So Little Time, So Much to Do!

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Daily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Sunday, March 27, Morning

By Dena Wise

So Little Time, So Much to Do!

Read: Mark 9:30-32

“They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.”

During this time in his ministry, Jesus was having to balance his time on earth to proclaim the good news, nurture and teach his disciples, and establish his kingdom against the ultimate trajectory of his death on the cross. Some Bible scholars have contended that, knowing his claim to being the Son of God would ultimately lead to his death, Jesus bought time by veiling his messages in parables, generally staying away from populated areas, and sometimes telling his followers and the recipients of his miraculous healing to not tell others about him or who he was. Whether or not this was the case, we know that it was dangerous to claim to be the Messiah in an age when both the Roman authorities and Jewish leaders were strongly protective of their power. We can easily imagine that Jesus felt urgency to ground his disciples in the ways of love, to provide examples of humility and service, and to strengthen their faith to the point that they could carry on his message and his work. He went about his work all the time knowing that his death was imminently, and perhaps immediately on the horizon. History shows, indeed, that he was given a scant two years to establish a new perspective among God’s people on earth—a task that would challenge even the most savvy agent of social change today.

Our good news is that two years were enough! The work of the humble carpenter of Galilee has lived through the ages. Two-thousand years after his ministry, the Gospel is proclaimed across the whole world. It has provided hope to millions who struggled, and comfort and peace to those whose circumstances gave them none. It gives us hope for the future of the world, and for our own eternity.

Prayer

Lord of Time, grant us urgency for the tasks you assign us. Thoroughly convince us that the best hope for today’s world lies in your purpose, both now and for ages to come. Make our faith and courage strong, so that no danger deters our work to realize your perfect vision for all. Amen.

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Weekly Lenten Prayer – March 22, 2022

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Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of March 22, 2022

Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

O God of the Watchful Eye, scripture says no sparrow falls without your notice, and in our amazement, we feel the depth of your concern for all in your earthly family. We sense your grace and glory embedded in the natural world around us, realizing all love begins and ends in you. May the seeds of concern you have scattered so profusely take root in our souls, that we might also learn how to love without condition or gain, but for the pure joy of emulating you.
Lord in your mercy, receive our prayer.
Savior of Limitless Love, we embarked upon our Lenten journey, chronicling our flaws, determined to repent and choose a new route. By your grace, we have progressed; but we confess that we have often stumbled in our aims and have already broken our vows to you and to ourselves, particularly in . . . . . . . . . . Still, we ask that you erase our blunders, and watch over us now, as we sparrows pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and wing onward toward Jerusalem, where you wait in hope for our arrival.
Lord in your mercy, receive our prayer.
There was once a time when we could claim we knew little of the afflictions of the world, but in our technological age, that time is no longer. The misery of the world is immense and is portrayed vividly. The pain of one is your pain and it is ours, O Lord. We, therefore, lift up all involved in the Ukrainian war, especially the innocents and the brave ones serving the injured, bereaved, and homeless; the ill in China who suffer from a new form of the Covid virus; for the victims of crimes here in our own country; for all your people in Eritrea, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan who are imprisoned because their faith or opinions differ from the powerful. Our efforts to rectify often seem so flimsy, yet we pray we might remain hearts who care amid the chaos.
Lord in your mercy, receive our prayer.
As we believe you are the One Whose Concern Never Ceases, we ask that you also receive these expressions of gratitude and the pleas for support from your people at Church Street:
  • Thankful for prayers: a blood transplant was completed on Friday
  • Praises for visit with infant grandson in CA
  • Thankful for father with dementia – still a blessing to all
  • Thanksgiving for a job promotion for one of our young members
  • Gratitude and hope for the possibility of career advancement
  • Prayers appreciated: mother recovering from stroke, now at home
  • Gratitude for the love of a mother & for the gentle end to her earthly life
  • Celebrations for a colleague’s beautiful wedding on March 20
  • Grateful that two members were released from the hospital
  • Family thankful that an offer on new home was accepted
  • Member offers praise: no sign of cancer on recent scans
  • Lift up the family & friends mourning death of cherished wife/mother
  • Prayers that surgery for a member will not be required
  • Lift up a member having knee surgery on March 24
  • Mercy for suffering people of Ukraine – the displaced, the bereaved, the frightened, the wounded, and all in harm’s way
  • Prayers for a solution to dispute with neighbor
  • Wisdom for world leaders in ending destruction in Eastern Europe
  • Prayers for a mother to carry her baby to term
  • A member asks for prayer for her cataract surgery today
  • Prayers for a family whose daughter died of an overdose last week
  • Answers and healing for a mother undergoing GI tests this week
  • Prayers of healing for two families grieving the sudden losses of their children
  • Wisdom in dealing w/ widowed mother, depressed & confused
  • Comfort for member who lost his sister-in-law on March 18
  • Healing of a longtime friend, wisdom for her physicians
  • Hope for two young couples deeply desiring children
  • Sustaining two beloved women in cancer treatment
  • Cherished mother who is enduring harsh chemotherapy
  • Beloved brother recovering in the hospital from infection
  • Prayers for a position opening for young man
  • Courage, strength for mother having extensive cancer scans
By your mercy, O Empowering One, you have forged a road, you have led us to this very day, and you are guiding us home to your kingdom. May our gratitude be as deep as your love for your children who bow to offer this prayer of Jesus:

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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Thirty Five Thousand

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Daily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Sunday, March 20, Evening

By Beth Cooper-Libby (Miss Beth), Preschool Director

Thirty Five Thousand

Read: Proverbs 3:5-6

“In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

Did you know that, on average, humans make over 35,000 decisions a day? I know, it made my head swim but when you think about it, it rather makes sense. From the second we wake up, we start making decisions. Do I have time for coffee this morning? Should I wear the blue shirt or the red one today? That’s not even a fraction of the decisions we might make in just an effort to get out the front door.

Christian decision-making means we submit our intentions to God’s perfect resolve and respectfully follow his direction. The problem is sometimes we don’t know how to figure out God’s will in decisions we face. The first thing any Christian should do when challenged with a decision is ask God’s advice. Prayer. Thoughtful prayer. Talk with God and read your Bible.

Then trust him and do not agonize. God will undoubtedly fulfill his promise to guide you. If you have to make a decision and have sought him, and still don’t know what to do, just make the best decision you can. He will guide you along the way.

Prayer

Merciful God, help me to make the right decision. Help me to choose wisely between the options that are set before me. Please show me your will, give me clear direction and the faith to make this choice. Amen.

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The Supply Chain

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Daily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Sunday, March 20, Morning

By Sue Isbell

The Supply Chain

Read: John 14:6

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Lent is a time of waiting and preparation. Unfortunately, most of us do not like to wait. I have found one of the most difficult aspects of learning to live through a pandemic is adjusting to the aggravation of supply chain issues. If you are brave enough to make it to Kroger, Walmart, or Sam’s there is a good chance the items you are looking for might not be on the shelves. Instead, they are on ships in various harbors or are resting in some remote warehouse. Even if you shop online you may find your delivery time a bit longer than it used to be.

Fortunately, our spiritual lives do not have to bear the frustration of a supply chain! We have Jesus, who came into this world to be our direct conduit to God. Through his teaching and example we know that we always and constantly have access to God. Our petitions are always acknowledged, our prayers are always answered, our spirits are always strengthened, our praises are always heard. With Jesus there is no waiting, substituting, or reordering; patience, maybe, but with faith we know there is abundant and eternal life ahead for us today, tomorrow, and always!

Prayer

Loving God, we thank you for your gift of Jesus and his sacrifice so that we may grow closer to you. As we journey through the season of Lent guide us to strengthen our connection with you each day. Open our minds to receive your guidance, our lives to do your will, and our hearts to share your love. Amen.

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Weekly Lenten Prayer – March 15, 2022

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Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of March 15, 2022

Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

Searching God, we praise you for always seeking those who are stumbling by the wayside, knowing full well that, most often, we are the very ones who have misread the road signs pointing homeward.  Thank you for retracing your steps, for pushing your way through the brambles to find us and catch us before we perished among the briars. 

O Wounded One, because we have been lost and broken ourselves, you implant compassion within our bones, giving us the boldness to become advocates for the voiceless and the powerless, for the weary and heartbroken, for the suffering and the lost.  We recall those words you uttered so long ago, the ones that still play on in our hearts: “Those to whom much is given, much is required.” Grant that we might link arms more tightly with the poor and the underserved in our community, opening the same doors for them that, in your mercy, have been opened for us.

Shelter us beneath your wings these somber days, we pray, especially when our endurance grows thin and our knees become weak.  And there, in that safe haven, may our strength be replenished and our vision made keen. Then, we will never lose sight of the One who knows us, who loves us, who believes in us.  And assured of that love that never fails, we lift up these situations most recently expressed by those closest to us – members of our own church family:

  • Praises for prayers and God’s grace: Healthy grandson born March 11
  • Thanksgiving for faithful leadership of our Covid Task Force
  • Gratitude for courage that sustained a family during memorial gathering
  • Family appreciates prayers: Adult son healing from major heart surgery
  • Grateful for nations bound together to suppress evil at work in Ukraine
  • Three families offer thanks for safe and memorable vacations with children
  • Clergy thankful for all who assisted bereaved family during a funeral
  • Thanksgiving for an answered prayer at workplace
  • Mercy for suffering people of Ukraine – the displaced, the bereaved, the frightened, the wounded, and all in harm’s way
  • Wisdom for world leaders in ending destruction in Eastern Europe
  • Prayers that a sister may be strong enough to carry her baby to full term
  • Easing a mother’s anxiety as she faces death and her daughter/caregiver 
  • Continued prayers for healing for a hospitalized member
  • Healing for a longtime friend, wisdom for her physicians
  • Prayers for success a work team’s mission on March 18
  • Wisdom and integrity for leaders of our nation
  • Planting of hope for two young couples deeply desiring children
  • Continued prayers for families mourning the deaths of loved ones
  • Cherished mother who is enduring harsh chemotherapy
  • Pray for a dear friend whose long-term partner has abandoned him
  • Healing prayers for special cousin who is very ill with cancer
  • Prayers that ill friend will have a blood transplant on Friday
  • Beloved cousin in treatment for ovarian cancer 
  • A professional man asks for prayers this week
  • Prayers for successful job interview for young professional 
  • Hope for young friend with metastatic cancer

Our Way, Our Truth, and Our Life, receive these most earnest prayers, and also those unspoken ones we carry within our hearts, for we place our trust always in your unfailing love:

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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River of Life & Rediscovering the Comfort and Peace of God

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Daily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Sunday, March 13, Evening

By Vivian Kemper, Received in God’s holy presence on January 28, 2022

River of Life

Read: Romans 8:18-23 NIV

A friend and I traveled to Pigeon Forge in January. Going through the Smoky Mountains, we mentioned how all the trees looked so grey and forlorn. But if you looked off to the side of the road, you’d see a flowing river, a river of life that refreshes God’s creation for our pleasure.

We are living in a time where events in our life are grey and bleak, causing us to feel unhappy, soulful, and dejected. But there is a river that flows from the cross of Calvary that gives the Christian hope and refreshes our lives so we can live abundantly. That river is the saving blood of Jesus Christ.

Prayer

Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty which is, which was, and which is to come. Thou art worthy, oh Lord, to receive glory and honor; for you have created all things, and for your pleasure they were created and are created anew. Amen.

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By Therese Zaltash

Rediscovering the Comfort and Peace of God in the Midst of Uncertainty

Read: Philippians 4:19 and Isaiah 35:4

“But my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” “Say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.’”

We tend to confuse our wants with our needs. We often live in fear and anxiety of the “what-ifs”. When things don’t pan out as we had hoped, we find fault or accuse God of not keeping his word. When we come to the realization that God does in fact supply our every need, it is then that we will discover his plethora of blessings. As his children, we are afforded every blessing, including life everlasting.

Prayer

Father, please guide my thoughts, my words, my heart and my steps every day so that I may simply live for you and fear not.

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Our Journey Through the Wilderness

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Daily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Sunday, March 13, Morning

By Barry Christmas

Our Journey Through the Wilderness

Read: Matthew 4:1-4

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”

One of the many stories relating to Lent is Jesus being tempted by Satan in the wilderness. Today, all of us can relate to this encounter. In the wilderness of a pandemic, we too are being tempted by Satan. HE desires for us to give up hope, to fall away from our faith and church, and to turn against one another. I see some of us as being much like the children of Israel in the book of Exodus when they wandered in their desert wilderness, grumbling, complaining, turning on one another and questioning God all along the way.

This global pandemic has become our personal wilderness. We see so many people who are discouraged, angry, perplexed, depressed, and scared of what the future has in store for us. There are so many unanswered questions such as, “How much longer is this going to last? Will this pandemic ever end? With the cost of everything on the rise and the problems with the supply chain, will I be able to find the basic needs for sustenance for me and my family; and if I do, will I be able to afford them?”

But just as God provided miracles for the Israelites in their wilderness, He will sustain us with His love and grace, He will feed us with the manna of His comforting words, and He will provide for our every need – physically, emotionally and spiritually. All He requires of us is to trust Him, listen to the words that proceed from His mouth, and claim His promises as our own.

One day when all of this is in the rearview mirror, I envision us experiencing a renewal of faith and hope like we have never seen before. In the meantime, stay firm in your faith and continue to love and support one another. Ask yourself these questions: How is my journey through the wilderness progressing? … and how can I help someone else in their journey?

Prayer

Dear Jesus, my Faithful Shepherd, please calm my anxieties, give me the strength and stamina to face any difficulties I might encounter, and assure me of your ever present love and care. As one of your lambs, please guide me with your staff and keep me from all harm. Amen.

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Weekly Lenten Prayer – March 8, 2022

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Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of March 8, 2022

Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

O God of Lengthening Days, we have traveled our own ways for so long that we fear we might not find that singular trail that leads to your redemption. Call out to us once again, we pray, that we might catch sight of you across the way; then we shall move with haste to trace your steps. And on that road of penitence, we will not fail to notice the tracks of your own tears, for you indeed weep at our waywardness. And your tears surely fall more freely during this season, for your beautiful earth is split apart by terror and tribulation. Guide all those besieged by the evil powers of this world, and lift up the fallen through your holy love.  Only you, True God from True God, can bring hope out of hopelessness. 

Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.

We struggle to shape our lifestyle to yours, O River of Holiness, but you are gentle and merciful as we waver time and time again.  You pour your gifts of grace and mercy upon us even before we ask; still we whisper our most recent failings in these moments . . . . . . . . . . Wash us anew in your spring rains, reminding us that your baptismal mark is ever upon us.  Rinse away the discord and unease that live within us and around us, and receive these spoken prayers of your people at Church Street who wait for your cleansing touch:  

  • Gratitude: Husband with GI issues much improved
  • Celebrating formation of a new Sunday School Class
  • Thankful for prayers – Grandson’s emotional problems are eased 
  • Prayers appreciated – Daughter with shingles much improved
  • Gratitude for the work of the United Methodist Women
  • Thanksgiving that the Covid trend is turning downward
  • Mercy for suffering people of Ukraine – The displaced, the bereaved, the frightened, the wounded, and all in harm’s way
  • Easing of a mother’s anxiety as she faces death
  • Hope for a young couple deeply desiring children
  • For family tensions to dissipate during a memorial service this weekend
  • Family, friends, and coworkers of teacher (28) who died suddenly March 7                       
  • Pray for a dear friend whose long-term partner has abandoned him
  • Prayers for current Stephen Ministry Leaders and all in training
  • Pray for special cousin who is too ill to have his liver transplant
  • Courage for daughter and safe delivery of her first child March 11
  • Prayers that a plasma transplant will go forward in the coming week
  • Church family mourning the loss of two beloved members
  • Beloved cousin in treatment for ovarian cancer 
  • A young professional searching for a position in athletics  
  • Hope and healing for young friend with metastatic cancer
  • Prayers for young grandson at risk

You are the God of endless lovingkindness; therefore, we ask you would link  our prayers with the prayers of all around the globe who turn to you in hope:

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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Becoming Green

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Daily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Sunday, March 6, Evening

By Laura Still

Becoming Green

Read Psalm 63:1-8

“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.”

The psalmist sings about a dry and desert place, and the image we see depends on what our experience of the desert might be. Endless waves of sand under a hot white sky, or rock-littered ravines and canyons with mesquite trees and cacti, or even huge stone formations scoured by wind are physical descriptions of deserts, and all of them are lonely. That of course is why the desert image is common in songs, poetry, and Bible stories.

Separation and loneliness are parts of human existence, and everyone feels lost and cut off at some point. The physical separation we have endured since the pandemic began is difficult enough, but mental and emotional effects can be harder to overcome. The sensation of drifting in limbo, waiting for the next thing to happen, is called languishing. It’s not quite depression, but still a paralyzing feeling of being unable to go forward or change your condition.

Change doesn’t happen by itself—it has to be initiated. This is what the psalmist understands, and so declares he will seek after God, praise his name, and in God’s name lift up his hands. He states his intention of clinging to God and trusting God to uphold him. If we begin by seeking after God and praising him, then God will give us the strength to lift up our hands and uphold us as the work of change begins.

Yes, there is work involved, and we may feel too exhausted or numb inside to believe we can make the effort. The good news is that God sees potential where we see only problems. We may be “a dry and parched land” inside our soul, but God can make the desert bloom.

Reflection

It springs from seeds sown when we are fallow, sleeping,

unable to understand the coming of green things,

or how sun reaches below ground to split the shell

& begin the growing.

We cannot know the mind of the sower, who feels

our inchoate fecundity, gives dreams of greenness

before we know we slumber, or that this limbo

is only waiting, a womb between dark & light

before our story starts,

anymore than we can stop a sprout from rising

out of its broken pod, struggling through soil

& stone towards air & light, breaking surface,

becoming green.

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Dangerous Journey

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Daily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Sunday, March 6, Morning

By Nancy Carmon

Dangerous Journey

Read Isaiah 43:1-3

My home devotion study recently was entitled “Dangerous Journey”. I assumed the writers were going to reflect on Jesus’s temptation in the wilderness. That was a dangerous journey. The landscape east of Jerusalem down to Jericho is barren, wild, arid, and rocky. Jesus would have been hungry and thirsty, and it certainly would have been dangerous wrestling with the darkest forces of evil. Or even Jesus’s last journey to Jerusalem, where according to the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus tells the disciples what awaits him there. That was a dangerous journey too! 

But the week’s readings were about the dangerous journey of faith. The “cost of seeking God and the danger of following Christ”. For Jesus, God’s call meant the ultimate sacrifice – the cross. For many missionaries serving in troubled areas, the call to service and faith may certainly be quite dangerous.

How can that be dangerous here in America where we have freedom of religion? Maybe the danger lies in what we choose. To say yes to God’s call requires saying no to our own voice, our self will, our own desires, and even sometimes to the voices of persons and things we love. Jesus tells the disciples that he has come not to bring peace, but a sword. A dangerous journey indeed.

A dangerous journey and a challenge for all of us this Lenten season is to step out in faith–out of our comfort zone: to be a greeter, to serve on a church committee, to write a Lenten or Advent devotion, to welcome a stranger sitting in our pew, to seek the consolation and power of prayer, to delve deeply into scripture, to join a Sunday School class, to fast and seek God’s call, to recognize our spiritual gifts and to use them for our church, our community, our world.

What can we expect when we say “YES” to God’s call? “I will be with you…for I am the Lord your God, the Holy one of Israel, your Savior.” Thanks be to God.

Prayer

Dear Jesus, open us to the possibilities of saying “YES” to you this Lenten season. We know that you will walk in faith with us on our “dangerous journey” of faith! Amen.

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