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Letter: A Lament to my Sons
In cases of emergency, do not scream and never run. Do not raise your voice or Read More
The Upper Room is here for you in these anxious times. Click Here
Kara Lassen Oliver | Read Psalm 95:1-11
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Sign Up TodayOn this third Sunday in Lent, we have the privilege of knowing the end of the story—that resurrection and new life are a reality. In my imagination, Easter Sunday is a day of collective exhale, a day to bask in hope, sing loud the hallelujahs, and glimpse Jesus, who calls...
Rock of Salvation, we long to enter your presence and your promised rest with thanksgiving. Renew our hope at each stage of the journey. Amen.
Three of the passages this week connect water and faith. In Exodus and the psalm, we read about the Israelites grumbling in the desert. Although they have seen God’s mighty deeds in Egypt, they have begun to question God’s provision for them. God provides water through Moses, but the place is remembered (and named) as a site where the faith of the people fails. In John, however, a place to draw water becomes a site of salvation for the Samaritan woman and eventually for the people in her village through her faith. The reading in Romans goes a different direction. Paul emphasizes the importance of faith in the face of trials and the fact that God brings salvation through Christ when fallen humanity has no other hope.
Read Exodus 17:1-7. How do your memories of God’s provision sustain you through tough stages of your spiritual journey?
Read Psalm 95. What object, image, or memory serves for you as a symbol of God’s faithfulness?
Read Romans 5:1-11. How have you found hope in stages of life when God is forming your character through suffering and endurance?
Read John 4:5-42. When has letting go of your expectations or rules allowed God to work freely in your life or in the lives of others around you?
Respond by posting a prayer.
Our resolve must be different. My prayer is that we have finally reached a tipping point. My hope is that when the protests fade and the marches slow that our will as a church to truly eradicate the scourge of racism won’t dissipate but grows even stronger.” View a growing list of resources for the spiritual work of overcoming racism.
