If you have not been involved in a parish group but would like to get involved in a new one, click here. This group will meet biweekly to bear one another's burdens in prayer via zoom.

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Prayers

Morning
1. Readings
  1. Old Testament: Exodus 5-6:1
  2. Psalm: 121
2. Hymn: Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
3. Prayer:

Increase, O God, the Spirit of Neighborliness among us;
that in peril we may uphold one another,
In suffering tend to one another,
and in exile befriend on another.

Grant us brave and enduring hearts
that we may strengthen one another,
until the disciplines and testing of these days are ended,
and you again give peace in our time.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Evening
1. Readings
  1. New Testament: Mark 9:42-50
  2. Psalm: 122
2. Hymn: Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul
3. Prayer: A prayer for fellowship with God, from Psalm 31:22-24:

Devotional on Exodus 5:
The worst part about skydiving isn't the falling through the air. It's the waiting to fall through the air. Walking up to the plane is fine, getting in the plane is fine, listening to the safety instructions is fine. But flying through the air that you will soon be falling through... that part is the worst. Theoretically, you know you are going to have fun- that they pilot and guides know what they are doing, that the parachute will open... but theory has a way of seeming insubstantial with 10,000 feet of abyss beneath your feet. The operators know that this part is the worst, this waiting. That's why they tell you, before you get on the plane, that there is no turning back from that moment. If you get on the plane, the only way out is via parachute. No turning back, no wasting gas. Strap in. "Now you will see what we will do."

Life with Jesus is no different. Theoretically, we know he is good, we know he is God, we know that he loves us. The parachute will open. But being asked to walk into the desert with him, as the Israelites are in Exodus 5? As Jesus disciples are in Mark 9? When there is so much opposition in the world, and so much weakness in ourselves? Theory has a way of seeming insubstantial, when only the abyss is beneath your feet.

But there is no other way to walk with Jesus. There are no half-measures. Strap in, no turning back. Each of our readings today invites us into deeper trust, and experiential intimacy in our walks with God. And there is a beautiful expectancy, a weightless sort of freedom, accessible to us by experience in brief moments of the future-kingdom-become-present, when the promise of God sometimes rings, sometimes whispers in our ears. "Now you will see what I will do."

For discussion:
1. What is the most difficult part of stepping out into life with Jesus for you?
2. Where are there gaps between your theory of his goodness and your expectation of his goodness?
3. What would it look like to jump into that gap?