Posts Tagged: lent

Sightings

ashes, charcoal, fire Poking around in the ashes A reflection for Lent by Ken Rummer    Last year’s palm branches are burning down to ashes as I write. Tonight we will receive a smudge of those ashes on our foreheads as we repent and remember and head into the wilderness with Jesus. Growing up, I didn’t have much… Read more »

The B-Flat Christian

    Palm crosses The struggle to comprehend God’s rescue plan for the world By Rebecca Crow Lister   Palm Sunday is one of the most festive days in the church year. In my own church, we waved our palms joyously. We belted out “All Glory, Laud, and Honor” as our organist pulled out all… Read more »

Lenten Devotional: Holy Week (Sun., Apr. 14 – Sat., Apr. 20)

  Palm/Passion Sunday, April 14 This week’s theme: The living Word of God We know virtually nothing of his life before he began his three-year ministry. We do know that he was well-acquainted with Scripture, most likely tutored by his parents. Throughout the Gospels we see how he freely and succinctly referred to the spiritual… Read more »

Lenten Devotional: Easter Sunday

  Sunday, April 21 Everything that has breath Psalm 150 On this day filled with shouts of “Alleluia, he is risen!” we come to the end of our journey into mindfulness through the Psalms. How fitting to close with the final song of the psalter, a majestic hymn of praise. Let’s read it in its… Read more »

Lenten Devotional: Fifth Week of Lent (Sun., Apr. 7 – Sat., Apr. 13)

  Sunday, April 7 This week’s theme: Omnipresent Psalm 139 On the grounds of Maui’s Palapala Ho‘omau Congregational Church lies the gravesite of Charles Lindbergh. He was a man of extreme contrasts: a national hero, then a Nazi sympathizer; a consultant on war tactics, but also an environmentalist concerned with preserving species like the humpback… Read more »

Lenten Devotional: Fourth Week of Lent (Sun., Mar. 31 – Sat., Apr. 6)

  Sunday, March 31 This week’s theme: All that is within us Psalm 103 The Westminster Shorter Catechism, written in the mid-1600s, appears woodenly orthodox through the lens of history. But its first question and answer (edited here for inclusion) provide a beautiful preface for any journey of faith. Question: What is the chief end… Read more »

Lenten Devotional: Third Week of Lent (Sun., Mar. 24 – Sat., Mar. 30)

  Sunday, March 24 This week’s theme: Our bounteous provider Psalm 65 It originated in the mid-1500s, and today — nearly 500 years later — millions of Christian worshipers sing its familiar words each Sunday. Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; praise God, all creatures here below; praise God above, ye heavenly hosts; praise… Read more »

Barn Boots and Blessings

Lenten ‘one mores’ Hope and love in the dark valley   by Donna Frischknecht Jackson   Even though I walk through the darkest valley … you are with me.  — Psalm 23 It is Lent and I have found myself walking in one of the darkest valleys one can walk — the valley of death…. Read more »

Lenten Devotional: Second Week of Lent (Sun., Mar. 17 – Sat., Mar. 23)

  Sunday, March 17 This week’s theme: Still waters Psalm 23 Many of us rarely experience stillness in our lives. Plugged into media devices, surrounded by a cacophony of noises, and ruled by the dictates of our schedules, we often neglect our sabbath needs. We forget that we are created to rest as well as… Read more »

Lenten Devotional: First Week of Lent (Sun., Mar. 10 – Sat., Mar. 16)

  Sunday, March 10 This week’s theme: Glory be! Psalm 19 The word “glory” means “magnificence” or “splendor.” Though the Psalms speak of God’s glory in manifold ways, the Israelites believed that the radiant presence of Yahweh — described later by rabbis as shekinah — resided most powerfully in the holy of holies, that inner… Read more »