Week 3 Scriptures

Isaiah 55:1-9;
Psalm 63:1-8;
1 Cor. 10:1-13; 
Luke 13:1-9

Third Sunday in Lent

Third Sunday in Lent

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;     the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?  For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.” 1 Corinthians 1: 18-25   “And through these days of penitence,  and through thy passiontide,  yea, evermore in life and death,  Jesus, with us abide.” “Lord Who throughout These Forty Days” vs. 4, by Claudia F. Hernaman  

 “Christ crucified, God's power and wisdom!” Humility and foolishness are not something you may put on your resume' if you're looking for a good paying job, but great credentials if you aspire to follow Jesus and are a kingdom seeker! How many of us remember the words of Jesus to his disciples?  "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3)  In Bethlehem, the Church of the Nativity, built over the site where it is believed that Christ was born, has hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.  At one entrance of the church is a small door, known as the door of humility, which in the Ottoman time was created to keep marauders mounted on horses from entering.   It is fitting today that every visitor who enters through this door must stoop down or bend over, just as Christ, the very God who created the universe, bowed low to enter our human existence and then bowed lower by allowing himself to be crucified as a criminal on the cross.  

The test of true greatness, it could be argued, is humility.  Likewise, the test of true wisdom is arguably to be emptied of human wisdom to make room for God's wisdom.  This also requires an act of humility. What actions do I need to take to be emptied of self righteousness, pride, and worldly wisdom?  What am I willing to do to know Christ more fully? As we read in today's scripture the preaching about the cross is foolishness to many people, but to those who believe it is wisdom, and power and might.

Dear God, Thank you for paving the way for us to know you and to be in relationship with you.  Through your birth and death on the cross you showed us the way to the father is through humility and self-denial.  Lord we receive you as our Savior!  Help us to follow your example all the days of our lives.  Amen! -Brenda Awad Global Ministries Missionary in Palestine and Israel

Lent Meditation

Meditation

Sometimes,
Our greatest enemy is fear
Fear that we are not good enough
Fear that we have not worked hard enough
Fear that we will not live long enough
To see the goodness of God in our lives.

Grasping fear
That even what we have
Will be taken away.
And sometimes it is
Taken away.

Sometimes,
We do lose
What we thought we could not live without
And are surprised when life goes on.

It is then
That we discover
God, who is always faithful
God, who can always be trusted
Knows us better
Than we know ourselves.

Lent Week 2

Friday Fun Day Thoughts....

Lent is a great time for us to stop and think. To re-examine our lives. But it shouldn't stop there. Thinking doesn't get us to far in the way of getting closer to God. If there is no doing attached to our thinking we are not getting past the start point. Breaking past that starting line is hard. Runners do a lot of preparing before a race and that is mental prep too. As we examine our lives and our relationship we must do it with the intent to act on whatever it is God is telling us. What do we need to add to our lives? What do we need to take out? What do we need to shift around or hand off? Who is God leading us to for discipleship? What have we done to be a better follower?
Hard questions sometimes but we all need to stop and ask them. Seek the answer and then act on it.

Lent Week 2 Worship

Lent - Wednesday Night Bible Story

Wednesday, February 24
Jesus & the Pharisees From Matthew 9, 12; Mark 2; Luke 5, 11; John 5

Tell the Story—SCENE 1: Healing a Paralyzed Man  

Crowds continued to surround Jesus everywhere he went. Once, when he was teaching in a house where he was staying, so many people came to hear him that the house was completely packed. There wasn’t room for one more person—even outside of the door!  

Four men brought their paralyzed friend who was lying on a mat to see Jesus, believing he would heal him. But the only way they could get him in the house was to climb up on the roof, dig a hole through the clay tiles and lower him down! Jesus was impressed with their effort and faith. He told the paralyzed man, “Don’t worry… your sins are forgiven!”  

Some religious leaders, called Pharisees, were watching and listening to Jesus. The Pharisees were a powerful group of Jewish teachers. They created their own set of strict rules on how to follow God in addition to the laws given to Moses.  

They said to each other, “Who does this man think he is? No one can forgive sins but God!”  

But Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why are you offended? Would you rather I would’ve just said ‘pick up your mat and walk’? I will prove to you that I have the authority on earth to forgive sins.”  

Then Jesus told the paralyzed man, “Now get up, take your mat and walk home—you are healed.”  

The man was no longer paralyzed! He jumped up and pushed his way out the door and went home. Everyone there was amazed and thanked God saying, “We’ve never seen anything like this before!” 

Tell the Story—SCENE 2: Eating with Sinners

Soon after that, Jesus was walking along the lakeshore when he saw a tax collector named Matthew sitting at his collection booth. (In that day Tax collectors were hated because they had a reputation for being dishonest and corrupt.)  

Jesus said to him, “Come, be my disciple!” So Matthew got up, left everything, and followed Jesus.  

That night Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to be his dinner guests. He also invited some of his tax collector friends and many other people that were known to be sinners in the community. But when some of the Jewish religious leaders, called Pharisees, saw Jesus eating with them they said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with those terrible people?”    When Jesus heard this he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, sick people do. I have come to call sinners to a changed life—inside and out—not to spend my time with those who think they’re already good enough.”    On another night Jesus met with some of the Jewish religious leaders for dinner. They were shocked and offended when Jesus did not wash up according to Jewish customs before the meal.    Then Jesus said to them, “You Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but the inside is still filthy. Your lives are just like this—so clean when people are watching—but inside you are full of hate, greed and pride. You’re worse than your Hebrew ancestors; you have great knowledge about the things of God, but you don’t enter God’s kingdom, in fact, you keep people from entering it!” 

Tell the Story—SCENE 3: Healing on the Sabbath

Jesus continued to travel around teaching and healing, sometimes on the Sabbath (the day of rest). The Jewish leaders were upset about this and confronted Jesus for breaking the Sabbath rules.    But Jesus replied, “God—my Father—never stops doing good, so why should I?”     This really angered them. Not only was he breaking their Sabbath rules, but he was calling God “his” Father instead of “our” father, making himself equal with God! The Jewish leaders continued to challenge Jesus with many hostile questions, trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him.    Jesus went on to explain to them, “I don’t do any of this on my own. I only do what my Father tells me to do. He is the source of all life and has given me the power to heal, raise the dead and give life. Those who listen and believe in me will find new life with God that is never ending.”    As Jesus finished speaking, the Pharisees and religious leaders were furious. From that time on the Jewish leaders began planning out how they could have Jesus killed. 

Scripture Memory Verses

 “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” John 5:24  

Lent

Holy are you, and blessed is your Son Jesus Christ.

When you gave him to save us from our sin,

your Spirit led him into the wilderness,

where he fasted forty days and forty nights to prepare for his ministry. 

When he suffered and died on a cross for our sin, you raised him to life, 

presented him alive to the apostles during forty days, 

and exalted him at your right hand.

By the baptism of his suffering, death, and resurrection

you gave birth to your Church, delivered us from slavery to sin and death,

and made with us a new covenant by water and the Spirit.

Now, when we your people prepare for the yearly feast of Easter,

you lead us to repentance for sin and the cleansing of our hearts,

that during these forty days of Lent we may be gifted and graced

to reaffirm the covenant you made with us through Christ.

“The Great Thanksgiving for Early in Lent”

This week and next week we pray for: Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain, France, Germany

Give thanks for: Reconciliation between France and Germany after the end of the Second World War. The fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany and its families. The witness of such ecumenical centres as the Taizé community, which has revitalized worship, particularly among young people. Those working for tolerance and support for immigrants and refugees, so that hatred and violence based on ethnicity are eliminated. Magnificent church art and architecture, which tell the gospel story and praise God.

Week 2 Scriptures

Gen. 15:1-12 &17-18; 

Psalm 27; 

Phil. 3:17-4:1; 

Luke 13:31-35

Second Sunday in Lent

Second Sunday in Lent

“For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith... For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”)—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.” Romans 4:13, 16-17

“As thou didst hunger bear, and thirst,  so teach us, gracious Lord,  to die to self, and chiefly live by thy most holy word.” “Lord Who throughout These Forty Days” vs. 3, by Claudia F. Hernaman  

Paul reminds some of the first members of the church, the Jewish-Gentile congregations in Rome, that faith is the basis of who is in and who is out of the community. And why is faith the basis? So that God’s promises given in the covenant will always be received as a gift and not a reward, and that being part of the covenant will always be available to everyone who shares in the faith.   In reflecting on this passage I thought about how in the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, peace is often bandied about as a reward for power (for Israelis) or for submission (for Palestinians.) If Palestinians or the Palestinian Authority would do, or not do, something then peace would be achieved. If Israelis or the Israeli government would do, or not do, something then peace would be achieved.   What if being deserving of peace is not based on behavior, but based on that fact that Palestinians and Israelis are human, and that by being human all are Children of God. Living in peace is not a privilege, though in this world it is often treated as such. Living in peace is how God calls us to be. It is also what God calls us to do so that not only may we live in peace but that all people may live this way. Peace is not a limited commodity!   Regardless of what some Israeli or Palestinians, or even Americans, may or may not do, our working or advocating for peace should not be because we think that some people deserve it, or don’t deserve it. We should work for peace because all people deserve it. Peace is a gift from God intended to be shared by all people.   God, may I live in your peace. May I live a life without violence, but if this may not be so may I live in hope that it could be.

-Rev. Doris Warrell Former Mission Intern in Palestine and Israel

Lent

The Peace Prayer of Saint Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is error, truth;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love. 
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in self-forgetting that we find;
And it is in dying to ourselves that we are born to eternal life.

Amen.

Bible Story Activity

Here is a Bible story activity to go along with our story from last night: http://flamecreativekids.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/jesus-in-wilderness-take-home-activity.html

Wednesday Bible Story

 “’The time has come,’ he said. ‘The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!’” Mark 1:15 

Matthew 4:1-11New International Version (NIV)

Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness

4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted^[a] by the devil. ² After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³ The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

⁴ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’^[b]”
⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ⁶ “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
    and they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’^[c]”

⁷ Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’^[d]”

⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹ “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’^[e]”
¹¹ Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Lent

A lament ....

What are the burdens that you are carrying?  Are you weary from grief and sadness?  Are you fighting depression or despair?


God is a God of Rest.  Come to Him if you are weary and He will give you rest.

Worship Song

A worship song for the first week of lent...

or

Week 1 Scriptures

Ex. 34:29-35;
Psalm 99; 

2 Cor. 3:12-4:2; 

Luke 9:28-36

First Sunday in Lent

First Sunday in Lent

“Be mindful of your mercy, O LORD, and of your steadfast love,     for they have been from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;     according to your steadfast love remember me,     for your goodness’ sake, O LORD!” Psalm 25:6-7

“As thou with Satan didst contend,  and didst the victory win,  O give us strength in thee to fight,  in thee to conquer sin.” “Lord Who throughout These Forty Days” vs. 2, by Claudia F. Hernaman  
Lent is a time for exploration of the relationship between humanity and God. Throughout this season of Lent, we are called to remember Christ’s temptation in the wilderness and similarly cleanse our lives from sin. It is a time to free ourselves from the habits that keep us from a deeper communion with God, others, and the earth.  

As we prepare our hearts and minds for Easter, the psalmist reminds us that God’s grace is “of old.” The steadfast love of God is older than our sins, personal or collective. It is older and more powerful than any hate-filled word and this Occupation. Indeed, it is the very constant throughout salvation history. When the Psalmist cries, “according to your steadfast love remember me,” he is pleading to be remembered as the human that he is, for God to remember him and not his sins.
Yet, Lent is not only how we relate to God but also how we relate to each other. It is our relationships with each other that can either support or dismantle the systems of oppression that God despises. Often, humans cry not just to God but to each other in different ways to be remembered as human. While our society seems to move continuously closer to the comfort of stereotypes and easy answers, we are called to seek and celebrate the humanity in ourselves and in each individual. Even as we work with the marginalized, it is easy to lack nuance in our understanding of both the oppressor and the oppressed. We can too often view the oppressed as blameless victims and the oppressor as heartless monsters. While the roles of oppressor and oppressed may be clear, to view an individual, regardless of their identity, as anything more or less than human is in itself a sin that keeps us from true relationships with God and with the other.

As we journey towards redemption and new life, let us confess our sins to the God that forgives us and cleanses our relationship with God and with others.

Loving and redeeming God, we call to you to remember us by your steadfast love. Look on our humanity and our hearts rather than our sins. Be with us and fill us with your love as we seek to understand the humanity in each of your children. Let our shared humanity be used to bring about a just peace and not used as a means to justify oppression. Amen.
-Grace Killian  Global Mission Fellow in Palestine and Israel

Lent

Spending time with God is critical to hearing from him.

-How is your time with God?

-Are you able to hear him through the Bible?

-How often do you feel filled by the spirit? 

Lent Challenge

Ash Wednesday Review

Ash Wednesday

“Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.” Isaiah 58:12
“Lord, who throughout these forty days for us didst fast and pray,  teach us with thee to mourn our sins and close by thee to stay.” “Lord Who throughout These Forty Days” vs. 1, by Claudia F. Hernaman  

As we enter the season of Lent, we are reminded yet again to pray and to fast… to pray and to act… it is more than praying on its own.  Images of prayer fill my mind… traditional ones… head down, eyes closed, and speaking quietly to God.  But there are so many other images we can consider… prayers with action… praying and planting trees… praying and walking.

Living in the greater Bethlehem area… we pray and we act.  Last week, we planted trees as a response to prayer in action.  Trees had been uprooted in a valley, and the response by the Palestinian Christian family was to replant and to plant more trees.* This season of Lent, what are the ways you too can pray and act?  The Palm Sunday palms have become the ashes… the destruction of trees has become the opportunity for grace through action.

Amazing and ever loving God, as we begin the season of Lent, may we be reminded through your grace how we are to love through prayers and action.  Amen.

  -Rev. Kristen L. Brown Global Ministries Mission Liaison to Palestine and Israel  
*Post note:  for more information about the Nassar family, please check out their web site www.tentofnations.org In May 2014 some 1800 trees were uprooted during the night in the valley of their farm land.  This happened days before the apricot harvest.  The variety of trees uprooted included apricot, olive, grape vines, apple, and almonds.  The winter months are the tree planting time… so each Saturday, weather permitting, people gather to help replant trees, the hope it to plant some 3000 fruit trees to replace those which were uprooted.
Sadly these kinds of things happen in too many places in the West Bank of Occupied Palestine.

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent. On Ash Wednesday, ashes are put on your forehead in the shape of a cross. These ashes are made by burning palm leaves which have been saved from last year’s Palm Sunday.
Ash Wednesday is also when we begin to  give up something and take something on to help us to improve our relationship with God.

Scripture Readings:

Joel 2:1-2, 12-17; Ps 51:1-17; 2 Cor 5:20b-6:10; Mt 6:1-6, 16-21

During lent it is a tradition to give something up for the duration of Lent and to take something on.  For example, giving up television for two hours a night and taking on reading your Bible more.  This tradition helps us to see what it is that we are putting before God in our lives and to give more time to service God and others.

Lent Photo A Day Challenge

What is Lent?

What is this thing we call Lent?

Lent is one of the seasons of our church calendar. Like the other calendar we use which has spring, summer, winter and fall. The church calendar has seasons too. Advent is the first season which leads us up to Christmas which leads us to Epiphany. After Epiphany is the season of Lent. The season of Lent is forty days, not county Sundays. It begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday
(Saturday before Easter).

The word lent comes from lencten which means “spring.”

Why 40 days? It represents the time that Jesus spent in the wilderness and endured the temptation of Satan and prepared him to begin his ministry. Today we spend those 40 days focusing on our relationship with God.

Why are Sundays not counted? Sundays are a “mini-Easter” a day we celebrate the Resurrection.

Why do we give something up during lent? During the 40 days of lent it has become tradition to give something up. This practice helps us get rid of selfish desires and distractions while taking on a new life-giving practice.

Lent 2016

Check out this months newsletter which includes our Lent Family Devotional.  We have paper copies available in the Life Works Chapel.