Challenge for a Tuesday

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Daily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Tuesday, April 12, Morning – Holy Week Day 2

By Rev. Palmer Cantler, Associate Pastor

Challenge for a Tuesday

Read: Luke 20:1-2 NRSV

“One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and telling the good news, the chief priests and the scribes came with the elders and said to him, ‘Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Who is it who gave you this authority?’”

During Lent 2021, a group of young adults in the church and I studied Amy-Jill Levine’s Entering the Passion of Jesus: A Beginner’s Guide to Holy Week. The book is an excellent exploration into Jesus’ last days before his crucifixion and resurrection. The book begins with Jesus’ triumphant entry to Jerusalem and closes with Jesus being arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. Each chapter focuses on the risks Jesus embodies throughout the week, from reputation to rejection, to the loss of friends.

It’s easy, when reading this book, to understand each day as corresponding to a day of Holy Week. But what happens on Tuesday? Exciting, interesting things never seem to happen on a Tuesday. In the chapter that could be the Tuesday of Holy Week, Levine focuses not on a singular event, but on Jesus’ teachings in the Temple. He risked challenge regularly by the priests, scribes, and pharisees by sharing the good news in the Temple.

And I think that’s important to remember on the Tuesday of Holy Week. Even on the seemingly uneventful days, Jesus shares the good news with all who would hear. Jesus chooses not to argue the source of his authority, but instead tells parables that, when examined, reveal God as the source of his authority. As you continue your journey through Lent and Holy Week, how are the stories you tell revealing Jesus as the authority on your life? How might your uneventful Tuesday become a reminder of the power of our Savior?

Prayer

Sovereign God, as we journey through Holy Week, help us to remain grounded in your teachings. Give us opportunities to take risks that allow us to mature in our discipleship and see where you are calling us to grow. In the name of our great teacher, Jesus, we pray. Amen.

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The Imitation of Christ

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Daily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Monday, April 11, Evening – Holy Week Day 1

By Julia Kelley

The Imitation of Christ

Read: 1 Corinthians 13:1-7

In 1500, Albrecht Dürer, the German artist and devout Catholic (who later embraced the Reformation), painted a self-portrait which now hangs in a Munich art museum. Dan and I bought a print of this work after a trip to Germany and have it hanging over our fireplace.

When visitors first see the print, they often think it’s a depiction of Christ. This may be in part because the pose that Dürer used for his self-portrait is used in numerous paintings of Jesus. The face looks straight out at the viewer and one hand is centered near the bottom.

No one knows what Dürer’s intention was, so art historians have many different interpretations of the painting. Our favorite is that Dürer, having read the Thomas   Kempis popular devotional, The Imitation of Christ, was reflecting on the book and living out the writer’s call promoting solitude and self-reflection. Dürer completed his self-portrait after many hours alone in front of a mirror. Kempis describes love as “swift, sincere, pious, pleasant, gentle, strong, patient, faithful, prudent …” Art historians see Dürer’s original as so masterful it brings elements of Kempis’ abstract descriptions of love to something visible in oil paint on linden wood.

Thankfully, our own time of self-study doesn’t need to result in a masterpiece self-portrait. But this time of Lent is a time to think about how we imitate Jesus and how we show His love to others. Can we use this time of reflection to make our lives better emulate the image of Christ?

Prayer

Dear Lord, help me to be more like you. Amen.

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Restoring Joy

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Daily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Monday, April 11, Morning – Holy Week Day 1

By Jenny Cross, Director of Youth and College Ministries

Restoring Joy

Read: Psalm 51:12

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.”

A popular trend during the month of January is to choose a word of the year. The idea is to pray for guidance and to land on a word that will help set your intention and focus for the year. I have tried this before, but it hasn’t quite worked for me. This year, as I prayed, reflected, and prepared for 2022, a verse came to mind instead. It comes from Psalm 51 — a psalm that often coincides with our Lenten season. It includes verses like “Create in me a new heart, O God” and “Have mercy on me.” We are familiar with the phrases, but it wasn’t until I was working through the Bible last year that I really understood the context of this psalm. David writes this song in the midst of one of the darkest seasons of his life. He has committed a horrible sin, hurting God and other people. And yet, in the midst of his grief and brokenness, he turns to God instead of away. David responds to his own sinfulness with repentance and worship. He asks God for mercy and forgiveness, to be cleansed and renewed. Isn’t that what we all need?

The focus verse I’m using this year is v. 12, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” I want the source of my joy to come from Christ and His love for me. My hope for this Lenten season is to draw closer to the heart of the Father and to be transformed as I come to know Him more fully.

Prayer

Holy God, You love us deeply, even as we sin and fall short of Your Glory. We repent and turn away from the things that separate us from you. Help us become more aware of your presence as we prepare for the joy of Easter. Amen.

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Aha! Don’t Neglect the Important Things

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Daily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Sunday, April 10, Evening – Palm Sunday

By Suzanne Matheny

Aha! Don’t Neglect the Important Things

Read: Luke 11:42 NLT

[Jesus said,] “What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.”

Here in the season of Lent, a time of deep reflection, it seems that only yesterday we were celebrating Epiphany—that season of the Magi and the “aha!” of life. Have you ever had an “aha!” moment that dramatically changed your thinking or life, as the Magi experienced when they saw that star? Seared into my memory is an “aha!” when, while traveling in Jordan, passing through small villages, seeing crowds of Jordanians going about their lives, I had an intensely emotional realization of how the human Jesus likely looked – dark (olive?) complexion, black hair, dark eyes, all of which also led me to think about his life as a human.

What kind of childhood games did he play? What was he like as a teenager? A young Jewish adult? How did he come to understand his mission? So many unknowns that we wish St. Luke could have shared with us. What we do know, though, is that he grew and transcended race or ethnicity, or any man-made construct. His words and actions teach justice and God’s love for all. Recently, I have experienced some “ahas!” as I have read, listened and understood more clearly how many of our marginalized neighbors have been/are oppressed. I am compelled in this season of Lent to reflect on this and examine my thoughts, actions and also the actions of systems and institutions. Jesus reminds us not to ignore justice and God’s love. The Good News is that in Jesus’s death and resurrection, justice and the love of God are the hope and the light that darkness cannot extinguish, and we disciples are called to shine that light.

Prayer

Stir us, O Lord, to feel a fresh “Aha!” – every time we see a need for and then find a way to shine the light of justice and the love of God in our world, remembering that “goodness is stronger than evil, love is stronger than hate, light is stronger than darkness, life is stronger than death, and victory is ours through Him who loves us.” (excerpt from, African Prayer Book by Archbishop Desmond Tutu)

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A Royal Welcome

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Daily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Sunday, April 10, Morning – Palm Sunday

By Fran Wheeler

A Royal Welcome

Adapted from Matthew 21, Mark 11, Luke 19 and John 12

It was a day of glory—no doubt about it. Christians love the imagery—palm branches waving, crowds cheering, children running alongside the procession. What a celebration!

But we know the rest of the story.

Jesus was riding into Jerusalem on a borrowed donkey. As they followed the road, the disciples began joyfully praising God in loud voices for the miracles they had seen. Many others joined them, spreading their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches to wave. Praises and shouts of joy rang out from the procession—

Hosanna!

Hosanna to the Son of David!

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest heavens!

Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!

Blessed is the king of Israel!

Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna!

 

The disciples were elated. Surely this was the road to coronation—the fulfillment of their hopes and dreams. The Kingdom of God must be very near indeed. But we know this road of glory led first to a crown of thorns.

The darkness was coming.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” Jesus replied, “If they keep quiet, the very stones will cry out.”

The crowds grew larger as others came out from the city. So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him.” The darkness grew closer.

In Lent, we recognize that these words and this great parade formed a prelude to the coming darkness that would haunt Passover Week.

 

The darkness descended.

Prayer

O Lord, let us praise you on this day of your glory. Throughout the coming darkness let us reflect on your willing sacrifice. Keep us praising you in our own days of personal darkness, and give us grace to remember the glory to come. Amen.

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Weekly Lenten Prayer – April 5, 2022

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Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of April 5, 2022

Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

God of Every Season, we count these 40 days of Lent as a gift, realizing that you speak to us throughout each day, as creation sings its song of newness. How can we fail to note the hidden messages you have planted in our blessed surroundings? How can we fail to hear your whispers in the wind, in the bird call, in the river’s roar, in the spring rains?  Even the events and encounters of our days are filled with wonder.  And when challenges arise, you help us meet them with the grace of Christ, for within our troubles we discover anew your astonishing favor. 

God of All Faithfulness, you bless us.

Merciful Father, examine our souls, we pray, for we recall those instances when we raced to be first in line, when had to have the last word, when we grabbed more than we needed, when we flashed our banners of superiority, when we took you for granted, O Lord. We now cringe as we remember and name our private sins of commission and omission . . . . . . . . . . . Hold your lamp of truth high to reveal our misdeeds, especially those that have been embedded in the darkest crevices of our hearts for so long that we hardly notice them.  Then cleanse us with your fiery love, that we might burn as beacons for others who also seek to follow Jesus. 

God of All Faithfulness, you bless us.

Holy Protector, we shudder at the destruction and danger in our world, much of which we ourselves have caused; we cannot fathom the pain of those who live in the midst of war and turmoil, exposed to dread and fear, smothered by evil and atrocities.  May your wisdom flow through your people, that we might learn to live in your will and in harmony with all people upon this extraordinary planet you have given us. And though you know them already, we lift up to you our personal needs of this day . . . . . . . . . . ; and also these needs and thanksgivings that rest in the hearts of your people at Church Street:  

  • Thankful for prayers: Adult friend passed her driving test
  • Gratitude: Prayers appreciated – brother released from hospital
  • Gratitude: Mother released from hospital, returned to her residence
  • Thanksgiving: Brother-in-law in frail health survived surgery on Friday
  • Family celebrates an infant daughter’s baptism on Sunday
  • Parents offer gratitude for infant son’s release from NICU after 107 days & for all who have been helping & praying for the family
  • One sends gratitude for a successful eye procedure last Thursday
  • Prayers appreciated: Husband’s April 1 surgery was successful
  • Prayers for solace & peace for family: Mother died suddenly after a fall
  • For God’s presence with a lonely woman in hospice care
  • Beloved mother with a heart condition, for correct diagnosis
  • Improved health for a brother with congestive heart failure 
  • Lift prayers for member having foot surgery on Thursday & her surgeon
  • Calming anxiety of a member overwhelmed with responsibilities
  • Prayers for an aunt who lost her home & business in the recent fires
  • Healing of a co-worker suffering from Covid, protection for her husband
  • Prayers for husband/father in trauma care & his family at his side
  • Continued prayers for a nephew in deep grief
  • Dear friend recovering from blood transplant
  • Prayers for a daughter suffering with kidney stones
  • Healing for a young nephew with cancerous growth on vocal cord 
  • For employment doors to open for a young professional
  • Mercy for suffering people of Ukraine – for an end to the violence
  • Relative in treatment for ovarian cancer
  • For our 6th graders who are discerning & preparing for confirmation
  • Longtime friend with advanced cancer & wisdom for physicians

O God of All Faithfulness, we have threaded our way through this Lenten season, realizing we have not progressed in our spiritual renewal as much as we had hoped. Still, we know you are pleased with our efforts and are always holding us in your hands. Therefore, we take our rest in you, asking that you accept all our prayers offered in the name of your Son, who took that most lonely walk on our behalf, and who taught us to pray:

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

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The Chicken Man

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Daily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Sunday, April 3, Evening

By Dan Kelley

The Chicken Man

Read: Hebrews 10:35-37

“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.”

In the 1980s I went with First UMC in Maryville on a mission trip to Haiti. We met a man there with an old, faded Ralston Purina checkerboard hat. The Haitians called him the Chicken Man. He had worked for many years as an agronomist and animal nutritionist at Purina’s St. Louis plant improving the quality and nutrition of their chicken feed.

He had become depressed when he hit mandatory retirement age and his wife of many years had died. His pastor had talked him into going on a mission trip and he reluctantly agreed. He was surprised to notice that there were not many chickens in Haiti. When his mission team left, he stayed behind to teach them how to raise chickens.

He found a small hut to live in. He found discarded pallets to tear apart. He had his church send him rolls of chicken wire. With those he made cages. He studied the native plants and determined which had the most nutrition for feeding chickens. He started growing the best plants in his small lot. And he started raising chickens.

The Haitians watched the Chicken Man and his chickens. They learned to make the cages. They learned to grow or find the plants. They learned to grow the chickens. Sometimes the chicken would die from too much heat, not enough water, or an animal would get it. Sometimes the family had nothing else to eat and would eat it. The Chicken Man softly, calmly, and patiently talked with them and gave them another chicken to start over.

He had been doing his mission for almost 7 years when I met him. I asked him how he felt about it. He said he felt good in the second year when he started seeing eggs for sale in the market. He felt better in the fourth year when he started seeing chickens being sold in the market. And he knew it was a success in the sixth year when he saw children taking hard-boiled eggs to school for their lunch.

Prayer

Dear Lord of Mercy Divine, grant us the patience and perseverance of the Chicken Man to continue our mission. Teach us to speak softly, calmly, and with love to those who fail, as you have spoken to us when we fail you. Amen.

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Living Lent for Years

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Daily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Sunday, April 3, Morning

By David Lineberger

Living Lent for Years

Read: 1 Peter 2:21

“For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.”

Two years ago it became apparent that everyone on earth would be impacted in some way by the Covid pandemic. It seemed that, for a while at least, many things that we had always taken for granted would be put on hold. We gave up parties, having friends over, eating at our favorite restaurants, going to movies, taking vacations, and so much more. Even a trip to the grocery store was not possible without adequate preparation. Suddenly, life seemed to be one sacrifice after another.

For most Christians, preparing for Lent involves giving up something we enjoy or hold dear which serves to remind us of the tremendous sacrifice Christ made on the cross for each of us. Not only does this help us realize God’s unlimited love for us, but it helps us appreciate the everyday, ordinary things in life which we sometimes take for granted and for which we often fail to give thanks.

Christ suffered for us, leaving an example to follow. What greater way do we have to emulate the suffering of Christ than to take this opportunity to make sacrifices in these pandemic months so that others may be spared, that others may live, and we can mentally focus on making sacrifices that show our love for each other. May our examples of our Savior’s sacrifice be a blessing to each of us, especially in the season of Lent.

Prayer

Dear Lord God, help us to show our love for you and each other by our willingness to sacrifice daily for others. Amen.

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Weekly Lenten Prayer – March 29, 2022

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Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of March 29, 2022

Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

O Love, how deep, how broad, how high!  Ah, Lord, we cannot fathom the love that willingly cloaked itself in human form and entered fully into mortal life, accepting all our frailties. Yet by your coming, you affirmed the value of every life; and by your suffering, you proclaimed that death is not the story’s end.  We trust in your redemption, knowing the lives lost in this brutal raging war are not lost forever. Instead, they press us to open our eyes to the hate and vengeance that thrive in our world.  And they have now joined in your eternal refrain that speaks to our world’s crucial need for love.  May we become still enough to listen to those voices, now in your keeping, and also take up their song of love for Christ’s sake. 

O Love, how deep, how broad, how high! We come to you with our individual interior worries: for those who are ill or unemployed; those who are lonely, facing grave danger or death; those who mourn; those who live in fear, confusion, discord, or danger. Especially we lift up those souls in sorrow who are known to us: . . . . . . . . . . We are aware, Lord, that our own behaviors often contribute to the pain in our lives and in the lives of others.  Such admissions make us uncomfortable, but hear us as we confess our hurtful and thoughtless ways . . . . . . . . . . . Show us, we pray, how to move toward the healing you offer.

O Love, how deep, how broad, how high!  When we were absorbed in other things in recent times, still you drew near, opening doors and setting things right. We reflect upon those days just passed, remembering your presence and mercy, particularly in . . . . . . . . . . For all the ways you enter our lives so silently and steadily, we are grateful.  And in the conviction that your holy power makes all things new, we offer these prayers of praise and mercy on behalf of our Church Street family: 

  • Thankful for prayers: a blood transplant completed & friend recovering 
  • Help appreciated: dispute with a neighbor successfully addressed
  • Thanksgiving for life & peaceful death of a treasured friend
  • Prayers appreciated: a member’s knee surgery successful 
  • Thankful for prayers: mother’s cancer scans were most promising 
  • Member grateful for healing from desert fever
  • Celebration of young son’s baptism on Sunday
  • Praises for a wonderful Day of Missions on Saturday
  • Four offer thanks for safe & rejuvenating spring vacations with families
  • Member grateful for help of Parish Health Team
  • Prayers answered: hospitalized member much improved
  • Member offers thanks for good care & thoughtful friends, now home from hospital
  • Gratitude: a member’s successful cataract surgery last week
  • Prayers that an indigent mother may pass her driving test on Thursday
  • Family & friends mourning death of cherished wife/mother
  • For God’s presence with a lonely woman in hospice care, that she has no pain and that grace surrounds her when death comes
  • Prayers for member in pain with foot injury, for guidance in treatment
  • Remember in prayer a member in fragile health & pain, for wisdom in making decisions
  • Family of cherished member whose funeral is Saturday, April 2 
  • Continued prayers for a mother recovering from a stroke
  • Restoration of relationships within a family 
  • A nephew continuing to grieve the death of his wife
  • Lift up grieving family – husband whose wife died at age 60 & their adult children
  • Healing for a young nephew with cancerous growth on vocal cord
  • Please pray for a pregnant cousin & safe delivery of her child 
  • For doors to open for a young professional
  • Mercy for suffering people of Ukraine – for an end to the violence
  • Prayers that a sister-in-law is able to carry her baby to term
  • Daughter seeks prayer for guidance in caring for her infirm mother 
  • Healing of a longtime friend, wisdom for her physicians
  • Sustaining three beloved women in cancer treatment
  • Thankful for prayers – friend with pneumonia now recovered

O Love, how deep, how broad, how high!  How you have honored us by planting in our hearts the deep desire to know you and to please you, a desire to be better people.  We admit our faith is not the full faith for which we aim, but in your grace, continue to guide us by your steady hand.  We would be yours, Lord, wholly and completely, vessels of love poured out for the healing of the world.  In the name of Jesus, Love Incarnate, we make our prayer:

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

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You Will Be Satisfied

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Daily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Sunday, March 27, Evening

By Jo Terry, Parish Health Team

You Will Be Satisfied

Read: Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:30-44, and Luke 9:10-17

Our family had a fabulous trip to Australia and New Zealand before Covid. One of our adventures was an overnight boat trip with 10 other people in Doubtful Sound, truly one of the most peaceful and beautiful places on earth.

One of our activities was fishing for our dinner. Our daughter, Julia, caught the first fish – a sizable Blue Cod. It turned out that no one else had luck. We wondered if there would be enough fish for our group to share.

I told our boat mates that this reminded me of the story about Jesus and the boy who had two fish and five loaves that fed a crowd of thousands. Our companions were from across the world – Sydney, The Netherlands and New York City. They did not know this story and asked me to tell them.

As a kindergarten Sunday School teacher for over 30 years, my colleagues and I have shared this story with our CSUMC children many times. I told our boat companions: “Jesus was teaching on the hillside to a crowd of thousands. His disciples told him that the people were getting restless with hunger. A boy had a basket that contained five loaves and two fish. He offered what he had. Jesus blessed it and all were satisfied. No one went away hungry.”

The stories of feeding large crowds who were following and listening to Jesus are repeated in Matthew, Mark & Luke. These Gospel writers all wanted this important message to be shared.

During this Lenten season, can we offer what we have –our “loaves & fishes” – whether it is in devotional time, service, sharing our talents and our resources to our Lord as we contemplate his sacrifices for us? May you be blessed as you do. You will be satisfied!

Prayer

O Lord, help me to see what I may offer to others in Your name. Use me to be a blessing to someone else that they might see Your love for them. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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