Daily Prayer

Take a moment before you begin this morning and just slowly and meaningfully pray this prayer.

Jesus,
Lord of self-emptying love,
Crucified and now exalted.
May all knees bend before you,
May all toungues confess you,
To the glory of God our Father.
Amen

Daily Scripture: Philippians 2:5-11

Find the above scripture in your bible and read slowly – you might want to read it out loud. You can read it here.

Lenten Reflection

Paul instructs us to “have the same mindset as Christ”, which means to have the same disposition as Christ, to emulate Christ. But what is Christ’s mindset? The word “humble”, true though it is, doesn’t do Christ justice. As Paul reminds us, Christ is in very nature God. He is all powerful and all knowing. It also means that he was present and an active participant in flinging stars into space, separating the sea from the sky and breathing life into mankind. All of this was His, yet He chose to give all of that up. Contrast that willingness to give up, a downward spiritual disposition, with our desires to be upwardly mobile, to have more, get more, be more.

The mindset of Christ is surrender. Paul calls usto adopt a posture of surrender in all our relationships. That means not using our position and power for our own advantage. It means becoming self-less rather than selfish. Christ’s surrender mindset was focused on surrender to God, so that God’s purposes could be fulfilled. Are we prepared to truly become selfless, adopting a Christ-like posture of surrender, so that God’s purposes may be fulfilled in us and through us?

Lenten Quotes

“Decrease what is greedy, what is frantic consumerism, for the increase of simple, life-giving sharing. Decrease what is fearful and defensive, for the increase of life-giving compassion and generosity. Decrease what is fraudulent and pretense, for the increase of life-giving truth-telling in your life, truth-telling about you and your neighbour, about the sickness of our society and our enmeshment in that sickness. Decrease what is hateful and alienating, for the increase of healing and forgiveness, which finally are the only source of life.”

| Brueggemann

Lenten Song: I Surrender

Closing Blessing

May you discover,
As you trace the footsteps of the Christ,
And follow the bending river of the Spirit,
Down through the terrain of this age,
Down along faith’s hard paths,
And down towards the voice of Love,
May you discover the companionship
Of many fellow pilgrims.

May you receive,
As you are summoned by Christ
And invited by the Spirit,
Up towards the landscapes of the age to come,
Up across the highway of Hope,
And up towards the voice of Love,
May you receive a share in His exaltation
And honour,

To the glory of God, the Father,
Amen.

Evening Zoom Reflection at 9pm

We will be meeting tonight on Zoom to reflect on this together. You would be most welcome to join us. We start at 9pm and finish at 9:20pm. Maybe bring a Bible and a journal if you have them.

We are usually on a few moments before for a chat. Click here to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84743926286

We would love to make this a shared learning experience as much as possible so therefore please consider adding any thoughts, questions and insights that might arise for you in the comments section below. We would love to hear what God is up to in this time!