17 March: Mark 7:1-13

MARK 7:1-13

"Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.)  And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,

“‘This people honors me with their lips,
    but their heart is far from me;

in vain do they worship me,
    teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’

You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)— then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

READ. MEDITATE. PRAY. CONTEMPLATE.

To download the full devotional, click here.

15 March: Isaiah 45:1-7

ISAIAH 45:1-7

"Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,

    whose right hand I have grasped,

to subdue nations before him

    and to loose the belts of kings,

to open doors before him

    that gates may not be closed:

“I will go before you

    and level the exalted places,

I will break in pieces the doors of bronze

    and cut through the bars of iron,

I will give you the treasures of darkness

    and the hoards in secret places,

that you may know that it is I, the Lord,

    the God of Israel, who call you by your name.

For the sake of my servant Jacob,

    and Israel my chosen,

I call you by your name,

    I name you, though you do not know me.

I am the Lord, and there is no other,

    besides me there is no God;

    I equip you, though you do not know me, 

that people may know, from the rising of the sun

    and from the west, that there is none besides me;

    I am the Lord, and there is no other.

I form light and create darkness;

    I make well-being and create calamity;

    I am the Lord, who does all these things."

READ. MEDITATE. PRAY. CONTEMPLATE.

To download the full devotional, click here.

13 March: Psalm 40:13-17

PSALM 40:13-17

"Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me!
    O Lord, make haste to help me!

Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether
    who seek to snatch away my life;
let those be turned back and brought to dishonor
    who delight in my hurt!

Let those be appalled because of their shame
    who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”

But may all who seek you
    rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
    say continually, “Great is the Lord!”

As for me, I am poor and needy,
    but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
    do not delay, O my God!"

READ. MEDITATE. PRAY. CONTEMPLATE.

To download the full devotional, click here.

10 March: Matthew 5:1-12

MATTHEW 5:1-12

"Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

READ. MEDITATE. PRAY. CONTEMPLATE.

To download the full devotional, click here.

8 March: Genesis 2:15-17, 3:20-24

GENESIS 2:15-17

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

GENESIS 3:20-24

"The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life."

READ. MEDITATE. PRAY. CONTEMPLATE.

To download the full devotional, click here.

6 March: Psalm 8:1-5

PSALM 8:1-5

"O Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.

    Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
    to still the enemy and the avenger.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
    the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

what is man that you are mindful of him,
    and the son of man that you care for him?

Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
    and crowned him with glory and honor."

READ. MEDITATE. PRAY. CONTEMPLATE.

To download the full devotional, click here.

3 March: Matthew 16:24-28

MATTHEW 16:24-28

"Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

READ. MEDITATE. PRAY. CONTEMPLATE.

To download the full devotional, click here.

Lent Devotional [Free Download]

God has designed our world to be shaped by seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. Our lives are also shaped by seasons - made up of times of abundance, joy, and celebration, as well as times of suffering, pain, and loss.

This is why our calendars are filled with holidays, literally meaning holy days. These are days set apart from all the rest. We mark the days that have marked us. These holidays remind us every season of who we are, where we have been, and who we desire to be. So too with the Church calendar. Followers of Jesus have designed and followed the Church calendar to mark their lives and days by the arrival, life, death, resurrection, ascension, and return of Christ.

Beginning on Ash Wednesday, for forty days during Lent, we strip away some of our usual comforts (often through fasting) to create more space for reflection, repentance, and refining. These days ready our hearts to gaze upon the gore of Good Friday, and the glory of Resurrection Sunday.

Lent Preparation

Lent is a season of preparation. From Ash Wednesday the following forty days (excluding Sundays), we fast and pray as we ready our hearts, minds, bodies, and spirits to treasure Christ in all things - the gore of Good Friday and the glory of Resurrection Sunday. Even if your church does not follow or celebrate the seasons of the church calendar outside of Easter and Christmas, I believe there is still benefit in personal preparation, and leading our teams to prepare as well.

Easter and Christmas are some of the busiest times in the life of any church. If we do not prepare practically we run the risk of being scattered and frantic. If we do not prepare spiritually our lives are emptied of opportunity for meaning and significance. And that is why we prepare. Because preparation builds meaning and significance into our lives. Because preparation is never about the preparation itself, but making space for something else. We exercise not for the sake of exercise but for making space for a healthy body. We study not for study's sake, but to make space for learning and becoming. Preparation creates space for us to focus on the right things. So as we spend time fasting and praying, turning inward with the Holy Spirit to examine our hearts and lives, and turning outward toward Christ in repentance and faith we are preparing our hearts not just for another Sunday, but for deeper levels of gratitude and thanksgiving for the cross and resurrection.

Whether it is adding a spiritual discipline in this season (like fasting, or silence) or spending more time in prayer and Scripture, how might you prepare your own heart for Easter this Lenten season? Whether it is pulling back on the production of your team, doing fewer upbeat songs, leading a Lenten devotional, or giving your team the opportunity for prayer and silence during rehearsals, how might you prepare your team for Easter this Lenten season? Whether it is through a weekly corporate confession, changing the visuals on the platform, or simply acknowledging and encouraging people to spend the next forty days in preparation for Easter, how might you prepare the congregation for Easter this Lenten season?

January 4: Revelation 22:3-5

“No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.”

REVELATION 22:3-5

No more night.

No more fear.

No more tears.

No more hiding.

No more need for illumination of any kind because the Lord Himself will be our light.

To download the full devotional, click here.

January 2: Revelation 21:22-27

“And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.”

REVELATION 21:22-27

Christ’s first coming has ushered in His second. In His second coming, we will dwell in a land full of light - the light of God Himself. A land without night or darkness. A land pure, and true - a land made up of people from every tribe, tongue, language, and nation on earth. A people whose lives have been illuminated by the Life and Light Giver.

To download the full devotional, click here.

December 28: Matthew 5:13-16

““You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

MATTHEW 5:13-16

The Light of the World entered into a darkened world. Illuminating the sky with a star, and a hillside with a host of angels - gloriously bright. His light was too bright, too wonderful, too purifying to be hidden away. His was the light of life.

But even today we still live in a darkened world - where everything seems to catch refractions of His light, but things can still seem so dark. As His followers, we are invited to reflect His glorious light by being a light to the world. To be a city on a hill, to shine before others that God may receive the glory. We are invited to be salt-preserving life and light, bringing the flavor of the Kingdom and the King to a darkened world. This is the life that to some are the aroma of life and to others the stench of death. But this is the call for every follower of Christ.

To download the full devotional, click here.