Living the Lectionary is a weekly devotional tool intended to give you ideas for living out the Word of God that we encounter on Sundays in worship.
ABOUT THE WEEK STARTING February 14th: The First Week of Lent
Christians worship. It is almost so elemental to being a Christian that the idea of worship can get lost. Law: We treat worship as inconsequential when it has enormous spiritual value. Gospel: Jesus restores worship for us, offering us the ability to worship God through our relationship with Him.
REFLECTING ON THE READINGS
(readings are linked to text on ESVbible.com – you can read all the readings together here.)
Deuteronomy 26:1-11– Remember to Worship – Deuteronomy could be thought as a book filled with reminders to the people about what is important. Here, Moses reminds the people that it is important to worship God – remembering the history of salvation and making offerings. How important is worship in your life? What does this passage make you think about?
Psalm 91:1-13– The Refuge of Worship – The word for the worshiping space of a church is often called the “sanctuary”, because this was a place that historically one could run to and be safe. This Psalm is actually making claims that there is a supernatural reality to that concept, that in the place of worship we find refuge from the evil that might befall us. But worship isn’t a building, it’s a way of life. How might you worship in the place where you are and what might you find sanctuary from in that worship?
Romans 10:8-13 – Words on Lips and in Hearts – Paul explains that faith comes through words. The amazing ability of language to communicate thought is what God has decided to use in order to save humanity. Where do you recognize the power of words in your life?
Luke 4:1-13– Worship the Lord, Your God – Worship is obviously important if it means so much to Satan that he attempts to gain Jesus’ worship at the price of “all the kingdoms in the world”. How does Jesus’ treatment of worship inform your understanding of what worship is?
ABOUT THIS SEASON: Lent
The season of Lent is one of preparation for Easter. Seasons of preparation in the Christian tradition are always about preparing for a celebration – this time for the greatest feast of the Church, Easter. Lent is traditionally a 40 day fast, but spans about 46 days, using Sundays as “little Easters” away from the fast.