February 28, 2021 - 2nd Sunday in Lent - Celebrate

 

You who fear the Lord, praise him!
    All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
    Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! 

Psalm 22:23

February 27, 2021 - Rise

 

Today, we once again take a look at this Sunday's Gospel Lectionary reading from Mark 8:31.  Below is an example of how you can write out a scripture verse and illustrate it with icons.

 

 

And my icon tag for today that I also used in the illustration above:

 

 

February 26, 2021 - Bless

 

The Lord bless you
    and keep you;

the Lord make his face shine on you
    and be gracious to you;

the Lord turn his face toward you
    and give you peace.

Numbers 6:24-26

 

 

Lutkin's "The Lord Bless You and Keep You"

February 25, 2021 - Call

 

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said:  

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves 

and take up their cross and follow me.

Mark 8:34

 

Today's word is CALL.  And the scripture reference on the RethinkChurch Facebook page for today is Mark 8:34.  This verse comes from the Gospel lectionary reading for this coming Sunday.  So I have been using this scripture passage as inspiration for some posts that I've been doing for my church's Facebook page.  I decided to post three different things this week -- all related to and building upon Mark 8:31-38.  The first day I simply posted the scripture with a simple picture.  The second day I posted the scripture once again with a picture of our church's cross steeple and the words to "Take Up Your Cross," a poem by Charles William Everest that is the basis of the hymn of the same title.

 

  And today I posted the scripture once again with this YouTube video.

Here's my Lenten Banner Tag for CALL.

February 24, 2021 - Everlasting

 

EVERLASTING

February 23, 2021 - Name

 

The name of the Lord is a strong tower

 the righteous man runs into it and is safe.

(Proverbs 18:10 NIV)

 

 BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD

February 22, 2021 - Walk

 

What keeps you from walking?

We know the facts.  We've read the scriptures recounting the miracles performed by Jesus.  So what's keeping us from believing?  From walking in the path of righteousness?  Our sin is preventing us from seeing the way to truth and salvation.  And that path can only be through Jesus Christ.

February 21, 2021 - 1st Sunday in Lent - Celebrate

 

Today is the first Sunday in Lent.  CELEBRATE!  Why do we celebrate?  Because no matter what, every Sunday is a celebration of the Resurrection.

Take some time to read the four lectionary readings for today:

• Genesis 9:8-17
• Psalm 25:1-10
• 1 Peter 3:18-22
• Mark 1:9-15

What do you see to celebrate in each of these passages?  There are two that stick out to me:  the Psalter and the Gospel reading.

 

In Psalm 25, verses 4, 5, and 10 reach out to me in celebration.

 

Show me your ways, Lord,
    teach me your paths.

Guide me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are God my Savior,
    and my hope is in you all day long.

All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful
    toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.

 

And Mark 1:15a is the passage I chose for my CELEBRATE icon drawing.  “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” 

 

 

What are you doing to celebrate today?

 

 

 

 

February 20, 2021 - Remember

 These things I REMEMBER
    as I pour out my soul:
how I used to go to the house of God
    under the protection of the Mighty One
with shouts of joy and praise
    among the festive throng.

(Psalm 42:4 NIV)

The verse I chose today for the word "remember" is Psalm 42:4.  Psalm 42 just happens to be one of the suggested Psalter readings for this season of Lent by the Christian Resource Institute.  The beginning of this Psalm is very familiar to most of us:  As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.  When can I go and meet with God?  The Psalmist, according to the title of this Psalm, were the Sons of Korah.  The Korah's were Levites, who led a rebellion of 250 community leaders against Moses during the wilderness days.  God judged Korah and his leaders and they all died, but the sons of Korah remained.  They exhibit a sense of deep despair that is a result of their great need, distance from the house of God, and discouraging words.  They are not thirsty for water, but for God.    These verses leading up to verse 4 tell of the longing they have to reconnected to the house of God and His people.  They grieved the perceived distance they had from God.  And even worse were the people that kept asking them "Where is your God?"  They wanted to discourage the Psalmist and make them feel that God was nowhere to be found.

During the past challenging year, I have felt this distance from God's house and many times discouraging words.  I have not wondered where God is for I have found Him in other places and situations, but I have mourned for the loss of God's presence in my faith community. 

So today I pour out my soul as I REMEMBER times of worship that I felt the Holy Spirit's presence.  I REMEMBER the shouts of joy and praises.  And I yearn for those days like a deer pants for water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

February 19, 2021 -- Sign

 

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 

Matthew 24:3

 

 

February 18, 2021 - Living

 

"I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

John 6:51

 

Ash Wednesday - Covenant

On this first day of Lent, Ash Wednesday, we start our journey.  Today's word is Covenant.  Psalm 50:5 say, “Gather to me this consecrated people, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”  As we gather as a community of faith, this passage and this word reminds us first of God's covenant with his people that He would never again flood the earth and second that God's New Testament covenant with us is through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Below I've posted a video that you can use as an Ash Wednesday meditation.  Before watching it, I invite you to make a heart and place a cross on it to signify the ashes we receive today that remind us that, "In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3:19) 

 

I used burlap to make mine.  But you can make your heart out of whatever supplies you have in your house.  Even consider finding a safety pin and wearing it over your real heart as a sign that you are in need of forgiveness and are choosing to cleanse your heart during this season of Lent and be open to what God is asking you to do.

 

 

 

Transfiguration Sunday

 

 

 

Today is Transfiguration Sunday.  In Mark 9, we read...

 

After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them.  His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them.  And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.

 

Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”  (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)

Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”

Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.

As we prepare to enter into the season of Lent, let us pray that we will be like Peter, James & John and only see Jesus and follow him.

Your challenge today is to prepare yourself for our Lenten challenge by using icons (doodle drawings).  One of the hymns for today's Gospel reading is "Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies" by Charles Wesley (1740).  

 

Christ, whose glory fills the skies,
Christ, the true, the only Light,
Sun of Righteousness, arise,
Triumph o’er the shades of night;
Dayspring from on high, be near;
Day-star, in my heart appear.

 

Here's your challenge: 

• Read through the first verse of "Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies" and pick out key words that you'd like to draw icons for.  Go to The Noun Project for inspiration.  Practice the icons that you want to use.
• On a separate piece of paper, write out the words to the first verse replacing the words you've selected with icons.
• Post your finished projects on our Facebook page.

Here are my examples:

 

 

My Icons

 

Example #1: I colored in the icons & also added the words when I thought it needed clarification.

 

Example #2:  I used a copy of the hymn music as the background and did it with just a black pen.

I hope this preparation project will give you some insight and ideas for when we start our Lenten challenge on Wednesday.  Make sure you check on Wednesday for my first post for Ash Wednesday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preparing for Lent

 

Next Wednesday, February 17th, is Ash Wednesday -- the beginning of Lent.  The beginning of the 40 week days that we observe in preparation for Holy Week and Easter.  Each year, for the past several years, I have made it a priority to do something special each day during Lent to prepare myself.  Many people give something up during Lent.  I choose to do something that gets me out of my comfort zone and something that is a daily discipline.  Last year, I sermon sketched every "picturelent" devotional.  

This year, I am going to us the same idea that I did for 30 Days of Gratitude back in November.  I am going to use the United Methodist Church's Rethink Church Lent Photo-a-Day 2021.  So I invite you to go to their website and download the list and join me each day during Lent plus every Sunday during Lent as we visualize the word for the day.  I will be doodling my icon on card stock tags and then will add them daily to a banner that I will hang above my desk.  You can make your own tag template or you can use index cards.  

 

You'll need 47 tags -- one for each of the 40 days of Lent and 7 more for the Sundays in Lent plus Easter Sunday.  All you'll need is some string or twine to make your banner, a hole punch for your tags, and some string to tie your tags onto your banner.  If you prefer to not do a banner, just punch a hole in your tags & string them on a ribbon or binder clip.  You can also make yourself a mini-journal to do your doodles in.  Use your imagination & whatever you have available.

**You'll note on the list that every Sunday during Lent is "celebrate."  Why? Because every Sunday is a little Easter -- a resurrection celebration.  Start thinking how every Sunday during Lent you can visualize "celebrate" in a different way.  Perhaps you'll find inspiration from the scripture reading for that Sunday or something you hear in that Sunday's sermon.  And maybe there will be some challenges too!

One of the websites that I like to use for icons is The Noun Project.  Check it out for inspiration when you're drawing an icon for each day's word.  You can also use tangle patterns or zentangles as inspiration. 

I love this quote from the Rethink Church Lent Photo-A-Day page:  "Let’s start this 40-day journey together, sharing glimpses of our lives with one another. Let this be an intentional time, even for a few minutes a day, to pause, remember and reflect."

I hope you'll join me.  Make sure you post your daily drawings on my Facebook page for this blog.