Blog Archives
How to make the most out of next week
Next week is often referred to as “Holy Week” in the Christian tradition. Maybe you don’t have any tradition associated with it other than Easter eggs and family dinner. But if you’d like to make it a memorable week, here are some practical suggestions.
(optional) Saturday, April 13
Begin a 10 day Lent reading program available for a small fee here.
Sunday, April 14, (Palm Sunday)
Re-read the story of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem in Matthew 21:1-11. Picture yourself as part of the crowd, cheering the long-awaited king who is coming to set you free. If you missed the message in our current series on this event, check out the podcast here.
Consider inviting a friend to one of the Easter Sunday gatherings. You can send them this link.
(optional – start an 8 day reading plan here.)
Monday, April 15
Check out this thoughtful section on the meal Jesus shared with his disciples that last week. It’s helpful to remember this is an event to be shared together as the followers of Jesus. How has the community of faith shaped your understanding of Jesus?
Tuesday, April 16
Read Mark 14:12-26. Consider setting a place at the table for Jesus. Then imagine him joining you for a meal. During that meal, he says to you what he said to the disciples about his body and his blood being for you. Offer a prayer of thanksgiving.
Wednesday, April 17
Read Matthew 26:36-46. We’re not the first to struggle with prayer. Choose a time during the day when you can stop for 30 to 60 minutes and pray. Instead of praying for yourself, try to listen for the needs of those around you. What is God’s concern for them? Join with God in that concern by praying his desires for those who come to your mind. It’s okay if this is a struggle.
Maundy Thursday, April 18
Read Mark 12:28-31, and John 13:1-17. “Maundy” Thursday is from the Latin word for “mandate,” or instruction. Jesus’ instruction or mandate to his followers is to do what he has done. It is to love and serve one another. Choose one act of service you can do for someone today, then go do it.
Good Friday
Read John 19. How much would you do for a friend? Allow the reality to sink in that Jesus death was for you. He didn’t go grudgingly to the cross, but willingly, out of his great love for you. Write a short prayer of thanksgiving to Jesus.
Saturday, April 20
This is a day of waiting. Think of an area in your life where you’re waiting for something to change. Sit in that space of not knowing when. Imagine being in Peter’s sandals on that first Saturday. Jesus is dead. Hope is gone. What’s needed is a miracle. All you can do is pray. Pray for God’s miracle where it is needed most in your life right now.
Resurrection Sunday
Read John 20:1-18. The miracle has happened. The clouds are giving way to blue sky. Hope has returned. The King is alive. Join us for a victorious and joyous celebration at 8:00, 9:15, 10:30, or 11:45!
-Pastor Mark
Breaking thru the winter of your soul
Chances are you’ll read this on a day when it’s once again snowy here in Maryland. The forecast is for a few more inches of winter. But there are also signs that spring is breaking thru.
There’s also a chance that you’ll read this on a day when there’s a bit of winter in your soul. No one is immune from the bleak, gray and cold seasons of the soul. Your prayers seem to be anemic at best. Your passion for seeking God is a dim memory. Your soul feels heavy and dead. And you wonder if any of it is even real.
The good news is that you can cultivate your own spring-time for your soul. That’s essentially what Lent is about. During the next several weeks (beginning next Wednesday, March 6th) you can till the soil of your soul and plant and nurture the seeds that will burst into full bloom on Resurrection Sunday.
Maybe Lent has left a bad taste in your mouth. Let me encourage you to try it again. But try it as a gardener who is cultivating a fertile plot of soil in your soul, not as a drudgery or duty that you’re forced to fulfill.
- If you choose to abstain from some activity or luxury, do it because it will make your heart more receptive to your heavenly Father.
- If you want to add some spiritual practice to your routine, do it with the expectancy that it will help you hear your Creator speak into your life.
- And if you’d like to use a helpful resource, you can check out one of the following:
A Bible reading plan on YouVersion
A downloadable 9 week study plan
In light of our recent message on building a better posse, why not invite someone else to join you in your preparation for Spring?
You may be experiencing a winter time in your soul, but spring is just around the corner!
-Pastor Mark
Does God take vacation?
Have you ever had a crazy-busy season of life after which you just wanted to take a vacation and get some rest? That’s kinda what it can be like around a church office the week after Easter.
We just finished the biggest event of the year, with four gatherings and almost 1500 people. We wrapped up a week-long Spring Break camp that turned our normally quiet building into a hotbed of activities, games, fun, learning, and very loud groups of kids. And we pulled out all the stops for a powerful, multi-sensory Good Friday experience. It’s enough to make our staff want to take some much-deserved vacation.
Which got me thinking. Does God take vacation? Jesus made this statement during his ministry on earth.
My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working. John 5:17
Apparently God is NOT taking vacation just yet.
Ever wonder what God does when he works? Is he fixing things? (sorta) Is he building things (sorta) Is he solving problems? (sorta) The short answer is, he’s working on you. And me. Yep, we’re his project. And he wakes up in the morning thinking about you, thinking about how to get you closer to his original design.
That journey, from who we are, to who God longs for us to be, that’s the journey of transformation. And that’s the journey we’re committed to walking with you. Our mission at Seneca Creek is “To develop fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.” IOW, to help you experience God’s transformational work in your life.
One of the ways we try to help is through our Rooted Experience and Converge Groups. (I know, shameless plug here.) So as you think about where your life is, and where you long for it to be, just remember that God longs to work in you and on you. And since one of the best ways to participate in that work is in community, why not consider signing up for Rooted, or (if you’ve already gone thru Rooted) for one of our Converge Groups for this Spring. It just might be one of the best choices you make in 2018.
A recent Rooted celebration event
God is always at work. He’s not on vacation. Are you giving him room to work in your life?
-Pastor Mark
P.S. Speaking of work, I worked on a list of resources to share last Sunday, then forgot to mention it. So if you have questions about the Resurrection, or if you know someone who does and you’re trying to help them, check out this list of resources.
A modern day substitutionary death
One of the stories to emerge in the news recently is of a French policeman who volunteered to take the place of a hostage during negotiations. The negotiations didn’t go well, and several people lost their lives, including the policeman.
That policeman is now being honored as a true hero, as well he should. To voluntarily take someone else’s place in a dangerous situation requires courage, character, and self-sacrifice.
The woman whose place he took, a wife and mother of a 2 year old, will never be the same. She will never forget. She will live every day of her life with the knowledge that she’s alive because someone else laid down their life for her. She will know that she was freed from captivity by the actions of someone whom she didn’t’ even know. Her child will grow up hearing the story, and living in gratitude to that heroic officer.
Can you imagine what that mother is experiencing? Well, as it turns out, we probably CAN imagine that, at least to some degree. Today is Good Friday, the day we remember how someone else took our place so we could experience freedom. On Good Friday we remember that someone we didn’t know stepped into a dangerous situation and sacrificed his life for us. On Good Friday we remember that Jesus didn’t have to go to the cross, but he CHOSE to do that so we wouldn’t have to live in captivity. It took courage, character and self-sacrifice.
Today we’re inviting everyone to join us in remembering this substitutionary death. Between 3 and 9 pm you can participate in a self-paced Good Friday experience of the stations of the cross. It’s a multi-sensory, reflective, and powerful experience that will help you remember the heroic actions that Jesus took on your behalf. And it will prepare your heart for the glorious good news of Resurrection Sunday.
So please join us anytime today at 13 Firstfield Road in Gaithersburg, beginning at 3 pm. Plan to spend 30 to 60 minutes walking thru the stations. And be sure to arrive no later than 8:30 pm so you have time to complete the experience.
I hope to see you then.
-Pastor Mark
When Valentine’s Day and Lent collide
I’m writing this blog on February 14th the traditional observance of Valentine’s Day. It’s also Ash Wednesday, the traditional beginning of Lent. Here’s why this collision of holidays is a good thing.
On Valentine’s Day we’re inundated with candy, roses, and hearts. Hearts, hearts, and more hearts. You remember those “conversation hearts” candies, right? Little cute sayings like, “Be Mine, Sweetheart, Love You,” and so on. Heart-shaped cards, heart-shaped food, heart-shaped dishes, and heart-shaped everything.
But Lent is also about the heart. Not that pretend one with cupid’s arrow in it, but the heart that is the center of you. Some might say that Lent is just about remembering Jesus’ suffering. But dig deeper. WHY did he suffer? Why did he go to the cross? It was so you could have a new heart. He even said that our hearts are the fountain of evil that consumes us. (Matthew 15:19) Only with a new heart can we love well. That includes loving God, loving others, and even loving our selves appropriately.
So as we embark on the journey of Lent I would encourage you to think about your heart. Where is it bent out of shape? Where does it need to be renewed? Then consider abstaining from something, or adopting a habit or practice for the next six weeks until Easter. If you’d like some suggestions, I’ve written about this here, here, and here.
Feel free to share your Lent decisions in the comment section below. Or not. But know that the condition of your heart matters deeply to your heavenly father. On Valentine’s Day, and every day.
-Pastor Mark
P.S. One of my Lent practices this year is to select one person each day and have focused prayer for them throughout that day. That includes listening to what God has to say about that person. I’m open to suggestions.
P.P.S. If you’d like to engage in a Lent-focused Bible reading plan, this one is really good.
Living in faith, hope and Love 