Lent 2026 (Page 4)

Each Saturday during Lent, we will take some time as a church family to practice a different spiritual exercise together. Today, we are practicing and learning about lament. About Lament Christian musician and Biblical scholar Michael Card writes: “It seems to me that we do not need to be taught how to lament since we have so many models in Scripture. What we need is simply the assurance that it’s okay to lament.” 5As we consider the tears of Jesus,…

Read Psalm 147:1-3 Psalm 147:1-3 shows us that God knows our hearts and sees when we are in pain and brokenhearted. The psalmist reminds us in verse 3 that God binds up and heals our wounds. It’s a picture of a compassionate God who feels with us and does not leave us to deal with our disappointments, losses, and pain by ourselves. He gives us the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, and many brothers and sisters in Christ.  This passage reminds…

Read 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 When was the last time you felt down? Do you remember the reason? Maybe it was because of the loss of a loved one or pet, or maybe because of an injury, the loss of a job, or just an overall bad day. No matter what it was, the point is you were sad.  When we as people feel sad, we try to find something to comfort us, whether it’s a good show, some tasty food,…

Read Psalm 103:13-18 Psalm 103 speaks into grief with remarkable tenderness. It does not minimize pain, rush people toward resolution, or minimize grief. Instead, it reveals a God whose heart bends toward the vulnerable. Yet for some of us, the image of a compassionate father is complicated. From junior high on, I did not have a father who was present in my life. A painful memory I carry with me to this day is when I was a teenager I…

Read Psalm 86:14-17 To be totally honest, I haven’t suffered much in my life. I was born in America to parents who loved me and wanted me. Things were not always perfect, but I had everything I needed and felt secure. I could choose my path and had access to resources to be whatever I wanted to become. I gave my life to Jesus at an early age and wanted to learn to follow Him and serve Him wherever that…

Read Matthew 9:35-36 In today’s passage, Matthew summarizes Jesus’s ministry in Galilee: “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues” (v. 35). He did not just teach in His hometown or the major cities, but also in poor, obscure villages so that everyone would hear His teaching. He also proclaimed the good news of the kingdom, demonstrating its coming in great power by healing every disease and sickness. This means He healed all physical and emotional…

ReAD John 11:1-44 Near the beginning of his classic book on the spiritual life, Knowledge of the Holy, A. W. Tozer wrote, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” Put another way, our conception of God—the way we think about God—will shape everything about us, including how we live out our relationship with God.  Perhaps all of us have met someone whose way of thinking about God is warped by…

Each Saturday during Lent, we will take some time as a church family to practice a different spiritual exercise together. Today, we are practicing and learning about the Prayer of Examen. About the Examen The Prayer of Examen, of the Examen, is a spiritual discipline that dates back centuries. It is something that our brothers and sisters have engaged with over the years in order to reflect on where they’ve seen God’s presence over a period of time. The Examen…

Read Galatians 4:4-6 The story of Noah begins with a heavy truth: the Lord regretted creating the human race, along with the animals and birds. For years, I interpreted this as a statement of divine frustration, but I have come to believe He spoke it in tearful sadness. God’s creative handiwork was overshadowed by a heartbreaking reality: “every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time” (Genesis 6:5). When the time came to act,…

Read John 1:14-18 Years ago, as a widow with a small boy, I joined a Christian single moms group. Sadly, I had some misconceptions about divorcees (though I really hadn’t known any). At first, I sat with another widow and kept the divorced moms at arm’s length. But soon the sharing of stories broke down barriers. Several divorced moms became my close friends. For me, spending time with people is a crucial part of understanding them and the world. I…

Read Hebrews 2:17-18 A few years ago, I participated in a two-year discipleship journey at the Soul Care Institute. It was a deeply transformative experience for me where I feel like I really learned how to be a human. That might sound strange, but that’s really what it was for me! I felt like for the first time in my life, I was in a safe space where I could be a whole person: my mind, body, and soul all…

Sometimes there are big things that come in small packages, whether we’re talking about a seed, a computer chip, or an engagement ring. The size of the item does not necessarily match the power each item holds or conveys. We likely already know this is true in our faith life with God in a variety of ways. Yet perhaps nowhere is this more intriguing than in the shortest verse in our English Bible: “Jesus wept” (John 11:35).1 Here, the Savior of the world,…