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.
CTK has been given the opportunity to serve the Savannah Music Festival by being part of a phone tree. We will make phone calls to ticketholders asking them to donate their tickets to the Festival, so that artists who were scheduled can get paid and the festival can survive this difficult financial time. This is a great opportunity to help serve our city by fighting for something that makes it unique. If you would like to participate, click here.
To see the rest of our daily devotionals, with prayers, songs and reflections, click here. To sign up for daily emails, click here.
Prayers
Morning
Readings
Old Testament: Exodus 4:10-31
Psalm: 31
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
Readings
New Testament: Mark 9:30-41
Psalm: 35
Prayer: A prayer for fellowship with God, from Psalm 31:22-24:
Devotional on Psalm 31:
Do it yourself. Do it by yourself. Look out for yourself. Believe in yourself. Take care of yourself. Push yourself. And yes, treat yo'self. It's the human way, yes. But it's also a uniquely American way. We lionize those who stand out from the crowd, and ridicule those who conform. Our ancestors were the ones who would cross an ocean to do it themselves. The only problem is: you can't.
Research has shown that from the earliest ages of human development, we rely deeply on the faces of other human beings for the ability to make sense of our surroundings, and to comfort and soothe ourselves in times of distress. A baby whose emotions are not received and interpreted by her mother will lose the ability to soothe at all. From the beginning (and even more obvious, before they begin) of our lives we are indebted to the faces of others for our comfort.
For our life to survive, we need the face of Another.
The Psalmist knows the truth. We need the face of humans and we need the face of God. For us to live a fully human life, it must be lived "before the face" of God (v. 16); we need to see ourselves in the reflection of his eyes. We need the security that his strength provides us. We need the salvation that his arms alone are powerful enough to bring. We need the love of God, that we may provide that same love to others. We need the church, because in her are the faces of the people who see the face of God, and can reflect that love to us.
For discussion:
1. When you think of God looking at you, what do you think is the look on his face? When is hardest to believe that he loves you and hears you?
2. What are some of the ways we can reflect the face of God to one another?
3. When is the hardest to reflect this face?