Apparently my subscription to SSJE for their Lenten series is not functioning, so when I looked this morning, it appears that they started on Sunday. So, today's post will be a quick recap, links to the four videos, and a wish that you will have a most productive Lenten season.
Week 1 carries the theme that God is Love, and works to help you understand that God's love is unconditional - not conditioned on how worthy you are.
Day 1 focuses on 1 John 4:16: "... we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them." Br. Curtis Almquist points out the word "abide" and addresses questions for you to think about in your meditations. The definition of abide I'd like you to contemplate is: to remain steadfast or faithful to; keep. If you'll notice, abiding goes both ways in that verse...
Day 2 brings us one of the most famous verses in the Bible, John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life." Br. Mark Brown makes the excellent point that God didn't just love His creation of the world, but also loves us amidst the brokenness that we have made of His creation. He loves the totality of us, not just the perfection.
Day 3 takes us back to 1 John, 4:9-10: "God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins." Br. Keith Nelson, a new face among the brothers, points out that we can't earn God's love - it is given as a grace to us.
And finally, Day 4 is today, Ash Wednesday, brings us the verse after the famous one, John 3:17: "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." Br. Luke Ditewig points out that God's unconditional love provided us the means through which we might be saved from our sins, and join again with God in eternal life.
So today, as you begin contemplate what you'll give up, and what you'll gain as a result:
Week 1 carries the theme that God is Love, and works to help you understand that God's love is unconditional - not conditioned on how worthy you are.
Day 1 focuses on 1 John 4:16: "... we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them." Br. Curtis Almquist points out the word "abide" and addresses questions for you to think about in your meditations. The definition of abide I'd like you to contemplate is: to remain steadfast or faithful to; keep. If you'll notice, abiding goes both ways in that verse...
Day 2 brings us one of the most famous verses in the Bible, John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life." Br. Mark Brown makes the excellent point that God didn't just love His creation of the world, but also loves us amidst the brokenness that we have made of His creation. He loves the totality of us, not just the perfection.
Day 3 takes us back to 1 John, 4:9-10: "God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins." Br. Keith Nelson, a new face among the brothers, points out that we can't earn God's love - it is given as a grace to us.
And finally, Day 4 is today, Ash Wednesday, brings us the verse after the famous one, John 3:17: "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." Br. Luke Ditewig points out that God's unconditional love provided us the means through which we might be saved from our sins, and join again with God in eternal life.
So today, as you begin contemplate what you'll give up, and what you'll gain as a result:
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