Singing

HOLY WEEK

Sing to the Lord! Bless his name! Share the news of his saving work every single day! ~ Psalm 66:2 (CEB)

After singing songs of praise, they went out to the Mount of Olives. ~ Mark 14:26 (CEB)

KEY IDEA:

Sing praise to God for his salvation.

PRAYER:

Lord, I join with all your saints in praising you for the salvation that you secured for us through the cross and resurrection. I confess, though, that my singing is often off-key. I turn the song of your salvation into a song about me and how good I am. That is not really news worth sharing. I am asking you to give me singing lessons so that the song which flows from my life is clearly about you and what you have done for us. Amen.

Hooray!

PALM SUNDAY

Who can tell all the great things he has done? Who can praise him enough? ~ Psalm 106:2 (NLT)

The next day a large crowd was in Jerusalem for Passover. When they heard that Jesus was coming for the festival, they took palm branches and went out to greet him. They shouted, “Hooray! God bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord! God bless the King of Israel!” ~ John 12:12-13 (CEV)

KEY IDEA:

Jesus is the Savior King who should be celebrated.

PRAYER:

Hooray for you, Jesus! You are the one who deserves a million parades. You are truly the king. Even though I can't possibly acknowledge all that is about you that is worthy of recognition I can join the parade of blessing. I'm going to parade with you -- even if your procession passes an ugly place. Amen.

Committed people

LENT

God is always on the alert, constantly on the lookout for people who are totally committed to him. ~ 2 Chronicles 16:9a (MSG)

A woman who was of questionable standing in the town because she didn't put great effort into keeping the rules of the Jewish religion, found out that Jesus was visiting and dining at a certain Pharisee's house. She bought a really expensive bottle of perfume and went and stood behind him. Then she started crying and washing his feet -- with her tears. After that, she dried his feet with her hair, kissed them, and poured the perfume all over his feet. ~ Luke 7:37-38 (ABP)

KEY IDEA:

Sometimes the committed people of action, those who have God's attention, are not the ones whom we'd expect them to be.

PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, you liked to hang out with the people that everyone else labeled "sinners." I'm sure that I fit into that category -- although I'm eager to point out that others are more sinful than me. It's easy for me to explain how good I am. But you are looking for action rather than explanations. Transform my words into committed activity so that everyone can see how kind and merciful you are. Amen.

God's message

LENT

The commands of the Lord are just and give understanding to the mind. ~ Psalm 19:8b (GNT)

Jesus says: The words I have spoken to you bring God's life-giving Spirit. ~ John 6:63b (GNT)

KEY IDEA:

God's messages to us give us what we need to live the Jesus-life.

PRAYER:

Lord, I am grateful that you have given us instructions for living the life. I do not always follow your instructions as closely as I should. I tend to take the easy path rather than the best path. Please continue to speak to me. Impress on me the importance of what you are saying and empower me to follow Jesus through you life-giving Spirit. I'm going to live. Amen.