Below is a video from a recent episode of “Wheel of Fortune.” In this clip, a contestant tries to solve the puzzle. The correct answer is “Seven Swans A-Swimming” but the constant says “swimmin” leaving off the “G.” “Wheel of Fortune” judges did not take the answer as correct. Thus the contestant forfeited her turn and the next player solved the puzzle correctly because she stated the “G.”

Because of this one little letter the contestant lost out on a few thousand dollars.

Fair? Unfair?

In Christ,

Rev. Evan

Below is what I wrote for my church’s newsletter.

This Advent season we have been journeying toward the manger in Bethlehem as we re-enter the story of Christmas and hear it again with fresh ears. We join the angels in proclaiming the name of the Savior in the world, we rush with expectation with the Shepherds, we offer our own gifts of thanksgiving and praise with the Magi. It definitely is an exciting time in the life of the Church.

But we all know that, Advent can be one of the busiest times of the entire year.

Our calendars fill up with plans that are generally made well in advance or according to family tradition. Sometimes it feels that we are planning our lives away trying to coordinate the right amount of time with family and friends. On top of that there are lights to put up, trees to decorate, gifts to wrap (and unwrap) and miles to travel.

But in the midst of this busy season, we are called to wait, we are called to reflect, we are called to prepare for the coming of the Christ child. We all know the story for I imagine we have heard it since our youth and every Advent after. Encapsulated in the birth accounts of Matthew and Luke are words or great power and beauty, words that call us to wonder and remember.

However this Christmas for many people, it will be a time of mourning. This might be the first holiday without a special loved one. Holidays have a way of recalling to our minds the good times and the lasting memories that will sustain us until Christmas comes around again. We will recall their spirit and the way their presence will be missed. This is especially true for the families of the Newton, Connecticut tragedy. Our hearts and prayers go out to those families. In one senseless act, the families of those lost will never be the same again; the holidays will bear a new meaning this season.

As we live in a world marred with evil and hurt, may we remember the promise that is found with in the manager in Bethlehem.

May we remember that Christ tells us that “blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.”

May we join with the angels and say “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.” (Luke 2:14-15 NRSV)

Merry Christmas!

Rev. Evan M. Dolive

The following is what I wrote for the Bethany Christian Church (DOC) newsletter regarding our upcoming Advent Conspiracy program.

We have survived the Thanksgiving holiday and the mad dash of Black Friday and Cyber Monday; we are now on the precipice of Advent.  Advent is a time of waiting and hoping for the coming of the Christ child into the world.  We prepare for this season in a myriad of ways.  We decorate our houses, we sing songs and we gather with family once more.

Here at Bethany Christian Church we are going to enter into the story of Advent in a different way.  For the next four Sundays during Church School we will be journeying together through the program called Advent Conspiracy

Advent Conspiracy (or AC) is based on four primary tenets: Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More and Love All.  The focus of Advent Conspiracy is centered around the notion on how Christmas can change the world.  The very first Christmas 2000+ years ago was radical and counter-cultural   The idea of a God (of any religion) coming to earth to dwell and live and serve and teach was something that never entered into people’s minds.  However, because of this indwelling of God, we now put ourselves on trajectory to be in communion with God for all times.

So why not start at the beginning?  The beginning of the story of God on earth in encapsulated in the story of Jesus’ birth.  While is it only accounted in two gospels (Matthew and Luke), within the stories we see the movement of God and the power of the incarnation.

Advent Conspiracy allows us to think about how we celebrate Christmas in a new and exciting way.  This first week’s tenet is Worship Fully.  We are called this Advent to worship God as fully as we can as an expression of our faith in Jesus Christ.  The authors of Advent Conspiracy summed it up well then they wrote:

“The time of year when worshiping Jesus should be the easiest is often the hardest.  The invitation to  join the Advent Conspiracy is a call to remain in the gospel of Jesus and worship him—no matter how strongly the cultural demands of Christ pull at us.  The transformation initiated by Jesus I no different today than it was the day he was born—the source of joy, peace, and hope hasn’t changed.” (Rick McKinley, Chris Seay, and Greg Holder, Advent Conspiracy: Can Christmas Still Change the World? (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2009), page 34.)

Join us this Sunday for the Advent Conspiracy.

In Christ,

Rev. Evan M. Dolive

As you pause to give thanks for all that you have, for friends and family, may this be your prayer.

In Christ and Happy Thanksgiving.

Rev. Evan

O God we give you thanks for all that you have done for us;
that you have created us, and have given us the gift of life
and set us to live in this fair earth;
that you have given us work to do and the strength to do it;
that you have kept us all our days,
and have brought us in safety to this present hour.

We give you thanks for all that others have done for us;
for those who taught us when we were children;
for those who in the days of youth gave us the guidance which kept us from going astray;
for those who to this day love us and surround us with their care;
for those who pray for us, and who bear us to the throne of grace.

We give thanks for the gift of your Holy Spirit:
for your Spirit reminds us of the words of Jesus, when we are in danger of forgetting them;
for your Spirit to lead us into new knowledge and new truth;
for your Spirit to tell us what we must do and what we must say;
for your Spirit to inspire us wit strength and courage for life and for living.

We give you thanks for all that your church has done for us:
for all the teaching we have received with in the church;
for strength and guidance each week for life’s way;
for the friendship and the fellowship which we here enjoy;
for the sacraments of your grace and the prayers of your people.

We give you thanks for all that you have done for us in Jesus Christ.
that in him you have shown us the length and breadth and depth and height of your great love for us;
that in him you have opened to us a new and living way into your presence;
that in him you have given forgiveness of sins and peace with you.

We give you thanks for everything which has given us strength for earth and hope for Heaven.

Accept this our sacrifice of praise for your love’s sake.

Amen

(adapted from Chalice Worship— Colbert S. Cartwright and O. I. Cricket Harrison, eds., Chalice Worship (St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press, 1999), 184-85.)