Church Blog (Page 7)
In The Shadow Of The Cross | Lent Devotion
In The Shadow Of The Cross Daily Devotion for Lent | Thursday, April 11 They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots. John 19:24 It’s a grim picture—Jesus hanging on the cross, while beneath Him, several Roman soldiers gamble for His clothing. It’s tempting to condemn the soldiers for what they were doing. It’s offensive. They shouldn’t be doing that! But from their point of view, they were only doing their jobs. They had taken…
Standing By | Lent Devotion
Standing By Daily Devotion for Lent | Wednesday, April 10 “Do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once send Me more than twelve legions of angels?” Matthew 26:53 When we think about the people involved in Jesus’ arrest, suffering, and death, we often forget the invisible ones—the ones behind the scenes watching. But Jesus reminds us when He says to Peter at His arrest, “Do you think that I cannot appeal to…
Safety | Lent Devotion
Safety Daily Devotion for Lent | Tuesday, April 9 “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.” Luke 23:28 As Jesus walks to the place where He will be crucified, a large crowd is following Him. Some of them are women who are grieving and weeping for Him. Jesus turns to speak to them. That in itself is surprising. Jesus has already been scourged, and He is now so weak that the…
Curious | Lent Devotion
Curious Daily Devotion for Lent | Tuesday, March 26 The servant girl at the door said to Peter, “You also are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?” John 18:17 She was a servant girl minding the front door. It was a busy night—the whole Sanhedrin assembled, and the preacher Jesus of Nazareth on trial before them! She did her job, letting everybody in and shutting the door—and then one of the men came back to ask a favor.…
Glory And Shame | Lent Devotion
Glory And Shame Daily Devotion for Lent | Monday, March 25 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Galatians 3:27 What an embarrassing story! A young man tried to follow Jesus when He was arrested in Gethsemane, but the crowd seized on him, and grabbed his clothing. He escaped by running away completely naked. Who was this young man? What do we know about him? Not a whole lot, though we can guess…
In Memory of Jackson Comfort Dog
Thanking God For More Than Eight Years Of Gentle Service March 24, 2019. It is with great sadness that we share the unexpected passing of our beloved Comfort Dog, Jackson. While playing and enjoying the warm sunshine with his brother Louie earlier this afternoon, Jackson died very quickly of an apparent heart attack. In the Summer of 2011, Jackson began serving as the official Comfort Dog of Martin Luther School in Joplin. With a joyful, gentle disposition and irresistibly-soft, golden…
Healing His Enemies | Lent Devotion
Healing His Enemies Daily Devotion for Lent | Sunday, March 24 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you …” Luke 6:27 Just a man, rubbing his ear now and then. I suspect that’s what we would have seen if we could have visited the high priest’s house during the weeks after Easter. The man was a servant, and his action would probably go unnoticed. What could be less important? But…
Who’s In Charge? | Lent Devotion
Who’s In Charge? Daily Devotion for Lent | Saturday, March 23 The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” John 7:46 The crowd of soldiers and officers who came to arrest Jesus must have been disconcerted. Jesus wasn’t behaving like anyone they’d captured before. To begin with, He stepped forward to meet them, instead of hiding in the darkness. “Who are you looking for?” He asked. When they answered, “Jesus of Nazareth,” He calmly identified Himself: “I am…
Living Among Holy Things | Lent Devotion
Living Among Holy Things Daily Devotion for Lent | Friday, March 22 They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” Matthew 27:4 What kind of men are these? Though they are priests—chief priests!—they seem to feel no shame at all about offering silver to Judas to betray his master. I hope they at least had the decency not to use money that came out of the temple offerings! And when Judas shows up later, full of remorse,…
Jesus For Dinner | Lent Devotion
Jesus For Dinner Daily Devotion for Lent | Thursday, March 21 “Tell the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?’” Luke 22:11 Have you ever thought what it would be like to have Jesus over for dinner? Just imagine the storm of cooking and cleaning that would go on! You’d want to have everything perfect—a table beautifully set up, dishes and utensils and napkins…
Doing His Job | Lent Devotion
Doing His Job Daily Devotion for Lent | Wednesday, March 20 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.” Matthew 25:21 It was an odd thing for Jesus to say: “Look for a man carrying a jar of water.” This was Judea; men didn’t normally carry water, that was a woman’s job. The disciples must have wondered. Still, they were used to Jesus by then; they did it without arguing. I also wonder about the man carrying…
Business As Usual | Lent Devotion
Business As Usual Daily Devotion for Lent | Tuesday, March 19 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 1 Corinthians 3:16 What happens when “business as usual” is sin? Think of the merchants and the money changers, sitting there comfortably in the large temple court, doing business just as they had done every day for years. Listen to the lambs bleating and the pigeons calling from their cages. Don’t breathe too…