1st Sunday of Lent

Our readings for the 8th Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Deuteronomy 26: 4-10
2. Psalms 91: 1-2, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15
3. Romans 10: 8-13
4. Luke 4: 1-13

• Chosen
• Everything is gift.  Every gift has a purpose.  The hard part is to remember that none of what we have is ours to hold but ours to give away.
•  What are some of the biggest blessings, things that you are most grateful for in your life?
• How did those come into your life?
• What purpose do those things serve in your life?
• How do you remind yourself that they are God's and His alone?
  

• Is anyone there?
• Times of trouble isolate us.  We look about and realize that no one has been through quite what we have seen, and we realize that to an extent, no quantity of words will bridge that gap.
• Think of a time of trouble, doubt, panic even in your life.  If someone told you in that crisis "take heart, God is with you" what would you have said?
• If, instead, your best friend declared to you "come all manner of calamity, I will never leave your side, I am with you through it all.  You will never be alone" what would be your reaction?
• When evil befalls you, what do you count on God's Presence to really amount to?
  

• Living in honor
• It seems that there is no sense of shame these days.  But in Jesus' day, shame was avoided, and honor sought at all cost.  Honor received was worth more than gold.  Trouble is, what God finds honorable is often at odds with the culture that we find ourselves in.
• When is a time that you chose honor in God's eyes, over what "made sense" to those around you?
• What made you do that?
• What were the consequences?
• Would you do that again?
  

• Finding trust
• Waiting for God requires trust.  Perhaps the hardest time to trust is knowing that God will provide for us, but not seeing the how, when, or where.
• Think of a time when you cried out to God in need.  And the answer to your prayer seemed long in coming.
• What made you think that God was going to answer that prayer at all?
• What was your expectation of when God was going to meet your needs?
• Were you tempted to take matters into your own hands?
• How did you know that God had something better in store for you?
• How did you know God's answer when it arrived?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Do I truly embrace the fact that all that I have is gift?
• Do I really appreciate God's presence in my life?
• Does my life honor God?
• Where might God be calling me to deeper trust?

Lenten Prayer

Lord, I thank you for all the gifts that you shower upon me.

Family who remind me of who I am, even when I don't want to hear it.

Friends who call forth the best from me, even when I tire of my best.

Your children in need who remind me that we are all one.

And that generosity to them is my surest pathway to your heart.

 

Teach me to be free.

Free of the snares of never enough.

Never enough recognition.

Never enough security.

Never enough control.

 

Help me to give boldly, without regard for the cost.

That I might learn to be free to be Your generosity

To those that you bring in my path.

That I might learn to know the peace that comes.

Of trusting you what what you have first entrusted me.

Shalom!