Lent Devotional Guide

Beginning March 30, Pastor Adam Hamilton will begin a new sermon series, Seven Simple Truths About Life.  Daily scripture and prayer guides will be available every week of the series in the bulletin.

John 20: 1-18

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)

Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

“Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).

Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

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This is the event that defines who we are as Christians.  Huge, front page news, “Christ lives!”

Sometimes it’s hard to imagine Mary and John did not know that this would be the case. We can hear the resurrection story so many times and think, of course this will happen. But just suspend that for just a moment and imagine Mary and John.  They expected the worst as they were ridden with grief. They were grieving the loss of their friend, teacher and master. 

What joy, what hope, what love, what peace that overcomes Mary when she recognizes that the gardener is actually Jesus.   No longer is Jesus just a good teacher.  But, the resurrection solidifies Jesus as the Christ, the Savior, the Messiah, God’s son. 

God came in the form of a human in Jesus Christ and lived and dwelled among us, died and was buried… then… Christ rose from the dead.

Christ rising from the dead changes things.  A whole new world and dimension to the world is uncovered.   Now in pain, we find comfort; in sorrow, hope; in death, resurrection.  There is light in the midst of darkness. Then the end of our life is no longer the end, because Christ conquered death.

As Christians, this is our story.  We orient our lives around this profound declaration that Christ lives.  As people who attend the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, we are really resurrection people. We rejoice in knowing that Christ lives.  Like Mary, we have good news to tell!

– Rev. Nicole Conard

Prayer: O God who conquered sin and death, raise us up to follow after you as people who are profoundly impacted by your resurrection.  In Jesus’ name. Amen

Lamentations 3: 37-58

Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come? Why should the living complain when punished for their sins? Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven, and say:
“We have sinned and rebelled and you have not forgiven.  “You have covered yourself with anger and pursued us; you have slain without pity. You have covered yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can get through. You have made us scum and refuse among the nations. “All our enemies have opened their mouths wide against us. We have suffered terror and pitfalls, ruin and destruction.” Streams of tears flow from my eyes because my people are destroyed. My eyes will flow unceasingly, without relief, until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees. What I see brings grief to my soul because of all the women of my city. Those who were my enemies without cause hunted me like a bird. They tried to end my life in a pit and threw stones at me; the waters closed over my head, and I thought I was about to perish.

I called on your name, Lord, from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea: “Do not close your ears to my cry for relief.” You came near when I called you, and you said, “Do not fear.” You, Lord, took up my case; you redeemed my life.

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I grew up watching a TV show called “Hee Haw.” Each week featured a sketch where four hillbillies proclaimed their personal despair in life.  You may remember their refrain, “Gloom, despair and agony on me.”   Although the sketches were designed to be humorous, they still depicted a very real aspect of life.

Gloom, despair and agony characterize the opening theme of today’s reading.  As an eye-witness to one of the greatest tragedies in Jewish history, the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, this Old Testament passage finds the Hebrew writer expressing personal despair. How is this despair expressed? When have you faced similar times of despair in your life? What hope is found in the closing verse of today’s passage?

Yesterday was Good Friday, a day of deep sorrow for Christians remembering the suffering and death of Jesus Christ.  For those followers of Jesus who were eye-witnesses to the crucifixion, this time must have been one of unimaginable gloom, despair and agony. We have the benefit of knowing the rest of the story. Tomorrow we gather for Easter to celebrate the dramatic story of God’s love. The miracle of the Resurrection gives us hope and confidence that in the midst of great suffering, God has a plan to redeem our lives.

Each of us has times in life when we experience gloom, despair and agony. Maybe you are experiencing such a time right now. Write out your lament. Ask the Lord to hear your cry and know in confidence the Lord will respond “Do not fear, your name. I will take up your case and redeem your life.” 

– Debi Nixon

Prayer: Lord, today, I lift up my heart and hands to you, trusting in your promise to hear my cries, turning my sorrows into hope through the redeeming love of your resurrected Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Lamentations 3: 1-9, 19-33

I am one who has seen affliction by the rod of the LORD’s wrath.

He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light;
indeed, he has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long.

He has made my skin and my flesh grow old and has broken my bones.

He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.

He has made me dwell in darkness like those long dead.

He has walled me in so I cannot escape; he has weighed me down with chains.

Even when I call out or cry for help, he shuts out my prayer.

He has barred my way with blocks of stone; he has made my paths crooked. . . .

I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall.

I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”

The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

It is good for people to bear the yoke while they are young.

Let them sit alone in silence, for the LORD has laid it on them.

Let them bury their faces in the dust— there may yet be hope.

Let them offer their cheeks to one who would strike them, and let them be filled with disgrace.

For people are not cast off by the Lord forever.

Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love.

For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to any human being.

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It’s easy to find God on good days.  A lovely sunrise, a warm family time, great music at church—yes, God is with us.  Finding God on awful days is much harder.

Today is traditionally called “Good Friday.”  But for those who loved Jesus, there was no good in it—to them, it was “Awful Friday.”  Shocked and sickened at seeing Jesus brutally killed, they huddled behind closed doors, fearing they might be next on the hit list.  I’m pretty sure not one of them said, “I really felt God’s power at work today.”  But mysteriously, in ways alien to human wisdom, it was.

Amid an earlier awful day—many awful days, in fact—the inspired poet of Lamentations somehow saw that.  The Babylonian army had flattened Jerusalem.  The king’s sons were executed, and the king blinded and jailed.  The best and brightest went to Babylon in chains; the old and weak had to fend for themselves in the ruined city.  Lamentations is brutally honest about how awful such times feel–Lamentations 3:44 says God is wrapped in a cloud and no prayers can get through!  And yet. . . today’s passage says:  “I have hope:  Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. . . .it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.”  (Lam. 3:21-23, 26, TNIV)

It’s “Good Friday.”  Easter will come.  It is good to wait.

– Darrell Holtz

Prayer: O God who was at work even in the darkness and evil that surrounded Jesus on the cross, be at work each day in the wonder, the ordinariness, and even the awfulness of our lives.  Teach us to wait quietly for your salvation.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Lamentations 2: 10-13

The elders of the Daughter of Zion sit on the ground in silence; they have sprinkled dust on their heads and put on sackcloth. The young women of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to the ground.

My eyes fail from weeping, I am in torment within, my heart is poured out on the ground because my people are destroyed, because children and infants faint in the streets of the city.

They say to their mothers, “Where is bread and wine?” as they faint like wounded men in the streets of the city, as their lives ebb away in their mothers’ arms.

What can I say for you? With what can I compare you, O Daughter of Jerusalem? To what can I liken you, that I may comfort you, O Virgin Daughter of Zion? Your wound is as deep as the sea. Who can heal you?

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Known as the book of tears, Lamentations was written as a funeral song for the fallen city of Jerusalem. It was written by the prophet Jeremiah in 586 BC after the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonian Empire.

Today’s passage is troubling with its sheer force of suffering. Jeremiah describes the conditions he sees - despair, hunger and death. Then, in verse 13, he asks, “To what can I liken you, that I can comfort you, O Virgin, Daughter of Zion? Your wound is as deep as the sea. Who can heal you?” (NIV)

The Old Testament relationship between the people of Israel and God can be viewed in the same way as our personal relationship with God.  When the Israelites were faithful, there were blessings and prosperity, when they rebelled and ignored his ways, there was punishment.

And while this was frequently stated in material terms, the message is true for us today from a spiritual perspective. When we choose our own way, engaging in sin and ignoring our relationship with God, we face a life apart from God without the love, hope and peace that only God can bring. And when that happens, like the ancient Israelites, we need healing.

So, circle back to Jeremiah’s question, “Who can heal you?” Give thanks to God for the blessing and grace we have in Jesus Christ, who can, and does, heal all of us. Renew your commitment to follow, trust and listen to God this day.

– Correy Trupp

Prayer: Heavenly Father, Forgive me for taking a path separate from Yours. Help me to remember the hope, love and peace that comes when I draw close to You. Wash me with Your grace and help me put my trust in You today. Thank you for the gift of your son Jesus. Amen.

Mark 12: 1-11

Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. He sent still another and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.

“He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

“But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

“What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture:

       “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

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This parable at first glance seems so harsh - much killing and death and in the end vengeance for the death of a son.  But this parable speaks of so much more.  Let’s first look at the characters.

First you have the man who planted the vineyard.  That is God.  The vineyard itself is the people of Israel.  The farmers of the vineyard are the leaders of Israel.  The servants who God sends are the prophets.  This is the story of the relationship between God and God’s people throughout the Old Testament.  This is one of the reasons many do not like the Old Testament.  But here is Jesus, the long awaited Messiah of the Old Testament, speaking words about not only what had happened back then, but also what was to happen in his own time with his own death. 

So, where do we see the goodness of God?  William Barclay tells us four different aspects of God that are truly a blessing for us in this parable.

1. The generosity of God.  The vineyard was equipped with everything that was necessary to make the work of the cultivators easy and profitable.
2. The trust of God.  The owner went away and left the cultivators to run the vineyard themselves.  God trusts us enough to give us free will.
3. The patience of God.  How many chances did the farmers get to pay what they owed?
4. The justice of God.  Thank goodness for God’s justice.  Can you imagine what the world would be like without a God of justice? 

Please remember that God is generous, trustworthy, patient and just.  God’s desire for us is to become partners with God in caring for the vineyard (The Church of the Resurrection, the Kansas City area, and the world).  In becoming partners with God we are also to be generous with what we have, trustworthy in our service, patient in any trials that will come our way, and just in all of our actions.

– Dave Robertson

Prayer: Thank you God for inviting us into this partnership.  Thank you for your generosity, trustworthiness, patience and justice.  By your grace may we be like you.  Amen.

2 Corinthians 1: 8-22

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity and godly sincerity. We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom but on God’s grace. For we do not write you anything you cannot read or understand. And I hope that, as you have understood us in part, you will come to understand fully that you can boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Because I was confident of this, I wanted to visit you first so that you might benefit twice. I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia and to come back to you from Macedonia, and then to have you send me on my way to Judea. Was I fickle when I intended to do this? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath I say both “Yes, yes” and “No, no”?

But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.” For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

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The Apostle Paul, who wrote these words, was not a stranger to suffering.  Here he alludes to the extreme conditions he had suffered, and though his death seemed certain, God delivered him. Paul acknowledges that the purpose of experiencing the perils of this “death sentence” was to become more reliant upon God.

Like Paul, we all experience suffering and there are even times in our lives when death seems imminent. Where do we find the hope and strength to press forward as Paul did?

Paul was confident that God would not only deliver him through his current suffering but all of his future agonies as well. In verse 22, Paul states the reason that he had (and we can have) that security.  “He set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”  (TNIV) Paul understood that God’s presence and power was with him and in him through the Holy Spirit.  Paul was (and we are) never journeying alone. Paul leaned upon God.

During this time of Lent, we ponder the greatest example of suffering, Christ’s death.  Thankfully, the story doesn’t end there. Through Christ’s resurrection, he overcame death, giving us the assurance that we will also be delivered through all of our present sufferings and we too will rise again.

– Michelle Guarini

Prayer:  Help us, O Lord, to rely on you while we experience our own times of suffering. Thank you for your Holy Spirit whose presence nourishes and comforts our souls and gives us the strength to endure through all hardships.  In Christ’s name.  Amen.
 

2 Corinthians 1: 1-7

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God in Corinth, together with all his holy people throughout Achaia:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.  For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.  If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer.  And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

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In today’s Scripture passage, Paul uses the word (or form of the word) comfort nine times.  It is interesting to note the root Greek word for comfort, parakl sis, used in this passage has the same Greek root as the word Jesus used in John 14 to describe the sending of the Holy Spirit to come alongside the disciples as an advocate, comforter and counselor.  For me, this brings great depth of meaning to this passage.  I have experienced comfort during times of distress I can only attribute to God.  The form this comfort took was the encouragement and prayers of people who surrounded me at my time of need.  God’s Holy Spirit worked through others to provide comfort.

Have you ever experienced such comfort?  If you have, you have an idea of what I mean.  There is a sense of deep peace that can only be described as supernatural.  God promises to be with us, to come alongside, whenever we find ourselves in distress.  This often happens through the caring of others in community.

We are also called to come alongside others in their times of suffering.  Like we have been comforted, so we are to comfort others.  We are called to share the same comfort we ourselves have received.

If you do not yet have a community of friends who provide such support, or with whom you can share encouragement, make a commitment this Lent to take a step toward finding a small group community of your own.

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Prayer:  God of Comfort, Thank you for coming alongside of me during times of suffering and distress.  Give me an attentive spirit so I will notice when others suffer, and provide me with the guidance I need to comfort them.  Amen.

In the forty days of Lent, Sundays are not included.  Each Sunday is a day of celebration to give hope amid a season of self-reflection.  Therefore, each Sunday, we will read a psalm.  Pay attention to the words or phrases that stay with you. Then, reflect on the following questions and how you can apply this Scripture to your life.

Psalm 118: 1-2, 19-29

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let Israel say: “His love endures forever.”

Open for me the gates of the righteous; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD.

This is the gate of the LORD through which the righteous may enter.

I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation. The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. The LORD has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad. LORD, save us! LORD, grant us success!

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you. The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine on us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar.

You are my God, and I will praise you; you are my God, and I will exalt you.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

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• What is the overarching message from this Scripture?
• What does this psalm tell us about God?
• What does this psalm tell us about people?
• What does today’s Scripture mean for my life?
• How will I apply today’s Scripture to my daily life? 

Write a prayer, using some of the words from the psalm, that expresses how you want to apply today’s message to your life.

– Rev. Nicole Conard
 

2 Corinthians 4:13-18

It is written: “I believed: therefore I have spoken.”  With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.  All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.  Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

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As I read this passage, I immediately think of Rev. Lowell Thuma.  In his retirement from a lifetime in the Evangelical United Brethren and United Methodist pulpits, Rev. Thuma continued to serve at The Church of the Resurrection, shaking the hands of all he could reach before and after worship services.  He was there on the first day I visited Resurrection and was one of the primary reasons for my return. Rev. Thuma’s passion  and life’s work was spreading the gospel message – believing in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the promise of eternal life with his entire heart, soul, mind and strength, and loving his “neighbor” so much that he spent every breath he had devoted to sharing this promise.

As Rev. Thuma’s health failed and he began his final journey, his faith was clearly fixed on the glory of God he would soon see face to face.  He KNEW, without physically seeing, that Jesus was raised from the dead and had prepared a place for him.  His physical body faded away, but his soul was constantly renewed by his strong faith.  Even when he was unable to communicate, the love of God shone brightly in his eyes.  As I think of Rev. Thuma, his words return to me with a message for us all:  “Don’t ever forget, it’s all about the Resurrection.” 

– Karla Woodward

Prayer: Lord, help us to have a faith so great that we know, without seeing, that you are always with us, that Christ died for US, and eternal glory awaits.  Amen.