the farm to the underachieving brother? … More Blessed are the Underachievers
Jeremy L. Berg 