The Seven Next Words of Christ: Greetings… Do Not Be Afraid Devo

April 30th, 2017

Devotional

“The Seven Next Words of Christ: Greetings… Do Not Be Afraid” - Matthew 28: 1-10

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “Went to See” - Matthew 28:1

Today’s lesson is a familiar one. We read a version of it each and every Easter Sunday - the angel appearing to the women at the tomb. The women come to the tomb to keep vigil, to grieve. The one whom they dearly love has died. They go to the tomb to tend to the dead.

The women felt compelled to go and see. To see if what happened was as true today as it was on Friday. They went to do what was expected of them, and yet God showed up in an unexpected way. 

We too have God meet us in unexpected ways as we are journeying through life. We may just be seeing the work of Christ right in front of us, but sometimes we miss it. Sometimes we don’t really look with our eyes and our hearts. Sometimes we are so caught up in reaching the expected that miss the beauty of the unexpected.

When you meet Jesus in your daily walk how do you respond?

How can you train your eyes and heart to perceive the unexpected?

Prayer: Loving God, we like the Marys of long ago want to go and see. We want to see what you are up to God, but often our eyes are so untrained that we look right past you. Forgive us, O Lord. Open up our hearts so we can respond to you in our daily lives. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Do Not be Afraid” - Matthew 28:5

Then something unexpected happens. The earth begins to shake and the rock sealing the tomb shut is rolled away. I love what the angel says in this passage “Do not be afraid” or in the Message Translation “There is nothing here to fear.” Any time an angel says that there is of course something to fear. The women have encountered the glory of God. They are standing on holy ground.

The earth beneath us may not shake, but we can still be standing on holy ground. Each day we have the opportunity to respond to God’s grace and share the message of God’s glory. But if we are honest with ourselves, that scares us at times. We, too, need to hear the message of “Do not be afraid” when we encounter the glory of God. 

When have you been frightened but also excited?

How do you respond when you encounter the glory of God?

Prayer:  Lord, we confess that sometimes we do not hear your words to not be afraid. We confess that sometimes we let fear overwhelm us the point where we cannot move, we cannot respond to your love. Meet us in our time of need and whisper gently to us what we need to hear, O Holy One. Help us to find rest in you even in the midst of our fears. Amen. 

Wednesday: “He is Not Here” - Matthew 28:6

The one whom they came to tend to, the one whom they came to grieve isn’t there. There is no body to prepare. For he was raised. The women are invited to come and see where his body lay - past tense. He is no longer there.

How would you respond if you went to grieve your teacher and friend, but instead were greeted by an angel telling you that he was no longer there? Sometimes we miss the spectacular nature of the Easter message, because it has become common place to us, because we have heard it so many times. But it was not common for Mary and Mary - it changed their entire lives hearing those words “he is not here.” 

When we begin to open our ears we may hear those same words - Jesus may not be the places that we expect him to be, but he may just be in the places he is calling us to go. Let us listen anew and respond. 

Where do we find Jesus in the world today? Is it always where we expect him to be?

How would you respond if you heard the words “he is not here” so long ago?

Prayer: Lord, your body was not in the tomb. You once lay there, but now, and forever more, you are risen! Praise be to you, O Christ! Let us rejoice with the women of the gospel story! Let us follow where you lead! Amen! Amen! Amen!

Thursday: “Why are You Weeping” - Matthew 28: 7-9

Not only is he alive, but they actually see him, in the flesh as he greets them. And when they saw this all they could do is worship him. The women worshipped him simply because he was risen. Simply because they loved him. 

We too are called to worship him here in this place, on this day, and each and every day of our lives. Because we know that through his death and life, we have life eternal. We know that we have victory over the grave.

How do you worship Christ every day?

How is Christ using you to proclaim his Gospel message?

Prayer: Lord, you invite us to be part of your good news, sharing it with those we meet! Help us to worship you as we go about your work, every single day, giving you all the honor and glory that you are due. Amen. 

Friday: “Do Not Be Afraid…Again” - Matthew 28: 10

The women were again told to not be afraid, this time not by an angel, but by Jesus himself. They had come to the tomb to grieve and now that their world had been forever changed, they were being sent out to proclaim the Good News.  

Maybe you feel like you need to grieve this day. Grieve a life that hasn’t gone as you have expected. Or the death of a loved one. Know that whatever we face in the present, we have a hope to come. No matter where we find ourselves this day, we are called to worship a risen savior. Hear the Good news. He is not here, he has been risen! And so shall it be with us.

How can you worship and proclaim Christ even in the midst of grief and the unknown?

How has the story of Easter changed your life?

Prayer: God, use us in a mighty way, precious Lord. Let nothing block us from being your living servants and proclaiming the good news that you are risen and that you have conquered the grave! Amen!

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “The Seven Next Words of Christ: Greetings… What are you so Concerned About?” - Luke 24: 13-34

Family Activity: What scares you? Is it something in school? An animal? Something you don’t understand? How can God walk with you, even when you are afraid? Pray to God about the things you are afraid of and ask God to be with you, every single day. 

The Seven Next Words of Christ: Who Are You Looking For? Devo

April 23rd, 2017

Devotional

“The Seven Next Words of Christ: Who Are You Looking For?” - John 20: 1-18

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “We Do Not Know Where They Have Laid Him” - John 20:1-5

A cloud of sadness hung over the disciples of Jesus. Few had watched his death on the cross, but all knew of its graphic nature. Their teacher was gone. And they knew that if they were not careful they could suffer the same fate. A full day had passed, the Sabbath, but there was no resting for their grief stricken hearts. Before dawn came the next morning, Mary Magdalene set out to prepare Jesus’ body with spices. It was the least she could do for this one who had meant so much to her. So she gathered her supplies and headed to the tomb. But when she arrived the heavy stone sealing the tomb given to Jesus by Joseph of Arimathea had been removed. Mary couldn’t take time to look inside. Or maybe her heart feared what she would see if she would stoop down and look into the tomb. She took off sprinting, leaving what she had brought with her behind, until she found Simon Peter. She almost collapsed from grief and exhaustion into his arms, “The have taken the Lord, our Lord, out of the tomb. We do not know where they have laid him.”

Another disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, did not even look at each other to confirm their actions. They knew what they had to do. They took off running in the direction from which Mary came, leaving her behind. The disciple whom Jesus loved arrived first, and bent over, taking one step closer then Mary could bring herself to. He saw the neatly folded and rolled burial linens, but he could not bear to enter the small cave. Then Simon Peter arrived, and went one step further then the others – he entered the tomb.

How are the reactions of Mary, John, and Peter different at the tomb? Who do we identify with?

Prayer: Loving God, we like the disciples so long ago do not always know what to make of your resurrection. It can overwhelm us at times O God. But we ask this day, that you free us from the expectations of how we believe you should be and allow up instead to see you in all of your honor and glory for who you are. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Saw and Believed” - John 20: 6-10

The scriptures then has a paradoxical line for us today, “Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.” And the disciples went home, leaving Mary behind. Even the one whom Jesus loved, the one who was so close to him through his years of ministry, did not recall or understand the words of Jesus. He did not believe what Jesus had said, he believed that Mary was right – that someone had come and taken Jesus’ body away. It is as if he got a small glimpse of the picture, the tomb was empty, Jesus was gone, and jumped into his own rational conclusion. He saw what was before him with blinders that blocked the past teachings connection to the present reality. He was still asleep to the reality of what was taking place.

What blinders have been present in your faith life? 

Prayer:  Lord, we confess that we have blinders over our faith at times. We do not always believe. We do not always act in accordance with what we believe. Forgive us, we pray, and remove the blinders from our hearts and lives. Amen. 

Wednesday: “Mary” - John 20:11:-16

Mary also was asleep spiritually. She stood weeping outside of the tomb, by now catching up with the men who had ran in front of her. She still couldn’t bring herself to go into the tomb – what was the point? She knew what was facing her there and it was not what she was prepared to see. She wanted to do the only thing she could for her slain Lord, and someone had denied her that opportunity. Not only had she faced his death, but now his fallen body wasn’t even present. So she wept. Finally, with tears still blocking her sight, she bent over and saw two angels in the tomb, sitting where Jesus once was. They looked at her with tender respect in their eyes and asked, “Woman, why are you weeping?”. She sputtered out that the Lord, the one whom she was looking for, had been taken away. As she turned around, she saw another man looking at her with this seemingly familiar compassion in his eyes. He too addressed her in terms of respect, care, and admiration, “Women, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” Mary once again gave her answer that caused her so much pain, her eyes unable to see who truly stood before her.

But then Jesus said but one word, “Mary!” and her eyes were opened. She exclaimed, “Teacher!” and ran to cling to Jesus.

Sight and hearing are two of the most commonly used human senses throughout scripture to explain the richness of the faith. People may be able to see with their physical eyes, but can they perceive with their hearts? People may be able to hear the scriptures, but do they hear and understand the voice of God? There seems to be a disconnect at times between sensually experiencing the physical world and its deep spiritual meaning.

How have we missed the risen Jesus? How have we missed deep spiritual meaning in our lives?

Prayer: Lord, at times our eyes are blind and our ears are deaf. We have not perceived you with our hearts. We have not heard your scripture spoken into our lives. Reconnect us to your heart and truth this day, O Lord. Amen.  

Thursday: “Why are You Weeping” - John 20: 16-18

Perhaps what brings about this chasm between the spiritual and the physically is our reliance on logic. We want things to make sense to us and often use our desire for neat answers to full our overall understanding. Take for instance the disciple whom Jesus loved. He was told that someone had taken Jesus’ body. He went to the tomb and saw the covering rolled away and the empty grave clothes where the body once was, so he logically settled on what he had been told. Jesus body had been taken. He believed someone else’s word. And he left thinking there were no other possible answers, and no need to stay.

Mary also believed that Jesus’ body had been taken, but she was persistent in her searching for it. She would not let go of the idea that she was not ready to just allow the body to be gone. So she asked everyone she saw if they had seen the body or taken the body. Her overarching persistence and reliance on the logic that someone had taken the body so whoever took it could return it, also made her blind. So blind in fact that she did not seemed phased at all by her encounter with the two angels. Did she recognize who they were? So blind that she didn’t recognize Jesus! – the very one whom she had come to pay respect to. It wasn’t until Jesus said her name, in that way that only Jesus could say it, that she recognized him.

Mary had to hear her own name in order to be able to see properly. When she did hear and see all logic flew out the window. Logically, Jesus was dead, not only dead but mangled, and those who die that painfully do not come back to life. Further, Jesus didn’t bring himself down off the cross, didn’t save himself, so why would he be alive now? All rational thoughts about how or why escaped her as she gasped, “Rabbouni” and went to him. She didn’t need reason in order to believe what was right in front of her.

How are reason and faith connected?

When have you let reason get in the way of faith? 

Prayer: Lord, you have made us logical beings, but at times call for us to set aside logic and simply believe. Lord, we believe, but help our unbelief. Let us revel in the mystery of the Easter story and let it become part of our story anew. Amen. 

Friday: “Listen” - John 20: 1-18

At the heart of Christianity is the peculiar and illogical belief that Jesus rose from the dead. It doesn’t make sense. We can understand cross dying on the cross, but our faith does not hinge on that fact alone. No, Christ is risen, which means Jesus is alive! We are the only religion to make the claim that one we stake our faith on, our very lives on, lived, died, and lived again. And because Jesus lives again, so can we – death does not have the final word over our lives because it did not have the final word of Christ’s. And this doesn’t make sense. Over the past centuries, Christians have turned to apologetics, or the art of making the seemingly irrational rational, to help people have their eyes opened to the truth in the resurrection. But I wonder if this is really how we will bring people to see the risen Lord? Because the chief tenant of our faith is also one of the greatest mysteries – it is not logical. But when Christ calls our name, our eyes are opened like those of Mary. Not by arguments or persuasion, but by hearing our name.

Have you heard Christ call your name today? Have you been awakened by it. 

For many of us, the Easter story is simply that, a story. But when it is connected with the reality of the risen Christ calling our name, we are able to see and place our faith in the empty tomb. Jesus, the risen one, knows each of our names. He knows that sometimes we let our rational sides block us from hearing him. He knows that sometimes, in the face of the great mystery of his risen body and the empty tomb, we really want to defend him with logical explanations. But what Jesus really wants are not our explanations, but our ears and hearts listening to the sweet call as Jesus says our names so we can see, even when our world is clouded with darkness.

How can you listen to the voice of Christ more deeply in the coming week?

Prayer: God, gives us ears to hear, hearts to love, and hands to respond. Let us hear your voice calling. Amen. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “The Seven Next Words of Christ: Greetings… Don’t be Afraid” - Matthew 28: 8-10

Family Activity: Talk about listening. How do we listen? Who do we listen to and why? How can we listen to Christ better as a family? 

“The Seven Next Words of Christ: Who are You Looking For?”

   Mary's world seemed to be crashing down. She expected to go that morning and prepare Jesus's body for a proper burial. But nothing had been as she expected for the past few days. It started with the guards coming to take Jesus in the night, followed by secret trials under the cover darkness. Next false charges were risen against him. Finally, after Pilate tried to release Jesus and the crowd refused, he was sentenced to death. Death on a cross. She didn't understand any of it. And now, the one thing that she came to do to pay respect to Jesus could not even be done because the body was gone.
   My hope is that we have not had many days in our lives where we feel like Mary - like the world is crashing down. But I know that we have probably had many days where we feel like our lives are a mess. Days when we look around for Christ in the midst of it all and wonder exactly where he is.
   The truth is many times, just as it was with Mary so long ago, Christ is standing right next to us. Calling us by name. But we are so caught up in our own circumstances or how we think Christ should appear and act that we miss him, and all that he has to offer us.
   Let us look, friends, not to where we expect Jesus to be but to where he truly is. Let us find him right beside us.

He is Risen

    We have become immune to the story of the resurrection. Like the story of Christ's brith we have heard it so many times that it is as if we have stopped listening with our hearts. We forget the power. Forget the mystery.
     We have become so used to the story of Easter that we forget that the idea that God could raise someone from the dead would have been difficult to believe. We have very few stories in scripture of saints being raised from the dead, or folks like Lazarus being unbound from his death clothes. The idea of Jesus's body being taken would have made more sense to the disciples at the empty tomb that morning then all that Jesus had been trying to teach them about his death and resurrection.  
    And when we forget, we miss some of the beauty of the Easter narrative. We miss seeing how the resurrection changed things forever. How it was no longer about what makes sense, but is instead about the God who can overturn our expectation. It is about a Savior who invites us to experience the resurrection. And the Holy Spirit who guides us. It is about the most powerful story ever told. The story that can changes lives and hearts.
    Let us experience a new the Easter story and let us proclaim "He is Risen!"

He is Risen Devo

April 16th, 2017

Devotional

“He is Risen!” - John 20: 1-18

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “They Have Taken the Lord” - John 20:1-2

Have you ever went to go about a task only to find your plans disrupted? Mary Magdalene had resolved to go and do for Jesus what she was unable to a few days before. On Friday, she watched as Jesus, her teacher and friend, was arrested, beaten, and hung on the cross to die. She helplessly watched as the crowds mocked him and spat at him. When he breathed his final breath the Sabbath was quickly approaching. Some of the men were able to get his body into the tomb before sundown, but there wasn’t time to prepare the body with spices and oils.

So Mary Magdalene set out that Sunday morning, after the Sabbath was finished to prepare Jesus’s body for a proper burial. She went before the sun even had a chance to rise, anxious to go about her task, but when she arrived things were not as they should have been. The stone blocking the entrance to the tomb had been moved.

How many times do we go about our tasks and callings only to find things were not as we expected they would be? 

How would you have responded if you were Mary at the tomb that morning?

How do you respond when your plans are disrupted? 

Prayer: Loving God, we so badly want to serve you in many ways. But often there is a disruption between the visions of what it looks like to serve you that we carry in our heads and what actually takes place. Strengthen us to respond in ways that honor and glorify you, even when things are not as we think they should be. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Running ” - John 20: 3-4

I have confessed before that I’m not the most athletic of persons. In fact, I have successfully managed to avoid most gym classes and foot races. But I remember when I was a child that you ran simply because everyone else did. If others were running a certain direction, they must be going to see something - something you didn’t want to miss.

The disciples also ran in today’s scripture passage. They ran not because there was something that they didn’t want to miss, but because they had just heard news they didn’t want to believe “They have taken the Lord.” Ironically, the Roman guards had been scared that it was Jesus’ followers who would steal his body and now, as if a cruel joke has been played, it seems like someone else has taken and hid the body of the one they loved.

 So two of the disciples - Simon Peter and the other disciples - took off like a shot. Mary probably ran behind them, to see the event that had just caused her to dash to these disciples through their eyes. To relive the pain of not knowing where Jesus’ body lay. 

What do you think was going through the disciples minds and hearts are they raced towards the tomb? How would you have responded to Mary’s news?

When is a time that you ran for or towards Christ? What was that experience like for you? 

Prayer:  Lord, sometimes we run hard toward you, but we confess that sometimes we also run away from you. And sometimes Lord we don’t know what we are running after at all. Help us, O Lord, to chase after you. To follow you with all that we are. Amen. 

Wednesday: “The Empty Tomb” - John 20:5-10

I can’t begin to imagine the questions and emotions that must have been present between the disciples and Mary Magdalene. But I would guess that their first thoughts were simply about the incomprehensibility of the situation. Like most of us, they jumped to a logical conclusion - the body was gone, someone must have taken it. Who? Why? When? Where? How? 

  We too face questions at the face of the empty of tomb. How is my life changed by the risen Christ? Why does this day matter? Is this true? 

But our questions, just like the disciples, are not bad. In fact, without questioning, they never would have ran. Without reaching the tomb they would have never went in. And without going in they never would have come to believe. It’s okay to have questions, even questions that we may never have answered in this lifetime, because questions show that we care. Question shows that something has peaked an interest in our spirit - something that has driven us to look into the empty tomb today as well.

Out of the disciples questions belief did come, but not belief as we may define it. For when the other disciple, the one who reached the tomb first, followed Peter into the tomb we are told that he saw and believed, but that he didn’t understand that Jesus had been raised from the dead. We may go as far as to say his belief was only partial. But he did believe in the glory of Christ. That the cross wasn’t the final word and that it lead to Jesus’ magnification, not death. The message of Christ could not be contained.

What questions do you have for the Lord today? 

How are questions and belief connected in your faith life?

Prayer: Lord, we come before you with many questions in our hearts - some that we give voice to, some that we try to ignore and keep silent. But today, O Lord, we hand our questions over to you, asking that out of them faith may spring up. In the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen. 

Thursday: “Why are You Weeping” - John 20: 11-16

The other disciple believed. He and Simon Peter returned home. But Mary, Mary who ran to get them in the first place, doesn’t have that same belief. And she cannot leave the empty tomb, which her Lord has been taken from. So she stands outside and weeps. As she is weeping, she bends down again to get another look and sees angels standing there. They question her, “Why are you weeping?” And even after though she has saw angels, she still doesn’t believe. 

 She stands up, still crying and is met by another person she thinks is the gardener. He took asks her why she is weeping and she begs him to tell him where he has taken her Lord. But then Jesus calls her by name, “Mary” and she grabs him, clinging too him. 

  Sometimes looking into the empty tomb is not enough to start our faith journey. Sometimes we are so caught up in our own pain, that we cannot see the message of hope through our own tears. We too are asked “Why are you weeping?” and have so many answers. Weeping for the pain that we carry around that others do not know about. Weeping for loved ones gone too soon. Weeping for a world at war. Weeping for children that go to bed hungry. So much to grieve over. We cannot see Christ through our tears.

  We need Jesus to call us by name. We need to listen for the voice of Christ, when coming to see is not enough. That voice may sound different for each of us. Questions and invitations may be placing us in the path where Christ can meet us and speak to us. We may not recognize his voice at first, but slowly and surely over time, we notice that it is a voice that is unlike any other. The voice of our teacher that speaks to us in a deep way.

Tell of a time when you heard Christ calling your name. What was the experience like for you?

How do you respond when you hear the voice of Christ in your life? Is it difficult or easy? Why?

Prayer: Lord, you encourage us to listen to your voice and know that you are speaking to our hearts. Open us up to receive whatever word you may have for us, precious Lord. Call us, once again by name. Amen. 

Friday: “Go” - John 20: 17-18

Whether we see and believe or hear the voice of Christ speaking our name, we are left with the same question - what are we going to do when we leave worship this morning? Are we going to go, like Mary, and proclaim the good news, “I have seen the Lord! He is Risen” or are we simply going to return to life as usual? Are we going to live as Easter people who follow God, no matter how many questions we may have, or are we going to return home and pretend that day never happened? Are we going to go out and let our voices ring? Are we going to live as if we are empowered by the Lord? Will we go on to live victorious? Will you live like the resurrection means something for your life?

Where do you discern that God is calling you to go to spread the good news? How will you respond?

Prayer: God, help us to go about the work of your kingdom. Helps us proclaim your message. Use us, O Lord. Amen. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “The Seven Next Words of Christ: Who are You Looking For?” - John 20: 1-18

Family Activity: Talk about what Easter means to your family. How do you celebrate? How do you remember the resurrection of Jesus? What does that mean for your daily lives? 

Lent 6

   Lent is on the cusp of ending. For the past six weeks we have journeyed together through the discussion and practice of transformation with Christ. We have been invited to practices spiritual disciplines that draw us deeper into our relationship with God. While for some this may have been a taste of something new, for others perhaps they were familiar practice. But the question remains where do we go from here?
    I hope that this is not the end of our journey with God. I hope you continue to figure out ways to grow deeper in love with Christ and trust the leading of the Holy Spirit. What has been helpful to you over this Lenten journey and how can you continue it in the future?

Lent 6 Devo

“Transformation: What Now?”

2 Timothy 2: 11-13

Devotional

A Brief Introduction:

During the season of Lent our weekly parish devotional is going to be a bit different. Instead of a daily scripture passage with reflection and questions, there will be one devotional with a spiritual practice you to engage for the entire week. Perhaps one day during the week you would like to invite others to your home for a lite meal to reflect on the scripture together. Perhaps you would like to read it every day on your own and see what new ways God speaks to your heart. Let us seek transformation anew this Lenten season. 

Scripture: 2 Timothy 2: 11-13

Read the scripture daily. Read it slowly. What is God bringing to your attention through this passage? 

Questions to consider:

• What promises to God do we want to make at the end of this Lenten journey?
• How is your relationship with God? How can it develop more fully? 
• What questions do you have for God about God’s will?

Spiritual Discipline. Create a Rule of Life

Create a Rule for Life – creating a unique rhythm for your life that opens you to the presence of God. 

Scripture: I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10b)

Spiritual Practice: 

• Create rhythms that embrace both your desires and limits
• Develop repeated habits that draw you deeper into the love of the Holy Three, Holy One
• Periodically assessing your spiritual journey for your own personal growth (note: this is not done by comparing your spiritual life to that of others)
• Stop throughout the day to intentionally listen for God
• Have symbols around you that remind you of Christ’s continual presence (crosses, prayer beads, etc).

Transformation: Prayer

    What happens when we pray? Why do we pray? How do we pray? Prayer has been a topic that has spurred countless books to be written. Endless sermons to be preached. And yet, we still have questions.
    Perhaps we have questions because prayer is something that we don't learn through books, so much as by doing. I learned to pray with my parents before bed and around the dinner table as they first modeled prayer to my brothers and I and then invited us to pray. We learned by doing.
   As we learn more about praying there will be times when it doesn't go quite as we anticipated. Times when fatigue takes over. Times when our mind wonders to our to-do list or anything other than God. But God continually, graciously, invites us to be in relationship with the Divine who loves us through prayer.
    How is your prayer life? How are you growing in prayer?

Lent 5 Devo

“Transformation: Prayer”

1 Thes 5: 16-18

Col 4:2

Eph 6:18

Devotional

A Brief Introduction:

During the season of Lent our weekly parish devotional is going to be a bit different. Instead of a daily scripture passage with reflection and questions, there will be one devotional with a spiritual practice you to engage for the entire week. Perhaps one day during the week you would like to invite others to your home for a lite meal to reflect on the scripture together. Perhaps you would like to read it every day on your own and see what new ways God speaks to your heart. Let us seek transformation anew this Lenten season. 

Scripture: 1 Thes 5:18-16, Col 4:2, Ep 6:18

Read the scripture daily. Read it slowly. What is God bringing to your attention through this passage? 

Questions to consider:

• How do you react to silence? How are silence and prayer connected?
• What happens when your life gets more chaotic? Do you end up praying more or less often than usual?
• How do you create space for God when your life feels too full?
• How do you react to unanswered prayers?

Spiritual Discipline. Sabbath

Sabbath – setting apart one day a week for regular rest. During this time we regain our energy for doing things, by being ourselves and engaging in the activities that bring us the most joy.

Scripture: Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. (Exodus 20:8-10)

Spiritual Practices:

• Practice restful activities one day a week such as walks, naps, tea with a  friend, etc.
• Let go of the things that stress you out for one 24 hour period a week
• Do not use this time to develop a to-do list for when your Sabbath is love