Slideshow image

Read Exodus 3:1-15. In this story, we learn that even something ordinary like going to work in the morning could lead to a life-changing experience. This confirms that God breaks into the ordinary in amazing ways if we take the time to stop and notice. 

Have you ever had a “burning bush” experience when you had a special sense of encounter with the Holy One? How has or how might an experience like that change the way you view ordinary tasks or everyday people? How might God be calling you into service and witness through the people you see on the street, through the beauty of creation, or in the place where you spend most of your day? 

In prayer, ask God to equip you for whatever task God lies before you.

Read Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26. Here, the psalmist recalls the miraculous way God led the Hebrew people out of captivity in Egypt. Their Exodus was a long, difficult journey that required trust in God’s grace. They had no way of knowing how God would provide and protect, but they still struck out for the promised land. Often, in our lives, we find ourselves on a journey that requires us to trust that God will make a way for us, even if we cannot predict what that will look like. 

From what do you need to be freed? What would it take to leave it behind and turn towards new life? Could it be that God has already brought you this far and you can trust that God will continue to provide and protect? 

Offer a prayer of commitment to following God along the journey towards freedom from sin, death, and fear.

Read Romans 12:9-21. “Hold fast to what is good.” And what is good, according to Paul? Loving and honoring one another, rejoicing in hope, being patient in suffering, and showing persistence in prayer. He admonishes the community to be generous and hospitable to the stranger and to show compassion to those who are grieving or suffering. He advises the church to live in harmony and peaceably with one another; to let God be about the business of doling out consequences. When we think of Jesus, these are qualities he exemplified in his life. 

How easy is it for you to enact these ideals in your life? Who are the people you find hardest to live peaceably with or to be generous to? 

In prayer, ask God to give you the desire and the strength to hold fast to what is good.

Read Matthew 16:21-28. Can you imagine the nerve of Peter? Telling Jesus where he’s wrong in his thinking? Who does he think he is? I wonder, though. Are we all that different? How often do we hear Jesus saying, “Love your enemy,” but we think, “Well, surely Jesus doesn’t mean them”? We hear Jesus saying to turn the other cheek and we argue, “But they really hurt me!” We hear Jesus saying, “Follow me,” and we’re willing to do so as long as it means we get to stay in the places where we feel comfortable and with the people who see things the same way we do. 

Sometimes we are our own worst stumbling blocks. Sometimes we think we know better than Jesus. Listen to the call of Jesus. “Deny yourself (and your preconceived notions and your prejudices and your pride) and follow me.” 

In prayer, ask for the Spirit’s help in living out the ideals of the kingdom of God in your daily life.