Have a Blessed Easter!
Please enjoy an Easter greeting from the InFocus family to your family. May your holiday be blessed as you spend it with those you love!
https://www.greetingsisland.com/ecard/pyr3cogthpml
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
Lent Challenge: 5 Questions to Make Holy Week More Inviting
Hard to believe that Holy week is just around the corner. What are you doing to lead people into their journey with Jesus? Below are 3 reflection questions to consider as you lead your people into Holy Week.
What is the significance of Holy Week?
I grew up in a home that valued following Jesus, and Holy Week was a part of our church practice. To be honest, when I was younger, I did not understand why we went to church on a Thursday, kind of understood Friday, and genuinely got the meaning of Easter. Reluctantly, I went to services, although I was not an active participant.
My earliest memories of Easter included Sunrise service (if we were super motivated). Instead of gathering at our campus for services, we traveled to a local high school football stadium where we combined the services into one big celebration. The worship director and his team pulled out all the stops; the pastor preached the gospel. The entire morning was intended for people to invite their friends and relatives with the hope that they might hear the gospel and respond. It is forever engraved in my memory.
If you grew up in a church environment, are leading in a liturgical congregational setting, or are educated in the rhythms of the church calendar – this will be boring and redundant. But if Holy Week is fuzzy in your mind or you are curious, hopefully this blog might fill in some gaps. Let’s get started!
Holy Week is the week beginning with the Sunday immediately leading up to Easter.
Day 1: Triumphal Entry on Palm Sunday
Day 2: Jesus Clears the Temple on Monday
Day 3: Jesus Goes to the Mount of Olives on Tuesday
Day 4: Holy Wednesday
Day 5: Passover and Last Supper on Maundy Thursday
Day 6: Trial, Crucifixion, Death, and Burial on Good Friday
Day 7: Saturday in the Tomb
Why is this important?
Most churches in the West give their attention to Holy Week. In addition to Christmas, Easter is the prime weekend to invite people to a worship service. Many people who have never been to church are more likely to show up if invited by a trusting friend or relative; Easter still holds religious connotations in our culture.
Typically, as churches strive to be relevant to their constituents in the name of “effectiveness,” many have put Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday services in the background. The reasons are many, varied, and rational. At the same time, the rhythms and traditions that are lost can hurt the next generation because these events are like muscles that, when under-utilized, atrophy! Memories are short-lived.
Back to the point. Easter is a wonderful time to invite people to church. Even if your church is not a classic seeker church, this time of the year is strategic for church attendance.
3 Questions To Consider When Preparing for Holy Week
- What practices can you introduce to your people?
- What tools are you putting in people’s hands to make invitations easy?
- What are you doing to imprint Jesus on the next generation?
- What are you doing to make services inviting for visitors to your church?
- How are you following up with people who come to your services?
Lent Challenge – Week 5 of Lent!
As we journey through the weeks leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion and eventual resurrection, I will draw from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. The exercises have helped me and many, many others throughout church history to listen to and discern the voice of the Holy Spirit, especially when discerning direction.
I invite you to consider the “grace” (or “prayer of intent”) for this week:
“The grace you are seeking is to sorrow with Christ in sorrow, anguish with Christ in anguish, with tears and interior suffering because of the suffering Christ endured for you.”
St. Ignatius (1491-1556)
May I suggest you read through the following passages on this schedule beginning next Monday:
- Day 1 – The Cross (See poem below.)
- Day 2 Or Day 3 – Stations of the Cross
- Day 4 – John 13:1-38 Lord’s Supper
- Day 5 – John 19:28-42 Crucifixion
- Day 6 – Holy Saturday
- Day 7 – Resurrection Sunday
The Cross by Lois Cheney
I stand before the cross
And wonder.
I stand before the cross
And fear.
I kneel before the cross
And weep.
I pray before the cross
And rejoice
To know the cross
Is to know Christ.
To feel the cross
Is to feel Christ.
To gaze at the cross
Is to gaze at Christ.
To carry the cross
Is to be a Christian,
And not until then.
God, forgive me.
* Journey with Jesus by Larry Warner
Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash
Lent Challenge: Test a Contemplative Practice – How to Capture Intrusive or Negative Thoughts
What is a contemplative practice?
Let’s begin with terminology. A contemplative is someone who intentionally sets time aside to be with God, engaging and listening to Him. A contemplative practice is a discipline, exercise, approach, or tool to engage and listen to God.
How are contemplative practices different from the way I read the Bible and pray – or other spiritual disciplines?
In my experience, the ”typical” approach to reading the Bible, etc, is to transform beliefs. And this is obviously very, very valuable.
Contemplative practices are focused on spiritual formation. Yes, these two worlds overlap, but they can also be very different. Spiritual formation results in a transformation in the mind, body, and soul. It is fair to think of the “typical evangelical” approach as a precursor to contemplative practices. Not better, but different.
Before I lose you, let’s distill this down to an essential practice of “capturing intrusive or negative thoughts” (II Corinthians 10:5; Ephesians 4:23-24; Col 3:9-11). When you study the Desert Fathers and consider the depth of wisdom they gleaned in their monastic practices, you will see a continuity between evangelicalism and contemplative practice. Skip to the bottom to learn how to Capture Intrusive or Negative thoughts.
The mind is the gateway to the heart. Reading scripture and prayer can be a wonderful gateway into contemplative practice. Read on to learn how to establish new rhythms for spiritual formation in your life.
Where do I start with contemplative practices?
Begin with where you are. But how do you know where you are? This is a legitimate question.
It is easy to get overwhelmed when you consider where to start. If you have tried to develop a new hobby, you can relate. Pick a hobby, any hobby. Let’s say you want to learn how to maintain your mountain bike. One of the first jobs you want to learn is how to clean and lube your chain. This is essential. Perhaps you watch a video or read a blog, and you learn what tools are needed. The essentials include a cleaning agent (like Simple Green), rags, and lubricant. Once you have what you need, you execute. You might feel like you don’t exactly know what you are doing, but you do your best.
- Spray the chain with a cleaning agent, wipe it down, and repeat a couple of times.
- Once it dries, you apply the lubricant on the chain one link at a time.
- Let it sit overnight.
- Wipe off before you ride.
- You are good to go.
With regular practice, you become more comfortable with the process. Repetition creates familiarity; familiarity breeds habits.
Contemplative practices work in a similar manner.
3 Lessons I’ve Learned About Engaging in Contemplative Practices
- Create the space in your schedule to be with God
Intent is key, and that means scheduling a designated time in your daily routine. Guard it with your heart and mind. It does not matter when, but find a time that works for you to be quiet and attentive.
- Do more with less
Start with a time limit, and stick to it. If it is 5 minutes, then consistently show up. Repetition is key. It is like going to the gym. For years, when we were raising our family, I dragged myself to the gym at 5 in the morning even when I was tired, had sick kids, or didn’t feel like going. That discipline has formed a habit that I can draw from today.
- Ask for help
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is the willingness to seek help. Once I recognized my need for help, AND sought out people who had more experience,I was able to make progress. In my case, I was able to connect with a spiritual director. You might need a spiritual friend or listener. I discovered when I engaged in direction, that things changed quickly .
5 Steps to Capture Intrusive or Negative Thoughts
Designate a time, preferably first thing in the morning, to give your attention to God
Sit in silence for 5 minutes
Pray the Jesus Prayer (see below)
Capture intrusive or negative thoughts throughout the course of your day
Determine if you want to accept or reject the thought
Lent Challenge – Week 4 of Lent!
As we journey through the weeks leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion and eventual resurrection, I will draw from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. The exercises have helped me and many, many others throughout church history to listen to and discern the voice of the Holy Spirit, especially when discerning direction.
I invite you to consider the “grace” (or “prayer of intent”) for this week:
“The grace you are seeking is to sorrow with Christ in sorrow, anguish with Christ in anguish, with tears and interior suffering because of the suffering Christ endured for you.”
St. Ignatius (1491-1556)
May I suggest you read through the following passages on this schedule beginning next Monday:
- Day 1 – Mark 15:33-36
- Day 2 – Isaiah 53:3-6
- Day 3 – Luke 23:44-46
- Day 4 – Review the past three days.
- Day 5 – John 19:30
- Day 6 – Luke 23:47-49
- Day 7 – Review the past week.
* Journey with Jesus by Larry Warner
The Jesus Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
The invitation the Lord presents is to simply carve out time for Him. That is really the essence of spiritual formation. Intent!
The Jesus Prayer is a simple and memorable prayer to be present with Jesus that combines three Bible verses:
- Philippians 2:6–11 (verse 11: “Jesus Christ is Lord”)
- Luke 1:31–35 (verse 35: “Son of God”),
- Luke 18:9–14, in which the Pharisee demonstrates the improper way to pray (verse 11: “God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican”), whereas the Publican prays correctly in humility (verse 13: “God be merciful to me a sinner”).
Photo by Jake Young on Unsplash