BREATH PRAYERS:
IN: Lord, speak to me
OUT: That I may speak
IN: O strengthen me
OUT: That I may stretch out a loving hand
IN: O fill me
OUT: till my heart overflows
You’re encouraged to use the following process as you read scripture.
We use this process together on Wednesdays at 8:00AM EST on the Trinity Sarasota Facebook Page.
STILLNESS: Spend 5-20 minutes in silence looking to God and listening for God.
ATTENTION: Read or listen to the Scripture. What word, phrase or verse captures your attention? Underline it or copy it onto a piece of paper.
CONNECTION: What connections do you see to other scriptures? To your own experience or current situation? Or, to the character or promises of God?
ACTION: What is God inviting you to trust, say, or do? How will your life be different because of this scripture?
PRAY: Talk to God about what you just experienced or anything else on your heart.
Recorded 10/14/2020
Lord, Speak to Me
Text: Frances R. Havergal (1872)
Music: Adapt. from Robert Schumann
Public Domain
Sermon Series: Final Words from the Cross The Scriptures record Jesus speaking 7 phrases as he hung upon the cross- important and powerful final reminders of who he was and what it means to follow him.
SCRIPTURE AND SONG: John 19:23-27
ALL SINGING- Where You There? United Methodist Hymnal #288, verse 1
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
ONE: John 19:23-25 NRSV
When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it.” This was to fulfill what the scripture says, “They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.” And that is what the soldiers did.
ALL SINGING
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
ONE: John 19:25-27 NRSV
Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.
ALL SINGING
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Exodus 20:12 NRSV
Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
Galatians 3:28 NIV
There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Mark 3:35 NRSV
Jesus’ words, “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother”
Peter Storey, Listening at Golgotha
This poignant interchange on Good Friday is a marker for a revolution in our understanding of community. Jesus entrusts the life and welfare of another to one of his followers, and he places upon that new relationship the value we reserve for our closest family unit. No longer will the obligation of mutual care depend upon blood relationship, but all will be welcomed as the one family of Christ. No more will our first loyalty be to tribe or nation or clan. For Christians, “whoever does the will of God” will be our mothers, our sisters, our brothers, our fathers. From now on the followers of Jesus will receive one another as gift, to be welcomed, honored, and cherished simply because Jesus has given them to us.
Peter Storey, Listening at Golgotha
From the cross where he is nailed, Jesus nails us to each other.
In doing so, he is giving birth to a new community.
*****************
I’m excited to now offer mp3’s of my Sunday messages. A huge thank you to Leon and my brothers and sisters at Trinity United Methodist Church, Sarasota for all their help in making this possible. If you’re ever in Sarasota, please drop by for worship Sundays at 9am or 10:30am, or drop by during the week for a chat or small group. You and those you love are always welcome.
Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose. –Helen Keller
Psalm 106:3 (NRSV)
Happy are those who observe justice, who do righteousness at
all times.
Joy is a fruit of the Spirit,
not of our gratified emotions. – Evelyn Underhill
Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing. –Theodore Roosevelt
Those who have learned the power of sincere and selfless contribution experience life’s deepest joy: true fulfillment. – Tony Robbins
Proverbs 14:21 (NRSV)
Those who despise their neighbors are sinners,
but happy are those who are kind to the poor.
Happiness is an unintended consequence
of working toward a goal larger than one’s self. – Viktor Frankl
Bliss does not come from outside. It comes from inside, from serving the people.
– Anna Hazare, Indian Activist
Psalm 41:1-2 (NRSV)
Happy are those who consider the poor; the Lord delivers them in the day of trouble. The Lord protects them and keeps them alive; they are called happy in the land. You do not give them up to the will of their enemies.
I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know:
the only ones among you who will be really happy
are those who will have sought and found how to serve. – Albert Schweitzer
Trust and Obey by John H. Sammis (verse 1)
When we walk with the Lord
in the light of his word,
what a glory he sheds on our way!
While we do his good will,
he abides with us still,
and with all who will trust and obey.
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
************
For more information on the scripture translation, art and the use of this devotional in other settings, please refer to the copyright information page.
Revlisad.com 