Lenten Devotionals
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6| Holy Week
Monday, March 10
Scripture
Psalm 118:1-2, 19-20
1 O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let Israel say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the LORD.
20 This is the gate of the LORD;
the righteous shall enter through it.
Thought For The Day
Christopher Lasch
At some point in the modern world, people quit being interested in being saved and instead decided it was enough to just feel better.
Prayer
Thomas Fuller
Lord, teach me the art of patience whilst I am well, and give me the use of it when I am sick. In that day either lighten my burden or strengthen my back. Make me, who so often in my health have discovered my weakness presuming on my own strength, to be strong in my sickness when I solely rely on thy assistance.
Tuesday, March 11
Scripture
Psalm 118:21-25
21 I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This is the LORD’s doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it. †
25 Save us, we beseech you, O LORD!
O LORD, we beseech you, give us success!
Thought For The Day
Dallas Willard
"For at least several decades the churches of the western world have not made discipleship a condition of being Christian. One is not required to be, or to intend to be, a disciple in order to become a Christian, and one may remain a Christian without any signs of progress toward or in discipleship ... Discipleship is optional --- Most problems in contemporary churches can be explained by the fact that members have not yet decided to follow Christ. No one yet knows what changes would be wrought if the way of Christ were truly tried in human affairs.
Prayer
Bishop Thomas Ken
O God, make the door of this house wide enough to receive all who need human love and fellowship, and a heavenly Father’s care; and narrow enough to shut out all envy, pride and hate. Make its threshold smooth enough to be no stumbling-block to children, not to straying feet, but rugged enough to turn back the tempter’s power; make it a gateway to thine eternal kingdom.
Wednesday, March 12
Scripture
Psalm 118:26-29
26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD.
We bless you from the house of the LORD.
27 The LORD is God,
and he has given us light.
Bind the festal procession with branches,
up to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
you are my God, I will extol you.
29 O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Thought For The Day
William Willimon
In our deception about ourselves and our situation, we attempt to put a happy face on everything, to reassure ourselves that things are not as bad as they seem, that we are basically good people who are making progress. Then we are led to the cross to see where our "goodness" has gotten us. At the cross and the sad events leading up to it, we confront the depth of our sin, our rebellion, and our sad state. It takes great courage, courage born out of faith in the love and righteousness of God, to be honest.
Prayer
George Appleton
O God of goodness, in the mystery of natural disasters we look to thee, trusting that there is an explanation that will satisfy our minds and hearts. Accept our compassion for our fellow-men, our desire for their relief, and our hope for knowledge which shall control the forces of nature. Help us to help thee complete thy universe, O creator Father, to remove its flaws, so that we may be sub-creators with thee of the Kingdom of thy love in Jesus Christ.
Thursday, March 13
Scripture
Isaiah 50:4-6
4 The Lord GOD has given me
the tongue of a teacher, †
that I may know how to sustain
the weary with a word.
Morning by morning he wakens—
wakens my ear
to listen as those who are taught.
5 The Lord GOD has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious,
I did not turn backward.
6 I gave my back to those who struck me,
and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;
I did not hide my face
from insult and spitting.
Thought For The Day
Claude de la Colombiere
Learn this lesson well, once and for all: God is the only Master of our hearts; he alone can give solid peace, and our whole confidence must rest in him only.
Prayer
John Baillie
O thou whose divine tenderness ever outsoars the narrow loves and charities of earth, grant me today a kind and gentle heart towards all things that live. Let me not ruthlessly hurt any creature of thine. Let me take thought also for the welfare of little children, and those who are sick, and of the poor; remembering that what I do unto the least of these his brethren I do unto Jesus Christ my Lord.
Friday, March 14
Scripture
Isaiah 50:7-9
7 The Lord GOD helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame;
8 he who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together.
Who are my adversaries?
Let them confront me.
9 It is the Lord GOD who helps me;
who will declare me guilty?
Thought For The Day
C. S. Lewis
Christianity is a thing of unspeakable joy. But it begins, not in joy, but in wretchedness.
And it does no good to try to get to the joy by bypassing the wretchedness.
Prayer
George Appleton
O merciful and loving Father of all, look down we pray thee on the many millions who are hungry in the world today and are at the mercy of disease. Grant that we who have lived so comfortably and gently all our lives may have true sympathy with them and do all in our power, as individuals and as a nation, to help them to that abundant life which is thy will for them; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Saturday, March 15
Scripture
Philippians 2:5-11
5 Let the same mind be in you that was † in Christ Jesus,
6 who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
7 but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
8 he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Thought For The Day
William Willimon
Forsaking a quest for salvation, we instead wanted simply to feel better. No wonder, then, that our age became plagued by drugs-- for drugs, even if they solved none of our problems, at least took away some of the pain. Today the Bible applies a scalpel to our souls, forces us to look at ourselves, makes us see the ambiguity within our declarations of self-salvation. It may be painful, but in moving through such honest pain, we move toward our salvation, walking behind Jesus as he moves toward the cross.
Prayer
Caryl Micklem
Lord, the wounds of the world are too deep for us to heal. We have to bring men and women to you and ask you to look after them—the sick in body and mind, the withered in spirit, the victims of greed and injustice, the prisoners of grief. And yet our Father, do not let our prayers excuse us from paying the price of compassion. Make us generous with the resources you have entrusted to us. Let your work of rescue be done in us and through us.
Sunday, March 16
Scripture
Matthew 21:1-11
When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, “Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Thought For The Day
William Willimon
Please note that today's service takes a left turn midway between the palms and the cross.
Like the inhabitants of Jerusalem, we enter waving palm branches, singing hosanna, the laughter of little children, a parade, happiness. Then the mood shifts. The palms are put away, and the happy crowd of pilgrims becomes a vile, angry mob. Someone shouts, "Crucify him!" Others take up the chant, and the one who was hailed as king is dragged to the gallows as a criminal. This is Palm/Passion Sunday, from laughter to tears we shall journey before noon.
Prayer
Margaret Cropper
Father, behold thy child;
Creator, behold thy creature:
Master, behold thy disciple:
Saviour, behold thy redeemed one:
Spirit, behold thy cleansed one:
Comforter, behold the one thou dost uphold:
So I come to thee,
O infinite and unimaginable, to worship thee.
