Learn-By-Heart Verse for the Week (NIV Translation):
You, God, are my
God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs
for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. Psalm 63:1
Something
Old: Psalm 63:1-8
Something
New: Luke 13:6-8
1. The psalmist writes that they long for
God, that they earnestly seek God. The
Northumbria Community expresses this earnest seeking through the opening lines
of their daily prayer ritual. The
Northumbria Community is a “new” monastic community of men and woman, old and
young, married and single, who punctuate their days in rituals of prayer. The morning prayer includes a call and
response that is a reminder to seek God earnestly in every moment of the day. As you begin your conversation around the
dinner table, begin with the words from Northumbria’s Celtic Daily Prayer*:
Call: Who
is it that you seek?
Response: We
seek the Lord our God.
Call: Do
you seek Him with all your heart?
Response: Amen.
Lord, have mercy.
Call: Do you
seek Him with all your soul?
Response: Amen.
Lord, have mercy.
Call: Do you
seek Him with all your mind?
Response:
Amen. Lord, have mercy.
Call: Do
you seek Him with all your strength?
Response:
Amen. Christ, have mercy.
2. Do you think you seek God earnestly? Explain your answer.
3. Luke 13 has a bit of a challenging
parable. What exactly is going on with
the fig tree? How do you think God is
represented in this parable – does He want to cut the fig tree down or give it
another chance?
4. Some say this is a parable about the
God-of-Second-Chances. Yet when given a
second chance, God doesn’t want us to sit and do nothing. We are to “bear fruit”. What do you think it means to “bear
fruit?” How is your life “fruitful”? You may want to read the apostle Paul’s
description of “the fruits of the spirit” in Galatians 5:22-23.
Service
As we think of “bearing
fruit” perhaps consider how you can give “fruit” to someone in need. Maybe you pick fruit from your home and buy
fruit and give it someone who needs a day-brightener or to some organization that
serves the hungry. You might also
consider supporting the C.R.O.P. Walk for hunger – the Thousand Oaks C.R.O.P.
Walk is Sunday, March 3 (beginning and ending at CLU). You could either walk or give a donation to
someone who is walking.
Prayer
Dear Jesus,
We seek you earnestly.
Our souls thirst for you.
May you reveal yourself to us.
May we see you on this Lenten journey.
We are sorry for the times we are like that fig tree…
times when we are selfish
and self-centered.
We give thanks that you are a God of second chances.
We pray that you will help guide us so that we can bear fruit.
Amen.
*Learn more about the Northumbria Community at their website.
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