LENTEN DEVOTIONAL MARCH 6 – APRIL 20, 2019 The Lenten Season Lent is a forty-day period before Easter. It begins on Ash Wednesday and ends with the Resurrection on Easter. We skip Sundays when we count the forty days because Sundays commemorate the Resurrection. This year Lent begins on March 6, 2019 and ends on April 20, 2019. It is meant as a time for repentance and reflection, for silence and prayer, for listening to God. The season serves as a reminder of our need to humble ourselves and call upon Jesus for forgiveness. When we participate in the devotions and traditions of Lent, we participate personally in Christ’s sacrifice, death and resurrection in a way that allows us to be involved with what He has done for us on many levels, both spiritually and physically, in a very personal and meaningful way. This will not only teach us personal strength and discipline, but will bless us as the true meaning of Lent fills our hearts and strengthens our spirits. How to Use This Guide This guide is intended to provide families, individuals or study groups with a devotional to study each day of the Lenten season. As we progress through Lent we will study ways we “Follow Jesus for Life.” Some tell their story of coming to Christ, some describe where they have seen Christ in action, and some describe some disciplines and practices that help us in our journey with Jesus. Each day the guide includes a passage of Scripture, a devotion, an image and a prayer. We are combining several techniques. The first, Lectio Divina, known by Church Fathers in the early days of the church, is a simple method of praying with Scripture. Visio Divina (or divine seeing) is related to the Lectio Divina prayer form, but instead of Scripture, this form of prayer uses visual elements to set your mind on prayer. It allows God to speak into your heart through the image. It is also a prayer form that has been used throughout the centuries. Each day, as you read your devotion, do the following: 1. Close your eyes, breath and clear your mind. 2. Open your eyes and read the Scripture and Devotion. Close your eyes and meditate on what you read. 3. Open your eyes and study the image in the Devotion. Close and rest your eyes a minute and meditate. 4. Open your eyes and read the prayer. 5. Close and rest your eyes while you contemplate what God is speaking to you today through the scripture, devotion, image and prayer. 6. Open your eyes and apply your thoughts throughout the day. Some devotions are written by our friends in the Village Church. Others are excerpts from writings of theologians and authors from across the centuries. Some of the art included in the daily devotion was created by church members. The prayers were written throughout the centuries to sustain Christians in their faith walk. 1 March 6, 2019 Ash Wednesday Scripture: Close your eyes, breathe, and clear your mind. Read the Scripture and Devotion. Sons and daughters come and listen and let me teach you the importance of trusting and fearing the Lord. [Psalm 34:11] Devotion: What Do You Want Me To Do, Lord? Written by Pat Grant Jesus spends his forty days of retreat in the desert in preparation for his mission on earth. As his followers, we accept the same invitation he extends to Peter and Andrew when he says to them: “Come, follow Me.” and they do [Mark 1:16]. We can perhaps use the 40 days of Lent to help us understand what God wants us to do. Luke says Jesus is hungry [Luke 4: 1-13]. The idea of fasting for Lent usually means you give up something you love. Satan tempts Jesus with the idea of his turning stones into bread and Jesus refuses, pointing out that we need more than bread to live; we need God’s word. That seems to suggest we might spend Lent reading the Bible to see what God wants us to do. Admittedly, that would be easier for me than giving up bread. There’s a lot to notice here. Satan makes a mistake in offering Jesus power and a glitzy miracle — Jesus refers Satan to Scripture. But bread? There are a lot of hungry people in the world who could be fed. Jesus understands we need to eat, but it will be in his way and in God’s time. No shortcuts. Micah 6: 8 provides a good start: “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Prayer: Close your eyes and meditate on what you read. Open your eyes and meditate on what you see in the image. Read the prayer. Contemplate what God is speaking to you today through the scripture, devotion, image and prayer. Apply your thoughts throughout the day. Lord, thou hast given us thy Word for a light to shine upon our path; grant us so to meditate on that Word, and to follow its teaching, that we may find in it the light that shines more and more until the perfect day; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Jerome (347-420) was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, best known for his extensive writings and his translation of the Bible into Latin. Temptation in the Wilderness: Briton Riviere 2 March 7, 2019 Scripture: Close your eyes, breathe, and clear your mind. Read the Scripture and Devotion. The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve [Matthew 20:28] Devotion: The Determination to Serve Written by Oswald Chambers (1874-1917), author of “My Utmost for His Highest,” from which this devotion is excerpted. Paul’s idea of service was to pour his life out to the last drop for others. And whether he received praise or blame made no difference. As long as there was one human being who did not know Jesus, Paul felt a debt of service to that person until he did come to know Him. But the chief motivation behind Paul’s service was not love for others but love for his Lord. If our devotion is to the cause of humanity, we will be quickly defeated and broken-hearted, since we will often be confronted with a great deal of ingratitude from other people. But if we are motivated by our love for God, no amount of ingratitude will be able to hinder us from serving one another. Paul’s understanding of how Christ had dealt with him is the secret behind his determination to serve others. No matter how badly others may have treated Paul, they could never have treated him with the same degree of spite and hatred with which he, as Saul, had treated Jesus Christ. Once we realize that Jesus has served us even to the depths of our meagerness, our selfishness, and our sin, nothing we encounter from others will be able to exhaust our determination to serve others for His sake. Prayer: Close your eyes and meditate on what you read. Open your eyes and meditate on what you see in the image. Read the prayer. Contemplate what God is speaking to you today through the scripture, devotion, image and prayer. Apply your thoughts throughout the day. We beseech You, Master, to be our helper and protector. Save the afflicted among us; have mercy on the lowly; raise up the fallen; appear to the needy; heal the ungodly; restore the wanderers of Your people; feed the hungry; ransom our prisoners; raise up the sick; comfort the faint-hearted. Clement of Rome (35-101). Pope and bishop of Rome and considered to be the first Apostolic Father of the Church. Self Portrait: Roy Nachum 3 March 8, 2019 Scripture: Close your eyes, breathe, and clear your mind. Read the Scripture and Devotion. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. [John 1:12] Devotion: My Beginning Written by Betty Brown Simm A most important day happened on a childhood Sunday, a beginning burst of faith in God. I was six years old and had been invited by my new friend, Laura, to go to the Presbyterian Church with her family. My mother and father had partied the night before so I put on my Oklahoman Sunday-go-to-meetin’ dress for this special day. Her family picked me up. “Hurry”, Laura said, “we can’t be late for church.” Before I rushed out the door I saw my mother’s elegant evening cape on a chair. She had brought it back from a fancy salon in Paris and my mama loved it. Wearing it seemed a perfect way for me to show off to Laura. The Sunday school classes gathered in the back of the sanctuary to be part of the service to welcome new members joining the church. These adults were standing on steps in front of the pulpit. The big worship room resounded like heaven to a naïve, awakening six year old girl. Hymns thundered from the organ. Whispering people in fancy hats, gloves, and suits filled the pews. The stained glass windows glowed in welcome and I was glad to be a part of all this grown-up ceremony. The organ crescendoed and stopped. The black-robed minister stepped to the pulpit and raised his arms and proclaimed, “Welcome to all who know God, want to learn about Jesus Christ and now join our church.” At that moment, sparkling gold, blue and green stained glass rays of the sun radiated over the gathered new members.