Something More Than Good

Texts:

1. Morning

   1. Psalm 12

   2. Mark 11:27-33

2. Evening

   1. Psalm 6

   2. Mark 11:27-33

3. Hymn

   1. Christ the Lord is Risen Today, in anticipation of Easter

4. Prayer

   1. Our Gracious God and Heavenly Father, You have loved us, even when we were dead in our sins. Your grace made us alive together with Christ. You have called us out of darkness and into your light. We confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. Forgive us, O God, and bless us by your Spirit, that we might have the courage to walk in the good works to which you have called us, to the praise of your glorious name, Amen.

Devotional: Mark 11:27-33
We have all known people who were so nice, so sugary sweet, so over the top excessively "good" that we really just wanted to punch them in the mou... er... not be friends with them. The sugary sweet goodness that never puts a foot wrong is so perfect that it starts to feel like its a goodness that isn't for others, but for themselves. Few people would ever follow that person, except for authorities who are glad to have a rule follower that makes their lives easy. 

That is not the sort of person that Jesus was, although we are often tempted to imagine him that way. We are told that Jesus was so good that people hated him; so gracious that legalists killed him, so nice and sweet that our evil world couldn't let him live. Question: who would want to follow a Jesus whose virtue was being a goody two-shoes?

Holy Week gives us a very different Jesus. Mark 11 shows a Jesus who isn't sucking up to power, but is actively confronting it. The powers that be had begun to despise him, not because he was good, but because he was authoritative. When he comes to Jerusalem to clean out the Temple, he is saying something about his authority- that he speaks for God as a prophet at least, calling people to live as God calls them to. And maybe he speaks as something more. Our passage today has Jesus confounding the Temple authorities with a question about his authority. He shrouds himself in mystery- just who exactly is this wandering Galilean? Certainly no goody two-shoes- he is confronting unjust powers, not kissing up to them. The tension of Holy Week increases. This sort of thing can't be allowed to happen, for the sake of public order...

Jesus wasn't killed because he was nice. He was killed because he was a threat. He was killed because he was the King. And that would have been that, except he was a different sort of King than anybody imagined.

For reflection:
1. How domesticated is our Jesus?
2. Reflect on this quote: "Safe? Who said anything about safe? Of course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you." - Mr. Beaver, CS Lewis' Narnia
3. What would it look like to let Jesus become your authority? What wild thing might he call you into?

Holy Monday: Figs, Frauds, and Faith

Announcements:
Join us for our conference call with a staffer from Savannah Music Festival today at 1 to learn how to serve them. Please read this guide before you do. What a great chance to put the devotional from today into practice!

Texts:

1. Morning

   1. Psalm 51:1-18

   2. Mark 11:12-25

2. Evening

   1. Psalm 69:1-23

   2. Mark 11:12-25

3. Hymn

   1. Christ the Lord is Risen Today, in anticipation of Easter

4. Prayer

   1. Our Gracious God and Heavenly Father, You have loved us, even when we were dead in our sins. Your grace made us alive together with Christ. You have called us out of darkness and into your light. We confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. Forgive us, O God, and bless us by your Spirit, that we might have the courage to walk in the good works to which you have called us, to the praise of your glorious name, Amen.

Devotional
"I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed." Was there ever a time when the intent of a statement differs more from how it is received? When a parent says this, they are trying to take the fear away from their child- "I'm not angry!" But they do it by disengaging, by distancing themselves. When a child hears this, they long for anger. "Love me enough to be angry, but please don't be disappointed!" The opposite of love isn't anger. The opposite of love is contempt.

Jesus loves us enough to be angry. On Holy Monday, Mark  offers us up a strange story about a fig tree that hasn't borne fruit (Mark11:12-14), and a temple that is full of robbers (Mark 11:17), and a faith that can move mountains (Mark 11:22-25).  It was time for the fig tree to bear fruit, but the tree hadn't done so. In the same way, it was time for the people of God, tasked with bringing the blessings of God to all the nations through their worship in the temple, who had actually used the temple to exploit the nations. Jesus' anger calls them to remember that if they had faith, they could accomplish anything- even the blessing of the world.

Jesus loves them, no, Jesus loves US, enough to be angry.

Is it possible that we have used the blessings God has provided us to be arrogant? To look on others with contempt? To hoard the profit of relationship with God for our own benefit? To believe that we have more value as humans, more worth, because we are Christians? Some of the examples of this in the church are all over the news today; but we know that all of us harbor some of this in our hearts. Jesus comes to destroy this part of us with his wrath, that another part of us- freer, more loving, more missional- might live. His anger is surgical, but intentional. Christian, your faith is not for you- your faith is for the world. There is no other kind of faith in the God of the Bible. It is time to stop hiding, time to stop running, time to stop our arrogance and love our neighbors as we love ourselves. 

For reflection:
1. What are some of the ways that we have failed to bear fruit that blesses our neighbors?
2. Why are we tempted to use our faith as a sign of our superiority, instead of as an acknowledgement of our humility?
3. How does Jesus free you to acknowledge your humility and serve others?

Palm Sunday Worship

Take some time today to gather palm branches. During our song of praise, have children wave the branches around. As we participate in our service, you will notice that the words of the crowd become our words- with joyous and shocking effect. Why joyous and shocking?

Palm Sunday is the week in which we commemorate Jesus riding into Jerusalem. In the Ancient Near East, when a conquering sovereign returned to his capital from battle, the people of the city would go out to meet him or her, throwing down cloaks and palm branches along the road for the royal train to walk on. When people did this for Jesus, the image was shocking and ironic- a king, on a donkey. He wasn't a king in any of the ways they expected... and the cries of "Hosanna" would become cries of "Crucify" when they realized their mistake. Then followed the longest weekend in history...

Join us for worship this Sunday night at 5 by clicking here. Click here to print out our bulletin. 

The Possibility of Presence

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.

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.

To see the rest of our daily devotionals, with prayers, songs and reflections, click here. To sign up for daily emails, click here. 

Prayers

1. Morning

   1. Readings

      1. Old Testament: Exodus 7:25-8:19

      2. Psalm: 131

   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.

1. Evening

   1. Readings

      1. New Testament: MArk 10:17-31

      2. Psalm: 141

   2. Hymn: Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul

   3. Prayer: See above, or use the Lord's Prayer

Devotional on Psalm 131:
When I was in seminary, I began suffering from some sort of mystery ailment of the gastrointestinal variety. So I did what anyone would do and got on WebMD and put my symptoms in. I ran a little diagnostic to figure out what my problem was. Two options came up, after I input my symptoms. I either A) had a parasite, or B) was lactose intolerant. The cure for the parasite was to eat lots of yogurt- which has lactose. Since I love milk and cookies, I wouldn't- couldn't- give milk up. My problem had to be a parasite. 

My symptoms only worsened. Which is always, always what happens when you misdiagnose your problem.

When we face difficulty or trouble in life, the question we always ask is "Why?" Why am I facing this? Why is this happening? We think that our problem is difficulty, and if we can answer the "Why" question then we can avoid that problem in the future. 

Our symptoms get worse. No amount of answering "Why?" helps us to avoid suffering. Instead, we get angry and bitter as we are forced to confront the reality that our previous explanations (and all of the previous "Why's" in the history of humanity) have not helped us avoid suffering. 

The Psalmist knows that our problems aren't our problem. Our problem is a lack of presence. The psalmist refuses to write down arrogant, cheap, easy answers to the "Why" question (v. 1). Instead, he contents himself with being like a child with his mother, and a weaned child no less (v.2) . A weaned child isn't getting anything out of his mother; he is just delighting in the safety of her presence. And that is what we, God's people, have the opportunity to do. To solve THE problem, not of our problems, but in the midst of our problems. To find the comfort, security, and hope, of God's presence. As NT Wright wrote recently:

"It is no part of the Christian vocation, then, to be able to explain what’s happening and why. In fact, it is part of the Christian vocation not to be able to explain—and to lament instead. As the Spirit laments within us, so we become, even in our self-isolation, small shrines where the presence and healing love of God can dwell. And out of that there can emerge new possibilities, new acts of kindness, new scientific understanding, new hope."

For discussion:
1. How does it feel when someone you know is always giving you advice about how to solve your problem?
2. Why do we look for this from our religion?
3. How can we begin to seek God's presence in the midst of our problems?

The Aroma of Christ

To participate with us in our service project to the Savannah Music Festival, see the blog entry “Serving the City” below. To see the rest of our daily devotionals, with prayers, songs and reflections, click here. To sign up for daily emails, click here. 

Prayers

1. Morning

   1. Readings

      1. Old Testament: Exodus 7:8-24

      2. Psalm: 128

   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.

1. Evening

   1. Readings

      1. New Testament: 2 Cor. 2:14-3:6

      2. Psalm: 129

   2. Hymn: Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul

   3. Prayer: See above, or use the Lord's Prayer

Devotional on 2 Cor. 2:14-3-6, from Rev. Martin Antoon:
There are only a few hills I’m willing to die on, but my commitment that New Orleans is the best food city in the country is one of them.  I spent three of my college years in NOLA, and I have very fond memories of the culture and distinctives of the city.  An interesting thing happens whenever Elizabeth and I return for the occasional trip.  As we enter the city and see the oak trees that line Carrrollton Avenue or the menagerie of shops along Magazine Street, it starts to bring me back a little bit.  When we hear the sounds coming from Audubon Park or the clanging of the street car on St. Charles, it brings me back even more.  But what really seals the deal is when we sit down at the plethora of amazing restaurants in town, and they set down a dish of food in front of me.  It is instantly transportive.  Memories that are inseparably intertwined to particular dishes create an oddly emotional experience, and there is nothing like it.  It’s almost mysterious.  You’ve likely encountered something similar.  Maybe you go back to your hometown into your parents’ house and smell the smell of a familiar dinner that used to be a childhood staple.  Or the distinct smell of whatever plant or flower used to bloom in a particular season. 

Aromas have a unique way of tapping into the fabric of what we love.   

It should be no surprise then, that the Apostle Paul picks up this very idea.  He says that we are the aroma of Christ to God.  Paul uses an interesting word for “aroma”.  It’s the same word that was often connected to the Levitical burnt offering sacrifice that connotated God’s pleasure and delight among His people.  The magnitude of delight God the Father shows towards His Son’s loving sacrifice is the same delight with which God now applies to us.  The pleasing aroma of Christ before God is our aroma.  But Paul takes it one step further.  This aroma is spread to the surrounding world.  In the same way that the neighboring 6 or 7 tables can smell my pizza at Domenica or my Peacemaker Po’ Boy at Mahoney’s, so do those around us sense this aroma of Christ among those who have been transformed by Him.

What would spreading this aroma in a time of social distancing look like?  Maybe it means we distinguish between social distancing and isolating.  Social distancing is the healthy and appropriate way to prevent ourselves and others from getting sick by avoiding physical contact.  Isolating is only looking out for ourselves when others around us could use care and encouragement, even if it’s not in person.  If the aroma of our favorite meal can elicit an emotional and significant response in us, imagine how much more the aroma of Christ in believers could affect our neighbors.  

For discussion:
1. What are some cheap ways we try to manufacture the aroma of Christ without the substance of Christ?
2. How could lamentation (see the link in the devotional above) provide the aroma of Christ?

Serving the City

Savannah is a historic city. But one of the things that sets Savannah apart from other historic cities in the South is the way in which our community is blessed by the presence of artists, creatives, SCAD students and other cultural innovators. The interaction between our historic and creative communities has helped to build a city that is more than the sum of its parts.

One of the cornerstone cultural events in the Savannah Calendar is the Savannah Music Festival. For 31 years, the Festival has brought acts from across the musical spectrum to our city. Like so much else in the era of pandemic, however, the Festival faces an uncertain future. That’s where you come in.

Christ the King-Savannah is going to serve our community by volunteering to make phone calls for the Savannah Music Festival to people whose tickets were cancelled this year. The hope is that we can inspire enough people to donate their ticket money so that artists can be paid and the Festival can financially survive this difficult year. We hope we can find 20 people to serve our community in a safe way by making an hours worth of phone calls. What a great chance to heed the command of Jeremiah 29:7: “Seek the peace of the city your are in, and pray to the LORD for it; for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”

If you would like to volunteer: put your name and email address below. We only have until Wednesday to fill out our roster, so sign up quickly!

A Hopeful Expectancy

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.

To see the rest of our daily devotionals, with prayers, songs and reflections, click here. To sign up for daily emails, click here. 

Prayers

1. 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.

1. 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?

FaceTime with God

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

1. Morning

   1. Readings

      1. Old Testament: Exodus 4:10-31

      2. Psalm: 31

   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.

1. Evening

   1. Readings

      1. New Testament: Mark 9:30-41

      2. Psalm: 35

   2. Hymn: Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul

   3. 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?

Worship Reminder!

These signals would be helpful if we could go anywhere.

We will worship together via zoom at 5 pm on Sunday. Click here to participate.

A Bigger Story

We will worship together via zoom at 5 pm on Sunday. Click here to participate.
Our midtown parish group (hosted by the Thompsons and Soren) will meet for prayer at 8 pm on Thursdays.
Our downtown parish group will meet for prayer next week (details to be announced).
To see the rest of our daily devotionals, with prayers, songs and reflections, click here. To sign up for daily emails, click here. 

Prayers

1. Morning

   1. Readings

      1. Old Testament: Exodus 2:1-22

      2. Psalm: 95

   2. Prayer: The Lord's Prayer

   3. Hymn: Come Thou Fount

2. Evening

   1. Readings

      1. New Testament: Mark 9:2-13

      2. Psalm: 102

   2. Hymn: Abide With Me

   3. Prayer: Psalm 138:7-8 (below)

Devotional on Psalm 95:
In the recent hit Netflix TV show "Stranger Things," the epic battle between good and evil is played out right under the noses of people living in Hawkins, a small town slice of Americana. This war is waged on two fronts: first, there is the actual conflict between good and evil, the back and forth between "The Upside-Down" and the theoretically "Right-side Up." But second, and no less difficult, is the battle the protagonists face to wake up the citizens of small-town America to the fact that the Upside-Down is right under their noses. Its almost like their quaintness, their civility, their normalcy, their goodness is a weapon of evil, to blind them to the larger story unfolding around them.

Are we living in Hawkins? The weather in Savannah this past week has sometimes made me think so. One of the most jarring experiences of this whole pandemic has been the disconnect between the story unfolding on the Internet and our direct sense experience. The Internet is on fire with stories of suffering, or warnings of doom, but my daily experience is just sunny and 82 degrees. And thats the danger; if all we did was act on the basis of the story we encounter in our daily lives, by the time we woke up to the true reality of our situation it would be too late. The challenge is clear- to act effectively, we have to consciously live as if we are a part of a bigger story.

That is exactly what Psalm 95 invites us to do. By inviting us into worship, the writer invites us to live in the bigger unfolding story of God's redemption and love for his people. It is a story that is not always self-evident; often the story is obscured by the trials and little daily bureaucratic annoyances of modern life. The Israelites of Exodus looked at a desert and saw nothing but rock. But God made water come from that rock. That is the story we live in. That is the God we serve. 

For discussion:
1. What in daily life makes it difficult to believe that you live in a story of God's love and redemption?
2. What in **your** life makes it difficult to believe that you live in a story of God's love and redemption?
3. What can you do to worship and bow down (to consciously live in God's story) for a little while each day?

A prayer for presence, from Psalm 138:

    [7] Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
        you preserve my life;
    you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
        and your right hand delivers me.
    [8] The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
        your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.
        Do not forsake the work of your hands. (ESV)