Read the Bible: Matthew 20:29-34

As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed [Jesus]. There were two blind men sitting by the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” The crowd demanded that they keep quiet, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”

Jesus stopped, called them, and said, “What do you want me to do for you?”

“Lord,” they said to him, “open our eyes.” Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they could see, and they followed him.

Matthew 20:29-34 (CSB)

Read the Bible: Matthew 20:17-28

While going up to Jerusalem, Jesus took the twelve disciples aside privately and said to them on the way, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death. They will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked, flogged, and crucified, and on the third day he will be raised.”

Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons approached him with her sons. She knelt down to ask him for something. “What do you want? ” he asked her.

“Promise,” she said to him, “that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right and the other on your left, in your kingdom.”

Jesus answered ,“You don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?”

“We are able,” they said to him.

He told them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right and left is not mine to give; instead, it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

When the ten disciples heard this, they became indignant with the two brothers. Jesus called them over and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions act as tyrants over them. It must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Matthew 20:17-28 (CSB)

Read the Bible: Matthew 20:1-16

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the workers on one denarius, he sent them into his vineyard for the day. When he went out about nine in the morning, he saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He said to them, ‘You also go into my vineyard, and I’ll give you whatever is right.’ So off they went. About noon and about three, he went out again and did the same thing. Then about five he went and found others standing around and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day doing nothing?’

“ ‘Because no one hired us,’ they said to him.

“‘You also go into my vineyard,’ he told them. When evening came, the owner of the vineyard told his foreman, ‘Call the workers and give them their pay, starting with the last and ending with the first.’

“When those who were hired about five came, they each received one denarius. So when the first ones came, they assumed they would get more, but they also received a denarius each. When they received it, they began to complain to the landowner: ‘These last men put in one hour, and you made them equal to us who bore the burden of the day’s work and the burning heat.’

“He replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I’m doing you no wrong. Didn’t you agree with me on a denarius? Take what’s yours and go. I want to give this last man the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with what is mine? Are you jealous because I’m generous?’

“So the last will be first, and the first last.”

Matthew 20:1-16 (CSB)

First Sunday in Lent (A Prayer)

“Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as You know the weakness of each of us, let each one find You mighty to save; through Jesus Christ Thy Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen” (The 1979 Book of Common Prayer, 2005).

Read more:

• Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-15

• Hebrews 2:14-18

• Hebrews 4:14-16

• Hebrews 7:25

• Isaiah 53

SAVE THE DATE: Easter Eggstravaganza!

Mark your calendars to join us for a free time of food, fun, & fellowship! All are warmly welcome.

What can I expect?

• Lunch will be served (hot dogs, hamburgers, & fixings)

• Easter egg hunt with areas divided by general age groups

• Weather permitting, both inside & outside games for all ages

What should I bring?

• The most important thing to bring is yourself & all the family & friends your vehicle will hold! Nothing else is required.

• If you’d like, you’re welcome to contribute to the Easter eggs for the egg hunt, or bring a container to participate. We’ll have a few extra baskets on hand too.

More questions? Contact us.

SPRING FORWARD: Daylight Savings Time Begins

Daylight savings time ends March 9 at 2 AM. Remember to “spring forward” any clocks that require manual adjustment.

Read the Bible: Matthew 19:23-30

Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

When the disciples heard this, they were utterly astonished and asked, “Then who can be saved?”

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Then Peter responded to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you. So what will there be for us?”

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields because of my name will receive a hundred times more and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

Matthew 19:23-30 (CSB)

Read the Bible: Matthew 19:13-22

Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. Jesus said, “Leave the little children alone, and don’t try to keep them from coming to me, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” After placing his hands on them, he went on from there.

Just then someone came up and asked him, “Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life?”

“Why do you ask me about what is good?” he said to him. “There is only one who is good. If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

“Which ones?” he asked him.

Jesus answered: Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother; and love your neighbor as yourself.

“I have kept all these,” the young man told him. “What do I still lack?”

“If you want to be perfect,” Jesus said to him, “go, sell your belongings and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

When the young man heard that, he went away grieving, because he had many possessions.

Matthew 19:13-22 (CSB)

Read the Bible: Matthew 19:1-12

When Jesus had finished saying these things, he departed from Galilee and went to the region of Judea across the Jordan. Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. Some Pharisees approached him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife on any grounds?”

“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that he who created them in the beginning made them male and female, and he also said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

“Why then,” they asked him, “did Moses command us to give divorce papers and to send her away?”

He told them, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of the hardness of your hearts, but it was not like that from the beginning. I tell you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another commits adultery.”

His disciples said to him, “If the relationship of a man with his wife is like this, it’s better not to marry.”

He responded, “Not everyone can accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given. For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb, there are eunuchs who were made by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves that way because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who is able to accept it should accept it.”

Matthew 19:1-12 (CSB)

Lent Continues

The posture of repentance begun on Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent, forty days of preparation for Easter or Resurrection Sunday. Some church traditions, like our own, eschew the official liturgical calendar and its inherent risk of repetitive ritual divorced from its significance and power. Yet, the meaning of feast days and seasons, the deep truths to which they beckon our return, resonates across time, place, or even Christian denomination. Lent is a season of reflection, repentance, and renewal for all who are in Christ.

Esau McCauley writes, “We hope that as Christians we mature and grow and become more and more like Christ. But the church in its wisdom assumes we will fail, even after our baptism. The church presumes that life is long and zeal fades, not just for some of us but for all. So it has included within its life a season in which all of us can recapture our love for God and His kingdom and cast off those things that so easily entangle us” (2022). McCauley’s description reminds us that our own “low church” denomination certainly has its own liturgical calendar. We don’t formally celebrate Advent, Epiphany, Lent, Pentecost, and common time like our “high church” brothers and sisters, but there are spring and fall revivals, communion services, district and denominational camp meetings, and homecoming Sundays, all about the same times each year. And for the same reasons: because we are, as the hymn writer so aptly penned, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.”

Commemorating Lent for its intended purpose does not require bondage to tradition or coldness of faith. Rather, it is merely an honest recognition that until our sanctification here and now yields to our glorification in heaven, we contend with our flesh—that is the remaining human nature in us that apart from the keeping power of the Holy Spirit would surely rebel against God. James, a brother of Jesus, gives practical instruction in the matter:

“Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you” (James 4:7-10).

Drawing near to God, according to James, requires cleansing, purification, mourning, and humility. Why such a gloomy posture for a season of victory? Because there is no resurrection that is not preceded by death. There is no exaltation that is not preceded by humility. In that vein, there is no Easter that is not preceded by Lent.

Lenten observances vary widely, but have traditionally included:

• Fasting: purposefully abstaining from something of importance, most often food, for the discipline of directing our longing for what has been set aside to the things of God. Every hunger pang becomes a call to prayer. Every altered meal becomes a reminder of the source of every good and perfect gift.

• Focused study or Scripture reading. There is no merit in observances apart from their significance and their significance is only found in the Word of God. You absolutely can read the Bible. (No, really, hit that link, pick a resource, and just get started.)

• Remembrance or renewal. In liturgical traditions, there are additional church services or activities compared to the rest of the calendar year. In traditions like our own, this might simply be a time to recommit to church attendance as a priority. Perhaps you’re faithful on Sunday mornings but have yet to support night or midweek gatherings of your local congregation. Try using this season to intentionally rework your calendar to gather with the family of God for encouragement, worship, and instruction.

• Acts of charity or justice. The Word of God through the prophet Isaiah: “Isn’t this the fast I choose: To break the chains of wickedness, to untie the ropes of the yoke, to set the oppressed free, and to tear off every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your house, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to ignore your own flesh and blood?” (Isaiah 58:6-11). Lent may be the time to consider where works of our hands should further accompany our thoughts and prayers for others.

• Confession. For many, confession evokes troubled images of booths and priests, part of the baggage and misunderstanding that discourages participation in celebrations of Lent. And yet we are instructed to “…confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed” (James 5:16). Do we notice the reason for confession? It’s not so we can feel wicked, but so we might be healed. The season when we remember the sin nature that required Jesus to become our propitiation at Calvary is ripe for learning the practice of confession.

There is no exhaustive list of disciplines to help believers grow in faith. Jude, another brother of Jesus, writing “to those who are the called, loved by God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ” (Jude 1) summed it all up nicely:

“But you, dear friends, as you build yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting expectantly for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life” (Jude 20-21).

Jude reminds that because Christians are the called, beloved, and kept, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to keep ourselves in the love of God through varied means of grace. As we prepare to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus in victory over death, hell, and the grave, let’s intentionally use the remainder of these 40 days in whatever manner the Spirit leads to truly remember our great need for a Savior, repent, and receive deep renewal in Christ Jesus.

Learn more about Lent and the rest of the Easter Season

Lent: The Season of Repentance and Renewal (Fullness of Time) by Esau McCauley (2022, IVP Formatio)

The 1979 Book of Common Prayer (2005, Oxford University Press)

Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing by Robert Robinson (1758).