In the story of the widow giving at the temple (Mark 12:41-44), Jesus watches many people as they contribute to the temple treasury. Jesus commends the widow because she gave all that she had and gave it willingly. I have always admired this widow and her complete trust in God. Because she trusted God to meet her needs, she was able to give.

Our journey in life requires that we have money for the basic necessities.  Yet, our spiritual health requires that we tithe. It is an issue of how much we trust God to provide and to guide us in our finances. Question to reflect on: How do we balance our budgetary needs with the spiritual necessity to tithe?  If we are not tithing, is it because we truly can’t, or because of our priorities on how we spend our money? 

This week our sermon series, A Journey to Hope, focuses on how we “refuel” for the journey. When you are depleted physically, emotionally or spiritually, where do you turn to refuel? Do you turn to God or to “quick remedies” that are like”band-aids”, only covering what has led to your exhaustion?  In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was exhausted, yet he turned to God.  The disciples were tired and despite Jesus asking them to stay awake with him, fell asleep.  Too often when people are hurting they turn to things like drugs, alcohol, pornography, gambling or extramarital affairs.  They get sidetracked on their journey and end up in a pit. Question to reflect on: When you are tired or discouraged, how do you refuel?

The third week of our sermon series, “A Journey to Hope” focuses on self-centeredness vs. other centeredness…do we focus on meeting only our needs, or is our energy directed toward meeting the needs of “the body of Christ” and those who don’t believe?  In our scripture reading (Mark 10:35-45)James and John ask Jesus to sit them in the positions of honor at his right and left “in your glory”.  Jesus tells them that “those who want to be great, must become their servant”.  The scripture is a poignant reminder of our human tendency to think about ourselves first.  Yet, Jesus constantly points out the need to think of others…in the greatest commandment, in many of his parables and in the actions he demonstrates in his ministry.  It is “the least of these” we should be focused on, not our own needs. 

However, this can be confusing in a world that is all about “self-care” and “nurturing yourself”.  The question arises, how do I take care of myself so that my cup is full enough to be available to meet the needs of others? Jesus also modeled the answer to that question…he took time to pray and spend time with God.  After “refueling” from his relationship with God, he was ready to meet the needs of others.  This week I invite you to think about two questions: Are you taking the time to “refuel” with God? How can you best use your spiritual gifts to meet the needs of others?

The second week of the sermon series A Journey to Hope focuses on self-esteem.  Genesis 1:27 says, “God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature” How wonderful is it that we reflect God’s nature.  Yet, how many times do we see ourselves as not worthy, not of value, not good enough, etc.; instead of seeing ourselves as reflecting God’s nature.  Too many people base their self-esteem on what society says is “beautiful, worthy and of value”, which is an unrealistic picture.  

What do you see when you look in the mirror? Do you see a reflection of God’s nature?  When you think about “who you are”, do you see a person with gifts given to them by the Holy Spirit?  When you see others, do you see a reflection of God’s nature? Think about how different all of our relationships might be if we looked at each other as images of God…each unique aspect, each difference, each race….all reflections of God’s nature. 

This week I invite you to reflect on the following questions: Who do people say you are? How are they right? How are they wrong?

This Lent, I will be doing a preaching series called A Journey to Hope.  As you think about Lent, what comes to mind? Giving things up? Ash Wednesday and other special services? This year I would encourage you to think of Lent as a journey.  A journey toward the cross.

As Jesus preached, healed and taught he moved toward Jerusalem…to his death and resurrection.  Where will your journey this Lent lead you? Are you willing to move toward the cross…looking at the priorities in your life, looking at how Christ wants us to live, thinking about ways to invite others on this journey and drawing even closer to a Christ-like life of service?

At the end of the journey, Christ was resurrected. As Christians, we are offered new life as well, we can be resurrected from our sin-filled lives into re-created grace-filled lives as true disciples.  That my friends is the hope of this journey.  But to get there, we must be willing to begin the journey.  Will you take this journey with me?

Here are some “signposts” that you can take advantage of to help you on this journey: Prayer and Spiritual Disciplines on Sundays at 4-5:30pm; Sunday School class using a Lenten study at 9:30 from Feb. 21st-March28th; Worship with messages focused on the Journey and Wednesday Lenten luncheons with the Cluster churches.