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.