| HOME PRAYER STATION – EXPERIENCING LENT THROUGH SACRED ARTS Lectio Devina (an ancient way of reading and praying using a short scripture passage) Read the scripture passage three times. Use the following to guide you: 1st Reading: What is one word or phrase that stands out? Meditate (think/reflect) on that. 2nd Reading: Reread the passage. What do you feel? What in your life relates to these words? Write a prayer or just pray silently. 3rd Reading: Reread the passage. How might Jesus have responded to this Psalm as he wandered in the wilderness? What might be God’s personal invitation to you from the scripture? Sketch a picture on a piece of paper that expresses your thoughts or pray silently. Psalm 63 A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah. 1 O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. 3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. 4 So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name. 5 My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,* and my mouth praises you with joyful lips 6 when I think of you on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; 7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy. 8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. Stitchery done by Ann Antoun while living in a Middle Eastern desert, 1986 |  |
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Take some time to just sit with this painting. How does it make you feel? Listen to Danny and Caroline as they read from Matthew 4:1-11. During and after the reading consider these questions: What were the temptations? Was there something the temptations had in common? What temptations do you experience in your life? How does Jesus respond and what might we learn from his response? Click here to watch the video and share in this spiritual activity. Now, offer a prayer to God. Painting: Christ in the Wilderness by Ivan Kramskoi, 1872 Readers: Danny Dove and Caroline Pitts   SPIRITUAL PRACTICES WITH SACRED ARTS DURING LENT
After Jesus had fasted for forty days and forty nights… (Matthew 4:2) In The Bible, the number forty stands for a long time of hardship, waiting, and wandering. AFTER the earth flooded, Noah spent 40 days in the ark BEFORE God made a covenant with his family. AFTER hearing God’s commandments, Moses fasted 40 days and 40 nights BEFORE leading the Israelites in the wilderness. AFTER leaving Egypt, the Israelites wandered in the wilderness 40 years BEFORE reaching the Promised Land. AFTER his baptism, Jesus was led into the wilderness for 40 days to be tempted BEFORE starting his ministry. Forty is an in-between space – between the AFTER and BEFORE – where transformation takes place. What do you need to take with you in the wilderness? Who do you need to take with you? What supplies do you need? (Used with permission from Theresa Cho) Join us in your own journey during Lent. You will be given a baggie which will contain air drying modeling clay and one candle. You will simply fashion a candle holder from the clay and move the candle each day during Lent. As you move the candle one space each day pray for a person or a place going through dark, difficult times. As your candle journeys in 20 steps and journeys out 20 steps, pray they will know light in their darkness as they journey through the wilderness.  "WHAT FEEDS YOUR SPIRIT”? In the coming weeks, different leaders in the church will share videos of themselves addressing that question. We hope that in sharing our varied spiritual practices we might encourage and connect with each other in new ways! Please see our videos in this series below!
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NRPC CommunicationsArchives
February 2021
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