Leawood, Kansas, United States - The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Grow! Pray! Study! Daily Guide for Sunday, 9 March 2014 "First Sunday in Lent"
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Prayer Tip:
Today is the first Sunday in the season of the church called Lent. The primary purpose of Lent from the earliest church was to prepare candidates for baptism at Easter. Lent was designed for the church to help these candidates turn away from sin and live more fully into the way of Christ. In other words, Lent is designed to help us live out the mission of the church and the mission statement of The Church of the Resurrection: To build a Christian community where non-religious and nominally religious people are becoming deeply committed Christians.
Lent is the final stage of labor before new birth, a final incubation before “hatching” into new life. Over the past month, we have prayed and discerned how God might use The Church of the Resurrection to live our mission and build our future. The season of Lent is the time for us to fulfill our role as “midwife to the Spirit.”
Take time today to look back through the pages of your 10,000 Reasons Devotional, or visit www.cor.org/GPS.
What prayers or spiritual practices fed your soul? Have you discovered a prayer practice which you would consider continuing through the season of Lent, such as daily scripture reading, silent, contemplative prayer or fasting as a way to draw closer to God and grow your spirit?
Gracious and Merciful God,
In this Lenten season let us learn new ways of living.
May we fast from words that pollute and feast on words that are kind.
Let us fast from judging others and feast on building others up in love.
Let us fast from despair and feast on an attitude of gratitude.
Let us fast from hatred and jealousy and feast on
kindness and compassion.
Let us fast from thoughts of illness and feast on
the healing power of God.
May we fast from worry and feast on hopes and dreams.
Amen--Nancy Pauls
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