This is our final Lenten video and bible story for our 2024 “Stories of Salvation”. It is our hope that this practice has helped to get you into the rhythm of reading your bible every day and has been something that has helped you grow in your faith. Today we read Ezekiel 37, commonly known as the “Vally of Dry Bones”, and we hear about how God can bring life to even the most hopeless of situations. As we wait for the resurrection promise of Easter, we pray for God to bring new life to our live, our congregation, and our world.

Today we commemorate Good Friday as we reflect on Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for the sake of the world. We read the story in Luke 23 and ponder the love that is at the heart of what he is doing. In the face of the worst humanity throws at him, Jesus is obedient even to the point of dying on a cross. What do you notice in this story as you read it this year?

Today is actually Maundy Thursday (sorry for the slight confusion yesterday!) and we are reading another account from Jesus’ Last supper his disciples as told in Luke 22. An interesting and helpful tool we can use as we study the Bible is to compare and contrast stories from different gospels and see what we can discover. What do you hear or notice when you compare Luke 22 with John 13?

On this Maundy Thursday we read the traditional gospel story from John 13 of Jesus' washing his disciples' feet. Despite the fact that one will betray him and one will deny him, all are included in this humble act of service and love. Jesus teaches and embodies the "new" commandment, that we love one another. Join us for worship at noon or 6:00 as we, like Jesus and his friends, gather around a table and share a meal.

Our unwilling prophet Jonah got instructions from God and literally ran the other direction! After a brief stint in the belly of a fish, Jonah decides to carry out his God-given task. Then after Jonah’s throwing a fit and pouting, God uses a bush and a worm to teach Jonah a lesson. The story ends abruptly, leaving us with the question: Did Jonah learn anything? With the next question being: Did we?

We are back in Daniel today with the famous story commonly known as, “Daniel and the lion’s den”. In this story we hear again about his faithfulness to the true God in the face of demands to worship other gods. We also see another instance of the story we learned as kids not exactly matching up with what we read in Daniel 6.

Welcome to the beginning of Holy Week as we start with the story of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey surrounded by shouts of, “Hosana!” We know how this story ultimately ends, but it is important for us to sit with the different parts of the Passion Story and reflect on what they mean for us today. Today we encourage you to read this story from Matthew 21.

Would you defy a king and sacrifice your life in order to avoid bowing down to a statue of gold? In Daniel 3 we read that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego opt for a fiery furnace rather than worshiping an idol.

Suffering is something that humans have faced and struggled to understand since the dawn of time. Job is an ancient narrative that attempts to have a conversation about suffering and where God is during our darkest times. Job 1:1-3:10 sets the stage of this much longer story and presents, what most scholars believe should be read as an ancient parable, the opening of Job’s tale.

The book of Esther concludes with brightness and joy... and a lot of blood and vengeance. But, Mordecai's persecutor Haman is hanged on his own gallows, and the king grants Esther's plea to save the Jewish people. Remember to research the Jewish festival of Purim, which our Jewish neighbors are observing this coming weekend!