Author Archives: RRowan

Devotional

Jesus and the ‘do nots’

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Luke 12:22-31

Prayer for the day:
Steadfast God, we come to you often distracted by worries and lose sight of your glory and what you want us to do. Help us to stay focused on you as we strive for your kingdom.

Question for reflection:

What earthly worries distract you from God?

~ Sarah Neher, National Youth Conference Coordinator

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Lenten Devotional written by Duane Grady, pastor of Cedar Lake Church of the Brethren (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats). Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Duane’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.

Devotional

Do not be afraid

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Luke 12:32-34

Prayer for the day:
Generous Lord! We are often preoccupied with worldly things. Teach us to trust that you will provide not only for our human concerns but also those concerns of the soul.

Question for reflection:
Where do you have excess in your life? Where can you purge excess to make room for God?

~ Sarah Neher, National Youth Conference Coordinator

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Lenten Devotional written by Duane Grady, pastor of Cedar Lake Church of the Brethren (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats). Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Duane’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.

Devotional

Building obstacles to God

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Luke 12:13-21

Prayer for the day:
Help me to place my trust in you, God of Life. Amen

Question for reflection:
In our quest for security, we falsely believe that the things of this world will ease our anxiety and keep us safe. We accumulate more and more things, only to find that what we thought would protect and sustain us now demand our time and energy to keep them safe—from rust and rot and thieves. What in your life do you need to get rid of so that you may live, instead, for God?

~ Kim Ebersole, Director of Family Life and Older Adult Ministries

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Lenten Devotional written by Duane Grady, pastor of Cedar Lake Church of the Brethren (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats). Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Duane’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.

Devotional

Worthwhile sacrifices

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Matthew 5:21-26

 

Prayer for the day:
Reconciling God, help me be a peacemaker. Amen

Question for reflection:
“Make peace.” “Be reconciled.” “Make right what is wrong.” Making the first move toward peace is not always easy, but it is the way to move beyond the past into the future. As theologian Louis B. Smedes wrote, “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” When have you initiated reconciliation? How did you feel as you began? How did you feel afterward?

~ Kim Ebersole, Director of Family Life and Older Adult Ministries

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Lenten Devotional written by Duane Grady, pastor of Cedar Lake Church of the Brethren (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats). Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Duane’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.

Devotional

Justice before worship

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Amos 5:21-24

Prayer for the day:
Make me thirst for justice, Loving God. Amen

Question for reflection:
Amos and other Old Testament prophets waste no words in letting us know God wants more than our empty words and self-serving actions. “If you really want to live, you must stop doing wrong and start doing right. I, the Lord God All-Powerful, will then be on your side, just as you claim I am.Choose good instead of evil! See that justice is done. Maybe I, the Lord All-Powerful, will be kind to what’s left of your people” (Amos 5:14-15 CEV). God wants us to put God first in our lives. How? The Message says this: “Do you know what I want? I want justice—oceans of it. I want fairness—rivers of it. That’s what I want. That’s all I want” (Amos 5:24). How did you live out God’s justice and fairness today?

~ Kim Ebersole, Director of Family Life and Older Adult Ministries

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Lenten Devotional written by Duane Grady, pastor of Cedar Lake Church of the Brethren (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats). Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Duane’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.

Devotional

Do you love me?

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John 21

Prayer for the day:
Give me faith, Inviting God, to follow you. Amen

Question for reflection:
If you were in the boat with the disciples, after a long night of fishing without catching a single fish, and Jesus told you to cast your net on the other side of the boat, would you do it? If Jesus asked you, “Do you love me?” how would you respond? If Jesus called to you, “Follow me,” would you stop what you were doing and go? What is the difference between obedience and faith?

~ Kim Ebersole, Director of Family Life and Older Adult Ministries

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Lenten Devotional written by Duane Grady, pastor of Cedar Lake Church of the Brethren (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats). Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Duane’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.

Devotional

These hands are holy hands

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Mark 2:23-3:6

Prayer for the day:
Give me strength, Holy God, to do what is right. Amen

Question for reflection:
As we read in these two stories, the Pharisees were intent on catching Jesus in the act of doing something they considered wrong. They remind me of an old-fashioned private eye lurking in the shadows or a hungry cat waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting mouse. But Jesus was fully aware of what the Pharisees were trying to do and continued to show the world a “new thing”—putting the law of love above the love of laws. Have there been times when you have been pressured to conform to the ways of the world and forsake what you know to be morally or ethically right? Where did you get the strength to follow the ways of Jesus instead?

~ Kim Ebersole, Director of Family Life and Older Adult Ministries

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Lenten Devotional written by Duane Grady, pastor of Cedar Lake Church of the Brethren (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats). Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Duane’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.

 

 

Devotional

Holy worship

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Luke 4:5-8

Prayer for the day:
Almighty God,
People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered. Help me to love them anyway.
If I do good, people may accuse me of selfish motives. May I do good anyway.
If I am successful, I may win false friends and true enemies. May I succeed anyway.
The good I do today may be forgotten tomorrow. May I do good anyway.
Honesty and transparency make me vulnerable. May I be honest and transparent anyway.
What I spend years building may be destroyed overnight. May I build anyway.
People who really want help may attack me if I help them. May I help them anyway.
If I give the world the best I have, I may get hurt. May I give the world my best anyway.
God willing – I seek to do your will.
Amen.

-inspired by a quote from Mother Teresa

Question for reflection:
If we think of worship as anything that glorifies God, where can you worship God in our every day, ordinary life?

~ Katie Cummings, National Youth Conference Coordinator

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Lenten Devotional written by Duane Grady, pastor of Cedar Lake Church of the Brethren (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats). Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Duane’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.

Devotional

Bread that gives life

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John 6:52-59

Prayer for the day:
Listening God,
Help me to rise to the challenge of following you. May my commitment to you grow like leavened bread rising on a warm day.

Question for reflection:
What are areas in your own community that could use leavening?

~ Katie Cummings, National Youth Conference Coordinator

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Lenten Devotional written by Duane Grady, pastor of Cedar Lake Church of the Brethren (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats). Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Duane’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.

 

 

Devotional

Following Jesus

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Matthew 4:12-22


Prayer for the day:
God who Journeys with us,
Help me to not become absorbed in the unquenchable desire for quantity over quality when it comes to serving and following you. I am enough. My desire to follow you is enough. Search my heart and help me to seek the Kingdom Life.

Question for reflection:
Who do you consider your partner(s) in following God’s call? How do you intentionally uphold and support each other on your walks?

~ Katie Cummings, National Youth Conference Coordinator

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Lenten Devotional written by Duane Grady, pastor of Cedar Lake Church of the Brethren (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats). Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Duane’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.