Nawa! Welcome to Advent 2017!

Nawa!

It gives me great pleasure to share the Lutheran Indian Ministries 2017 Advent Devotion booklet with you.

For Christians, Advent is a season filled with remembrance and anticipation.  The church looks back upon Christ’s coming in celebration while at the same time looking forward in eager anticipation to the coming of Christ’s Kingdom when he returns for his people

To balance the two elements of Advent, the first two Sundays look forward to Christ’s second coming and the last two Sunday’s look backward to remember his first coming.

While Advent is certainly a time of remembrance and a celebration of Christ’s birth, it is more than that. It is only in the shadow of Advent that the miracle of Christmas can be fully understood; it is only in the light of Christmas that the Christian life makes any sense. We live between the fulfilled promise of Christ’s first coming and the yet-to-be-fulfilled promise of his second coming.

I hope that you enjoy these Advent devotions written by members of our staff and friends of Lutheran Indian Ministries who partner with us in the battle to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to our Native American brothers and sisters and win souls for Him.

You may notice that some of these devotions reflect the sometimes dark and painful side of ministry to Native peoples. Pain, trauma, and personal tragedy – oftentimes very personal in nature - are, too often, the centerpiece of our remembrance.  But we praise God that Jesus came for all people. His death and resurrection wipe away the pain, trauma, and tragedy. His promise to come again gives light to our darkness and gives us hope of the Kingdom to come.

We are richly blessed by your support of Lutheran Indian Ministries. Our staff is grateful for your prayers and gifts.

Because of you, we proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, disciple others, and facilitate healing in a way that affirms Native cultures. Your faithfulness to our ministry makes an immense difference in the lives of Native American people.

May God bless and keep you always,

Tim Young Eagle (Pawnee)
Executive Director