• What did you hear as you listened?
• Was there a word or phrase that stood out to you?
• Strength and bravery are necessary for obedience. Is there something God is inviting you into that will require strength and bravery
• In your prayer, ask God for what you need.

For Reflection and Prayer:

What did you hear as you listened to the text? Have a conversation with Jesus about what you heard.

Allow Jesus to speak his peace over you. What is that like for you?

Be still and invite Jesus to breathe the Holy Spirit over you.

• What did you hear as you listened? A word? A phrase?
• Write about what you heard.
• Are you able to feel “at home” with Christ?
• How is your relationship with Christ intimate and organic? What makes it that way? Or, not?
• What are you asking? What are you noticing in how God is listening and acting upon what you ask? What is happening in you because of what you ask?

• What did you hear as you listened? A word? A phrase?
• Spend some time just being with Jesus tonight. Sit with him as he prays with and for you.
• What do you feel as you are with Jesus?

· What did you hear as you listened? A word, a phrase?
· Write a few sentences about what you heard.
· How does this intersect with your life?
· What helps you recognize Jesus with you?
· Jesus refers to “the story within the story.” How is your story within the story of God?

· What did you hear as you listened? A word? A Phrase?
· Write about what you heard? Does this intersect with your life in any way?
· What might God be inviting you to through these words?
· What thoughts do you have in response to the question, “What is truth?”
· Have conversation with God about what is going on in your life.

• What did you hear as you listened? A word? A phrase?
• Write about what you heard.
• What person/people in this passage might you be most like?
• What feelings arise as you are with Jesus in this story?
• What senses (sight, smell, sounds, touch, taste) come alive for you as you are taking in this passage? How might you perceive this passage through your senses?

• What did you hear as you listened? A word? A phrase?
• Write about what you heard. What might God be inviting through this word or phrase?
• What helps you remain attentive and alive to what God is doing?
• What distracts you or “puts you to sleep” spiritually?
• What might your prayer be from these Words?

• What did you hear as you listened? A word? A phrase? Write a few sentences about what you heard.
• What might you ask God about from what you heard in this passage?
• Write a dialogue with God about what you heard.

15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.

• What did you hear as you listened? A word? A phrase? Write a few sentences about what you heard.
• You might ask God about your experience of being in your mother’s womb.
• What might God want to restore and heal in you from what you know about your
in uteros experience?
• What might you ask God to heal within you tonight?
• What precious thoughts might God have about you?

For Reflection and Prayer:
• What did you hear as you listened to the Scripture? Reflect upon what you heard.
• Are you able to have a conversation with Jesus about what you heard?
• How do you feel about what Jesus said?
• Are there words of Jesus that are difficult for you to understand his meaning?
• What is it like to have a conversation with him about them?
• Are there other things you might be afraid to ask Jesus about?
• Why might you be afraid to ask him?

Ash Wednesday is observed as the “official” beginning of the Lenten season, the weeks, or 40 days, of remembrance of Christ’s journey that lead to crucifixion and resurrection. It is often a time of heightened intention and attention through spiritual practices. We invite this kind of intention and attention in all of our days. Tonight, however, we invite you to consider your own desire for God and the great gift of friendship with God that we have been given through Christ.
The cross is a symbol of God as love, a sign of God’s rescue of humankind from death and its domain, delivering us into life. Already done and accomplished, we are invited to turn away from our self as our savior and into God, in and through Christ, and the power and presence of the Holy Spirit as the One who saves, delivers, heals and restores into real life. We observe our own “death of self” and our own resurrection into true life in friendship with God. Ashes are a tangible mark of humility and recognition of our need and desire for God. We return to God for our life.

Romans 5:6-11
6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

• What did you hear as you listened to the reading? A word? A phrase?
• Write a few sentences about what you heard.
• How would you put words around what the Lenten season invites for you?
• What is it like for you to be a “friend” of God? How do you live into this friendship? What helps you deepen this friendship?
• Are there patterns in your relationships with people that may mirror how you are in relationship with God?
• What might be “dying” in you allowing new life to emerge? What do you notice?
• What does it mean to you to be "marked" by ashes?

• What did you hear as you listened? A word? A phrase? Write a few sentences about what you heard.
• Is there a conversation you can have with God about what you heard?
• What might the Holy Spirit be praying within and for you tonight?

35 Late in the afternoon his disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. 36 Send the crowds away so they can go to the nearby farms and villages and buy something to eat.”
37 But Jesus said, “You feed them.”
“With what?” they asked. “We’d have to work for months to earn enough money[g] to buy food for all these people!”
38 “How much bread do you have?” he asked. “Go and find out.”
They came back and reported, “We have five loaves of bread and two fish.”
39 Then Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of fifty or a hundred.
41 Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. He also divided the fish for everyone to share. 42 They all ate as much as they wanted, 43 and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftover bread and fish. 44 A total of 5,000 men and their families were fed from those loaves!

· What did you hear as you listened? A word? A phrase? Write a few sentences about what your heard.
· How would you respond to Jesus in this dialogue? Write your dialogue with Jesus.
· What is God inviting you to tonight?

Mark 6:30-34

 ³⁰ The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. ³¹ Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

 ³² So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. ³³ But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. ³⁴ When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

·         What do you hear as you listen?  What word or phrase stands out to you?

·         What have you learned from Jesus?

·         Where is your quiet place?

·         What do you need from Jesus tonight?

For Reflection:

• What did you hear as you listened to the text being read? What ‘shimmered’ for you?
• Using the visual, in prayer place yourself in the shadow of God’s wings.
• How do you experience taking refuge in God?
• Journal your prayer and reflection.

 After they had crossed the lake, they landed at Gennesaret. They brought the boat to shore and climbed out. The people recognized Jesus at once, and they ran throughout the whole area, carrying sick people on mats to wherever they heard he was. Wherever he went—in villages, cities, or the countryside—they brought the sick out to the marketplaces. They begged him to let the sick touch at least the fringe of his robe, and all who touched him were healed.

·         What did you hear as you listened? A word? A phrase?

·         Write about what you heard.

·         Where might these words intersect with you story?

·         Consider if there is a wound, a hurt, a memory that you could bring to Jesus tonight for healing?

·         Are there those in your life that you would bring to Jesus tonight for healing? 

 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose and we have come to worship himKing Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”

 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:

 ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah,
      are not least among the ruling cities  of Judah,
   for a ruler will come from you
      who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’”

 Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”

 After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

 When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.

·         What did you hear as you listened?

·         What do you want to bring into your prayer from this passage?

·         Where does the Word intersect with your story?

·         Have you experienced evil trying to kill off your life in Christ? What was that like?  What has helped you?

·         How might God warn you about that which is dangerous?

·         What do you notice about your desire to worship Jesus?

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. ²⁶ It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. ²⁷ Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, ²⁸ Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

²⁹ “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
   you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
³⁰ For my eyes have seen your salvation,
 ³¹ which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
   and the glory of your people Israel.”

³³ The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. ³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, ³⁵ so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

For your reflection:

·         What stood out to you in the passage?  Take a moment to journal your thoughts.

·         Are you waiting for a promise that God has given you either through prayer or scripture? What is your experience in the waiting?

·         What feeling, thought or image stays with you as you reflect on this passage? What is the prayer or meditation that comes from that experience?

The Birth of Jesus

 ^18-19The birth of Jesus took place like this. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. Before they came to the marriage bed, Joseph discovered she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he didn't know that.) Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced.

 ^20-23While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God's angel spoke in the dream: "Joseph, son of David, don't hesitate to get married. Mary's pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God's Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus—'God saves'—because he will save his people from their sins." This would bring the prophet's embryonic sermon to full term:

   Watch for this—a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son;
   They will name him Immanuel (Hebrew for "God is with us").

 ^24-25Then Joseph woke up. He did exactly what God's angel commanded in the dream: He married Mary. But he did not consummate the marriage until she had the baby. He named the baby Jesus.

·         What stood out to you as you listened?  What seems just what you are to hear?

·         Write a bit about what you heard.

·         What might you ask God about from what you heard?

Luci Shaw, From God With Us: Rediscovering the Meaning of Christmas

Matthew 21:28-32     The Message (MSG)

The Story of Two Sons

"Tell me what you think of this story: A man had two sons. He went up to the first and said, 'Son, go out for the day and work in the vineyard.'

"The son answered, 'I don't want to.' Later on he thought better of it and went.

"The father gave the same command to the second son. He answered, 'Sure, glad to.' But he never went.

"Which of the two sons did what the father asked?"

  They said, "The first."

   Jesus said, "Yes, and I tell you that crooks and whores are going to precede you into God's kingdom. John came to you showing you the right road. You turned up your noses at him, but the crooks and whores believed him. Even when you saw their changed lives, you didn't care enough to change and believe him.

·         What is hard for you to believe about God?

·         How might you live in “pretend obedience?” saying yes, but responding instead with indifference, ignoring, passively refusing what is being invited?  What keeps you “stuck” in the “no?”

·         There is room for delayed obedience.  Have you experienced changing your mind from unwilling to willing?  What kind of process was this for you?

·         What has changed in you so that you “care” enough to respond differently to God?

·         Tonight, are you willing to listen deeply and obey?

• What did you hear as you listened? A word, a phrase? Write a few sentences about what you heard.
• In the ordinary of your days, how might you become more aware of holy moments and invitations?
• What helps you recognize messengers from the Lord?
• How might you recognize Jesus today?
• What helps you deepen in your awareness of God with you?
• Might you be able to adore Jesus in the manger of your heart? Spend some time with him there.

Many things keep us content with our small selves and block us from becoming all we can be. None, however, is more important than the fact that most of us go through life as sleepwalkers and, even after a moment of awakening, tend to quickly drift off once again to sleep of self-preoccupied oblivion and of a mindless robot shuffling through a somnambulistic fog.
From: David Benner: Spirituality and The Awakening Self: The Sacred Journey of Transformation

Romans 13: 11-14 The Message
11-14But make sure that you don't get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can't afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don't loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!

• Somnambulistic means “walking while asleep” or “to be in a hypnotic trance.” How might our culture be creating a hypnotic trance around the season of Christmas?
• How might you consider being more “awake” through Advent this year?
• How might you enter this season differently? What helps you?
• How might you dress yourself in Christ each day as you are up and about?

 ^4-6Every time I think of you—and I think of you often!—I thank God for your lives of free and open access to God, given by Jesus. There's no end to what has happened in you—it's beyond speech, beyond knowledge. The evidence of Christ has been clearly verified in your lives.

 ^7-9Just think—you don't need a thing, you've got it all! All God's gifts are right in front of you as you wait expectantly for our Master Jesus to arrive on the scene for the Finale. And not only that, but God himself is right alongside to keep you steady and on track until things are all wrapped up by Jesus. God, who got you started in this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of his Son and our Master Jesus. He will never give up on you. Never forget that.

·         What did you hear as you listened?  What stood out for you?

·         Have you ever felt given up on? 

·         What do you need help remembering?

·         What would you like to ask Jesus for?  What do you need tonight?

^43-45”You don’t get wormy apples off a healthy tree, nor good apples off a diseased tree. The health of the apple tells the health of the tree. You must begin with your own life-giving lives. It’s who you are, not what you say and do, that counts. Your true being brims over into true words and deeds.

 ^46-47”Why are you so polite with me, always saying ‘Yes, sir,’ and ‘That’s right, sir,’ but never doing a thing I tell you? These words I speak to you are not mere additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundation words, words to build a life on.

 ^48-49”If you work the words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house on bedrock. When the river burst its banks and crashed against the house, nothing could shake it; it was built to last. But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a dumb carpenter who built a house but skipped the foundation. When the swollen river came crashing in, it collapsed like a house of cards. It was a total loss.”

·         What did you hear as you listened? A word, a phrase?
·         How might you work these words into your life?
·         How is the Word becoming the foundation of your life?

Wake Up from Your Sleep
1-2Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.

3-4Don't allow love to turn into lust, setting off a downhill slide into sexual promiscuity, filthy practices, or bullying greed. Though some tongues just love the taste of gossip, those who follow Jesus have better uses for language than that. Don't talk dirty or silly. That kind of talk doesn't fit our style. Thanksgiving is our dialect.

5You can be sure that using people or religion or things just for what you can get out of them—the usual variations on idolatry—will get you nowhere, and certainly nowhere near the kingdom of Christ, the kingdom of God.

6-7Don't let yourselves get taken in by religious smooth talk. God gets furious with people who are full of religious sales talk but want nothing to do with him. Don't even hang around people like that.

8-10You groped your way through that murk once, but no longer. You're out in the open now. The bright light of Christ makes your way plain. So no more stumbling around. Get on with it! The good, the right, the true—these are the actions appropriate for daylight hours. Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it.

11-16Don't waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It's a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see. Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ.

Wake up from your sleep,
Climb out of your coffins;
Christ will show you the light!

• What do you hear? What is God inviting in you?
• Is there a step forward God is inviting for you to take?
• Where are you in the “awakening” process? Do you notice becoming more aware of the reality of God’s presence and light with you?
• Are you able to stay present and open to and with others? Where do you “go” when you are not able to stay in the present?

• What are you hearing as you listen?
• What do you hear in the Scriptures that are hard to believe?
• What happens when you talk directly to God about what is hard to believe?
• Have you thought about leaving this journey of faith? Leaving Jesus?
• What do you feel when you sit with Peter’s response?
• What would you like to ask the Holy Spirit for tonight?

Jesus Walks on Water
22 Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home. 23 After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.
24 Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. 25 About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!”
27 But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here.”
28 Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”
29 “Yes, come,” Jesus said.
So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.
31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”
32 When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.
34 After they had crossed the lake, they landed at Gennesaret. 35 When the people recognized Jesus, the news of his arrival spread quickly throughout the whole area, and soon people were bringing all their sick to be healed. 36 They begged him to let the sick touch at least the fringe of his robe, and all who touched him were healed.

• What did you hear as you listened? What seemed to stand out for you? A word? A Phrase?
• The “I AM” is here. What might that mean for you?
• What are those winds and storms that you experience? Do they take your eyes off of Jesus?
• What might be a place of crisis for you right now? Is their danger, opportunity?

• What stood out to you as you listened? What did you hear?
• Write your conversation with God about these words and what you heard. Enter the dialogue in honesty.
• What do you feel as you sit in these words?
• Is there an image that comes to mind? A picture of yourself and God?

• What did you hear as you listened? A word? A phrase?
• What do you need?
• What do you long for?
• Are you growing in love? What do you notice?
• What might you dialogue with God about?