Embracing Grace and Renewal During Lent
Summary
In our journey through Lent, we are reminded of the profound truth that we live under the shelter of the Most High, finding refuge and strength in God. This season invites us to draw closer to God, to listen for His voice, and to embrace the freedom and jubilee that He offers. Lent is a time of reflection and preparation, leading us to the celebration of Easter, where we experience the fullness of God's grace and the reality of being a new creation in Christ.
The story of the Good Samaritan serves as a powerful illustration of God's grace and forgiveness. It reminds us that no matter how lost we may feel, God's love seeks us out, offering redemption and a new beginning. Jesus' encounter with the man who was once a robber but found forgiveness and freedom through Christ's love is a testament to the transformative power of grace. This story encourages us to seek God's forgiveness and extend that same grace to others, freeing ourselves from the prisons of guilt and shame.
The Lord's Prayer is a central theme in our reflection, guiding us to align our hearts with God's will. It begins with praise, acknowledging God's holiness and sovereignty. As we pray for His kingdom to come and His will to be done, we are invited to participate in His work on earth, seeking His guidance and provision. The prayer also calls us to forgive others as we have been forgiven, releasing us from the bondage of bitterness and resentment.
In this season of Lent, we are encouraged to embrace the discipline of prayer, allowing it to transform our hearts and draw us closer to God. Through prayer, we find the strength to overcome temptation and the courage to live out our faith with joy and freedom. As we journey towards Easter, may we experience the jubilee that comes from living in the light of God's love and grace.
Key Takeaways:
1. God as Our Refuge and Strength: In times of affliction and weakness, we find solace in God's presence, who is our refuge and strength. This truth invites us to worship God with our whole being, trusting in His deliverance and protection. [13:32]
2. Listening for God's Voice: Lent is a time to quiet the distractions and listen for God's gentle and kind voice. By doing so, we can discern His will and receive the strength to act in kindness and love, reflecting His heart to the world. [17:20]
3. The Transformative Power of Grace: The story of the Good Samaritan illustrates the power of grace to transform lives. No matter how lost we feel, God's love seeks us out, offering forgiveness and a new beginning. This grace compels us to extend forgiveness to others, freeing us from guilt and shame. [22:28]
4. The Lord's Prayer as a Guide: The Lord's Prayer serves as a guide for aligning our hearts with God's will. It begins with praise, seeks His kingdom, and asks for provision and forgiveness. Through this prayer, we find the strength to overcome temptation and live out our faith with joy and freedom. [39:06]
5. Embracing Jubilee: Lent invites us to experience the jubilee of God's love, where we are freed from the prisons of guilt, shame, and fear. By embracing the discipline of prayer, we draw closer to God, experiencing His peace and joy as we journey towards Easter. [47:02]
Youtube Chapters:
- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:30] - Worship and Praise
- [01:45] - Prayer of Confession
- [03:00] - New Creation in Christ
- [04:15] - Introduction to Lent
- [05:30] - Listening for God's Voice
- [07:00] - Children's Lesson: Simon Says
- [09:00] - Story of the Good Samaritan
- [12:00] - Encounter with Jesus
- [14:30] - The Lord's Prayer
- [17:00] - Embracing Jubilee
- [19:00] - Call to Prayer
- [21:00] - Closing Prayer
- [23:00] - Final Hymn: When I Needed a Neighbor
- [25:00] - Benediction and Blessing
Study Guide
### Bible Study Discussion Guide
#### Bible Reading
1. Psalm 91:1-2 - "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, 'My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.'"
2. Luke 10:25-37 - The Parable of the Good Samaritan.
3. Matthew 6:9-13 - The Lord's Prayer.
#### Observation Questions
1. How does the sermon describe the role of God as our refuge and strength during times of affliction? [13:32]
2. What is the significance of listening for God's voice during Lent, as illustrated by the children's game "Simon Says"? [17:20]
3. In the story of the Good Samaritan, how is the transformative power of grace demonstrated through the actions of the Samaritan? [22:28]
4. How does the Lord's Prayer guide us in aligning our hearts with God's will, according to the sermon? [39:06]
#### Interpretation Questions
1. What does it mean to find refuge and strength in God, and how can this understanding impact a believer's daily life? [13:32]
2. How can the practice of listening for God's voice during Lent lead to a deeper relationship with Him? [17:20]
3. In what ways does the story of the Good Samaritan challenge believers to extend grace and forgiveness to others? [22:28]
4. How does the Lord's Prayer serve as a framework for experiencing spiritual freedom and jubilee? [39:06]
#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on a time when you felt weak or afflicted. How did you seek refuge in God, and what was the outcome? [13:32]
2. During this season of Lent, what specific distractions can you eliminate to better hear God's voice? [17:20]
3. Think of someone in your life who needs grace and forgiveness. How can you extend that to them this week, following the example of the Good Samaritan? [22:28]
4. How can you incorporate the Lord's Prayer into your daily routine to align your heart with God's will? [39:06]
5. What steps can you take to embrace the jubilee of God's love, freeing yourself from guilt, shame, and fear? [47:02]
6. Identify an area in your life where you struggle with forgiveness. How can you apply the principles from the Lord's Prayer to release bitterness and resentment? [43:34]
7. As you journey towards Easter, what specific actions can you take to live out your faith with joy and freedom? [56:02]
Devotional
Day 1: God as Our Ever-Present Refuge
In times of affliction and weakness, we find solace in God's presence, who is our refuge and strength. This truth invites us to worship God with our whole being, trusting in His deliverance and protection. The journey through Lent reminds us of the profound truth that we live under the shelter of the Most High, finding refuge and strength in God. This season invites us to draw closer to God, to listen for His voice, and to embrace the freedom and jubilee that He offers. Lent is a time of reflection and preparation, leading us to the celebration of Easter, where we experience the fullness of God's grace and the reality of being a new creation in Christ. [13:32]
"The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him." (Nahum 1:7, ESV)
Reflection: In what specific area of your life do you need to seek God's refuge and strength today? How can you actively trust Him in this area?
Day 2: Attuning Our Hearts to God's Voice
Lent is a time to quiet the distractions and listen for God's gentle and kind voice. By doing so, we can discern His will and receive the strength to act in kindness and love, reflecting His heart to the world. This season encourages us to embrace the discipline of prayer, allowing it to transform our hearts and draw us closer to God. Through prayer, we find the strength to overcome temptation and the courage to live out our faith with joy and freedom. As we journey towards Easter, may we experience the jubilee that comes from living in the light of God's love and grace. [17:20]
"And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it,' when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left." (Isaiah 30:21, ESV)
Reflection: What distractions can you set aside today to better hear God's voice? How will you create space for listening to Him?
Day 3: Grace That Transforms and Redeems
The story of the Good Samaritan illustrates the power of grace to transform lives. No matter how lost we feel, God's love seeks us out, offering forgiveness and a new beginning. This grace compels us to extend forgiveness to others, freeing us from guilt and shame. Jesus' encounter with the man who was once a robber but found forgiveness and freedom through Christ's love is a testament to the transformative power of grace. This story encourages us to seek God's forgiveness and extend that same grace to others, freeing ourselves from the prisons of guilt and shame. [22:28]
"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved." (Ephesians 2:4-5, ESV)
Reflection: Who in your life needs to experience the grace and forgiveness you have received from God? How can you extend that grace to them today?
Day 4: The Lord's Prayer as a Pathway to Alignment
The Lord's Prayer serves as a guide for aligning our hearts with God's will. It begins with praise, seeks His kingdom, and asks for provision and forgiveness. Through this prayer, we find the strength to overcome temptation and live out our faith with joy and freedom. The prayer also calls us to forgive others as we have been forgiven, releasing us from the bondage of bitterness and resentment. As we pray for His kingdom to come and His will to be done, we are invited to participate in His work on earth, seeking His guidance and provision. [39:06]
"Pray then like this: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.'" (Matthew 6:9-10, ESV)
Reflection: How can you use the Lord's Prayer today to align your heart with God's will? What specific part of the prayer speaks to your current situation?
Day 5: Embracing the Freedom of Jubilee
Lent invites us to experience the jubilee of God's love, where we are freed from the prisons of guilt, shame, and fear. By embracing the discipline of prayer, we draw closer to God, experiencing His peace and joy as we journey towards Easter. This season is a time of reflection and preparation, leading us to the celebration of Easter, where we experience the fullness of God's grace and the reality of being a new creation in Christ. The jubilee that comes from living in the light of God's love and grace is a powerful reminder of the freedom we have in Christ. [47:02]
"For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands." (Isaiah 55:12, ESV)
Reflection: What is one area of your life where you need to embrace the freedom and joy of God's jubilee? How can you celebrate this freedom today?
Quotes
Gracious and holy God, you are our refuge and strength. We thank you that we can run to you in the moment of our affliction and of our weakness and find your help and your strength. We rejoice in your grace and your love, which has called creation into being and makes all life complete. [00:11:46] (26 seconds)
We bless you for the Holy Spirit, who guides us and strengthens us, who draws us into the embrace of your tender love. And so we praise you, O God, our eternal creating Father, who loves us with a motherly love, uniting us with Christ, our Savior, your Holy Spirit, the breath of life, three in one now and always. [00:12:26] (27 seconds)
And so if we can make some space for God, and God draws near, and then embraces us and lets us know we love him. And so we have to listen for his voice. And so this next game is about listening for the voice, okay? So this game is called Simon Says. You know that big game? Simon Says. [00:16:52] (18 seconds)
So sometimes we're told we have to hear the voice of God. And God's voice is always kind and humble and gentle. That's how you know God's voice. Because God loves you. And so sometimes we can hear these loud voices that are angry and that's not God. [00:18:19] (24 seconds)
And so we can hear his voice. And then when we hear his voice and we step out, he gives us strength and power to do it. And so what I want to encourage you during Lent is to listen for God's voice. And when he calls you to do something kind or good, to step out and watch as he helps you. [00:18:41] (22 seconds)
one day she came dancing back with a smile and a song and something about the fields being plowed and sown and it's going to be all right she says to me it's going to be all right and I I got to the window and I saw that the fields were plowed and I'm not sure who or why I mean why would anyone want to help me later on the day I was told that there I could hear their motley crew of people coming down the road and towards our field and through the house and and here's the shakedown here's the scam here are the people wanting the money for the work they've done I'm sure they're going to shake me down but I really don't have anything and so I came and I saw them and I listened and I wondered what they would want I don't have anything I told them I don't have a thing not even food for myself the guy in the middle is a guy named Jesus of Nazareth smiled and he said I just want to have dinner with you we have everything that we need and I I noticed that they had a guy with wine and some legs of lamb and a whole feast so who am I to stop a feast from happening at my place and I joined them in and and all of a sudden we're having a feast and the evening's going on and I'm feeling like he knows me and as the fire is calming down a little bit he comes a little closer to me I wanted to let him in to my prison and I began to share what I'd done am I a murderer can I be forgiven how do I make things right [00:24:09] (124 seconds)
He opened up the scroll, and he said, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he's anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, the year of the Lord's Jubilee. I found that year. Thanks be to him. [00:28:24] (32 seconds)
I was at a Lenten lunch this week and they talked about the Lord's Prayer I've been, in my own reflection, looking at the Lord's Prayer and I went to a worship service last night and what was the topic? The Lord's Prayer and I felt like everywhere the Lord is speaking to me it's the Lord's Prayer that there's something that Jesus wants us all to know a deeper level of Jubilee Jubilee is the year that was mandated in the Jewish community that on the 50th year they're to be free all the debts that they might have accumulated are forgiven and they're able to not work and enjoy just a year of freedom and I'm hoping that this Lent we can have a vision of Jubilee and a time where the things that held us down no longer do the places where we find ourselves in prison maybe with regret or shame or difficulty that God would break us out of that place maybe the places of our poverty we would find riches and the places of our oppression those voices that kind of speak in our hearts that are not God's or not holy would be silenced that we would be free and so I begin to ponder like how is it that we can be free and enjoy the liberty and the love and the reality that currently exists is that we can be free and we can be free and we can be free and we can be free and we can be free [00:35:02] (100 seconds)
And then he began to tell them exactly how you're to pray. In Matthew, he talks about the words to pray and then he talks about this is the process of prayer, this is the agenda of prayer. And so maybe for Lent, I invite you to look at the Lord's Prayer in a different way and I'll give you a devotional later this week. I'll go over what I'm going to say now. And so I want you to think about the very first line of that prayer, Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. I mean, that our heart is to be full of praise. [00:38:07] (43 seconds)
And Jesus is saying the very first act of prayer is to come into God's presence and glorify His name. How good you are, Father, to focus on Him and His greatness. And it's not always the case with me. And so Jesus says, you can call on my name and I will save you. Like when you find yourself falling from that place of thankfulness and gratefulness for Him, that's the place where we pray, oh God, we pray. [00:39:24] (30 seconds)
And then the second part is, like, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Like, I'm aware that I'm not always about my... I'm often more about me, right? Like, what I want to do and my kingdom and my will being done. And the liberty happens, you see, when I focus, especially in prayer, Lord, what is your agenda for my life? What's your agenda for the day? What is it? What kind of person do you want me to become? How should I engage in this conversation? How should I pray for that person? Like, when I take the... get off myself and get onto his reality, all of a sudden I get freed. [00:40:21] (52 seconds)
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