During this past season of Lent, one of the prayer stations in the church sanctuary invited us to write on a canvas the things that we lost this year, the things we are grieving over, and the things that caused us pain and heartache. It is good to name these things and lay them…
Tag Archives: lent
7 Last Words
Good Friday is a special day in the church calendar when we focus on the hours leading up to Jesus death on a cross outside Jerusalem around 2000 years ago. A helpful way churches do this is by looking at seven passages of scripture describing that day and what Jesus said, the seven last words…
An Unexpected Path to Hope: God is On Trial
Passage: Mark 14:53-72 Guide for Group Discussion or Personal Reflection Sermon Summary When life is hard, we can easily drift off course in our faith, and we need both a focus on Jesus’ faithfulness and an honesty about our own faithlessness to keep us on track. Both of these truths—Jesus’ faithfulness and our faithlessness—are illustrated…
An Unexpected Path to Hope: Refusing the Sword
Passage: Mark 14:43-50 Guide for Group Discussion or Personal Reflection Sermon Summary During his betrayal and arrest, Jesus demonstrated the counterintuitive way in which God’s kingdom advances. Unlike other kingdoms, God’s kingdom comes not through domination, but through surrender. Though Mark goes to great lengths to highlight Jesus’ authority—an authority he possessed even in the…
An Unexpected Path to Hope: The Table of Jesus
Passage: Mark 14:17-31 Guide for Group Discussion or Personal Reflection Sermon Summary From the book of Genesis, when God “set a table” for Adam and Eve, to the marriage supper of the lamb in Revelation, the Bible is a story of God hospitably inviting us to the table to feast with him. Much of Jesus’…
A Space for Lament
Making Space for Lament This week in churches across the world, millions of foreheads will be marked with ashes. This signifies the dust of our common origin and end. It also marks the beginning of Lent; a season in the church calendar devoted to lament. Why lament and ritual? Many may wonder if all of…
The Lord Is King: A Palm Sunday Sermon Reflection
Today’s post is part of a series to help us take what we learn on Sunday into the rest of the week. These posts summarize the main points from the week’s sermon and include questions for continued reflection and prayer. The posts in this series are written by members of our church’s Adult Christian Formation…
Hiding in Plain Sight: Tribalism
Today’s post is part of a series to help us take what we learn on Sunday into the rest of the week. These posts summarize the main points from the week’s sermon and include questions for continued reflection and prayer. The posts in this series are written by members of our church’s Adult Christian Formation…
