“Gracious God, Scripture says that you are my keeper, which floods me with images of cradling hands softly catching me. I imagine I could slip through your fingers if I wanted to—the freedom is there. However, as long as I want to be here, you have me. What a comforting idea that is. I think I will stay. Amen.”
—Prayer by Rev. Sarah Are | @sanctifiedart
“The kind of religion [Jesus] promoted wasn’t performative, as so much of religious life can be. We give because it is necessary. Prayer prioritizes God’s will, not our words. Fasting produces spiritual, not physical evidence. What we value is different. … Again and again, God invites us into fuller ways of being. There is no…
“Consider those first few days after you’ve lost someone and the liminality between their death and funeral. There’s no closure yet, and mornings are reminders that the nightmare is real. It’s hard to imagine how you’ll face the day. … Again and again, the sun rises on a new day, often without embrace or acknowledgment….
“Despite humanity’s constant breaking of covenants, God continues to seek reconciliation and pours out grace upon grace. Why not let this grace transform us? It is in receiving God’s grace, responding in gratitude, and offering grace to others that God forms us into who we were made to be. God saves us from ourselves, writing…
For personal devotion, we have the Stations of the Cross set up in the courtyard, and we have a set in the sanctuary if you would like to follow the journey of Jesus to the Cross inside after worship. The Stations of the Cross will remain up through Holy Week for you to follow as…
What rhythms, habits, perspectives, narratives, or ways of thinking need to be overturned in your life? | @sanctifiedart
“In this image, I wanted to freeze-frame the destruction Jesus ignites, forcing us as viewers to focus on the process of dismantling and destroying an oppressive system. For those who willingly or unwillingly benefit from systems of oppression, it may feel threatening and terrifying to see them all come tumbling down. But for those held…
