Advent Devotional

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About Pittsburgh Theological Seminary

Rooted in the Reformed tradition, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary is committed to the formation of women and men for theologically reflective ministry and to scholarship in service to the global Church of Jesus Christ.

Become a Student

Certificate Programs

Special Programs

Faculty

In addition to their on-campus duties, our faculty are experts in their fields and are available to preach and teach. Learn more about their topics of research and writing and invite them to present at your congregation or gathering.

Events

The Seminary hosts a wide range of events—many of them free!—on topics of faith including church planting, mission, vocation, spiritual formation, pastoral care and counseling, archaeology, and many more. Visit our calendar often for a listing of upcoming events.

Visit PTS

Interested in the Seminary? Come visit us!

Stay in Touch with PTS

Sign-up to receive the Seminary's newsletters: Seminary News (monthly), Church Planting Initiative (monthly), Continuing Education (monthly), World Mission Initiative (monthly), Metro-Urban Institute (quarterly), and Kelso Museum. Alums, there's also one for you!

Advent Meditation December 16, 2020

Scripture

Psalm 147:1-11

1 Praise the Lord! How good it is to sing praises to our God; for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting. 2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel. 3 He heals the broken-hearted, and binds up their wounds. 4 He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. 5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. 6 The Lord lifts up the downtrodden; he casts the wicked to the ground. 7 Sing to the Lord with thanks-giving; make melody to our God on the lyre. 8 He covers the heavens with clouds, prepares rain for the earth, makes grass grow on the hills. 9 He gives to the animals their food, and to the young ravens when they cry. 10 His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner; 11 but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.

Devotional

The Rev. Dorothy Densmore ’04

Many, many years ago, my cousin, a photography hobbyist, introduced me to the wonders of the newly developed macro lens. He focused in on a small spider making its way across a thin, white strand. As I gazed upon the scene, my world exploded with new insight and wonder. This tiny spider had very hairy legs! And that thin, white strand was in fact a strong cord woven from three, fine filaments.

As both microscopes and telescopes improved over the years, new worlds of wonder have emerged for all humanity. God’s creation is so much more intricate, more interwoven, and more expansive than we had ever imagined. The creation we could see and touch was just the most obvious of the circles of systems that grow ever larger—and ever smaller. Join one human being with others and you have a family system. Join families together and you have tribes and nations—over continents. Conversely, reduce a human body to its component parts and you have bodily systems, then organs, then cells in a myriad of forms and functions.

Our knowledge of God’s creation in this way is limited only by our technological ability—these concentric circles go on and on. What beauty, what wonders are yet to be discovered! “Praise the Lord!” the psalmist cries. Indeed, how can we not desire to spend our lives in fear, awe, and worship of our gracious Lord and his wondrous ability!

Prayer

How amazing, O Lord, is your creation! From the smallest of microbes to the grandest of mountains, from the seeking light of a firefly to the brilliance of the night sky, you never cease to proclaim your power and glory to a world in search of your sovereignty. May we be as children, forever excited by new discoveries of your creative power joined by an ever-deepening desire to protect it and share it with the world. Amen.

Advent Meditation December 16, 2020

Scripture

Psalm 147:1-11

1 Praise the Lord! How good it is to sing praises to our God; for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting. 2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel. 3 He heals the broken-hearted, and binds up their wounds. 4 He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. 5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. 6 The Lord lifts up the downtrodden; he casts the wicked to the ground. 7 Sing to the Lord with thanks-giving; make melody to our God on the lyre. 8 He covers the heavens with clouds, prepares rain for the earth, makes grass grow on the hills. 9 He gives to the animals their food, and to the young ravens when they cry. 10 His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner; 11 but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.

Devotional

The Rev. Dorothy Densmore ’04

Many, many years ago, my cousin, a photography hobbyist, introduced me to the wonders of the newly developed macro lens. He focused in on a small spider making its way across a thin, white strand. As I gazed upon the scene, my world exploded with new insight and wonder. This tiny spider had very hairy legs! And that thin, white strand was in fact a strong cord woven from three, fine filaments.

As both microscopes and telescopes improved over the years, new worlds of wonder have emerged for all humanity. God’s creation is so much more intricate, more interwoven, and more expansive than we had ever imagined. The creation we could see and touch was just the most obvious of the circles of systems that grow ever larger—and ever smaller. Join one human being with others and you have a family system. Join families together and you have tribes and nations—over continents. Conversely, reduce a human body to its component parts and you have bodily systems, then organs, then cells in a myriad of forms and functions.

Our knowledge of God’s creation in this way is limited only by our technological ability—these concentric circles go on and on. What beauty, what wonders are yet to be discovered! “Praise the Lord!” the psalmist cries. Indeed, how can we not desire to spend our lives in fear, awe, and worship of our gracious Lord and his wondrous ability!

Prayer

How amazing, O Lord, is your creation! From the smallest of microbes to the grandest of mountains, from the seeking light of a firefly to the brilliance of the night sky, you never cease to proclaim your power and glory to a world in search of your sovereignty. May we be as children, forever excited by new discoveries of your creative power joined by an ever-deepening desire to protect it and share it with the world. Amen.

About Pittsburgh Theological Seminary

Rooted in the Reformed tradition, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary is committed to the formation of women and men for theologically reflective ministry and to scholarship in service to the global Church of Jesus Christ.

Become a Student

Certificate Programs

Special Programs

Faculty

In addition to their on-campus duties, our faculty are experts in their fields and are available to preach and teach. Learn more about their topics of research and writing and invite them to present at your congregation or gathering.

Events

The Seminary hosts a wide range of events—many of them free!—on topics of faith including church planting, mission, vocation, spiritual formation, pastoral care and counseling, archaeology, and many more. Visit our calendar often for a listing of upcoming events.

Visit PTS

Interested in the Seminary? Come visit us!

Stay in Touch with PTS

Sign-up to receive the Seminary's newsletters: Seminary News (monthly), Church Planting Initiative (monthly), Continuing Education (monthly), World Mission Initiative (monthly), Metro-Urban Institute (quarterly), and Kelso Museum. Alums, there's also one for you!