Editor’s note: Apologies for when this was first posted there was an additional paragraph included in error. It has been corrected.

DEVOTIONAL:

The Lenten season is that period in the church year when we symbolically walk the last mile with Christ to his execution on the cross. It is a 40-day affair. Indeed, it parallels the first 40 days of Jesus’ ministry, as well, when he fasted and prayed in the desert only to be sorely tempted by the devil to throw in the towel, to quit, to stop before he even got started. (more…)

WELCOME:

Welcome to Goshen College’s online devotional series for the 2010 Lent season! “Holding On and Letting Go” is this year’s theme taken from Mennonite Church USA worship resources. A time for reflection and soul searching, the season of Lent calls us to follow Jesus, watch what he does, listen to what he says and identify with Jesus in his mission. The closer we come to Jesus, the more we become aware of the ways our lives and actions may not reflect the life and vision of Jesus. (more…)

What are you holding on to and need to let go of this year? Goshen College again offers an online resource to help believers make time and space in their hearts and minds to reflect during the season of Lent

Beginning Feb. 17 (Ash Wednesday) and culminating on April 4 (Easter), Goshen College students, faculty and staff will provide weekday reflections based on lectionary Scripture passages. Many writers will reflect on the Lenten theme: “Holding on and letting go.” (Our Lenten theme is based on the worship resources developed in Leader Magazine, a quarterly publication of Mennonite Publishing Network. For further information go to www.leaderonline.org.)

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The devotions will reflect honestly on the Scriptures and offer words of assurances of faith. The spiritual offerings will include poetry, personal stories, reflections and prayers, all intended to more closely examine the call to change and follow Christ.

Since 2001, Goshen College annually celebrates special seasons of the church calendar, particularly Advent and Lent, with online devotions. The popularity of the devotions continues to grow each year and there are now more than 8,300 online subscribers, representing many different denominational backgrounds and countries.

DEVOTIONAL: In reflecting upon the Easter story as recounted in the Gospel of Mark, it sometimes feels like I’ve been taken back to my childhood and offered a ‘choose your own adventure’ novel! Which ending would you like? According to the footnotes of the New Revised Standard Version, some of the most ancient authorities have the resurrection account of Mark ending at verse 8 and so that will be the ending I’ll work with for this devotional. (more…)

DEVOTIONAL: In this passage, the writer of Acts shares a radical new insight — that Christ’s message breaks through borders of nation and creed, not with military might, but with the power of love. In our own era, we are charged with spreading the message of a loving God not only across borders, but through time, enacting Christ’s love afresh in the context of our own world and in our daily lives. I offer the following poem as a meditation on Christ’s resurrection in our own time. (more…)

DEVOTIONAL: This year I am reading the crucifixion story through the lens of an unknown photographer’s camera. One of my responsibilities as a member of the Lenten planning committee at Berkey Avenue Mennonite Church, has been to choose visual images to project during the scripture readings. For me, these kinds of juxtapositions are a form of Bible study that can break open the text in new ways. (more…)

DEVOTIONAL: Today is known as Maundy Thursday, the day Christians remember the very first communion when Jesus enacted the bread and wine ceremony that symbolized God’s love for fallen humankind. (more…)

DEVOTIONAL: What do you think of when you hear or see the word “prayer”? I have to be honest, I often think of what “bad” things are going on in my life and how God needs to help me. (more…)

SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 25:6-9 (NRSV) Scroll down for complete Scripture.

DEVOTIONAL: Isaiah 25:6-9 is the ultimate picture of God’s goodness — people sitting together, sharing food, engaging in a community of God’s children. It is the picture that Jesus lived out during his time on earth, and what he calls all of us to do. (more…)

THIS WEEK’S THEME: He has been raised

DEVOTIONAL: “He has risen, he has risen indeed!”

Ever since I can remember, my pastors have begun the Easter Sunday sermon with these words. Nonetheless, I remained relatively ignorant of the profound ramifications of Christ’s resurrection until last year. (more…)