Wilderness Wanderings

On this day of Lent, we invite you to reflect on these scriptures. What is the Spirit saying to you today?

Psalm 22

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.

Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises. In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

Jeremiah 6

This is what the Lord says: "Look, an army is coming from the land of the north; a great nation is being stirred up from the ends of the earth. They are armed with bow and spear; they are cruel and show no mercy. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride on their horses; they come like men in battle formation to attack you, Daughter Zion" …

"I have made you a tester of metals and my people the ore, that you may observe and test their ways. They are all hardened rebels, going about to slander. They are bronze and iron; they all act corruptly. The bellows blow fiercely to burn away the lead with fire, but the refining goes on in vain; the wicked are not purged out. They are called rejected silver because the Lord has rejected them."

Galatians 5

So, I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

John 6

When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. But he said to them, "It is I; don't be afraid." Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

The next day the crowd … found Jesus on the other side of the lake, they asked him, "Rabbi, when did you get here?" Jesus answered, "Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."

Prayer

Almighty God, may we, by the power of your Holy Spirit, repent of our sin, receive your grace, and so enter into the mystery of Christ's sufferings; that by following in the Way, we may come to share in the glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

On this 8th day of Lent, we invite you to reflect on these scriptures. What is the Spirit saying to you today?

Psalm 43 Vindicate me, my God, and plead my cause against an unfaithful nation. Rescue me from those who are deceitful and wicked. You are God my stronghold. Why have you rejected me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy? Send me your light and your faithful care, let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God. Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

Jeremiah 6:9-21 This is what the Lord says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, 'We will not walk in it.' I appointed watchmen over you and said, 'Listen to the sound of the trumpet!' But you said, 'We will not listen.' Therefore hear, you nations; you who are witnesses, observe what will happen to them. Hear, you earth: I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their schemes, because they have not listened to my words and have rejected my law.

Galatians 5:13-15 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

John 6:5-15 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered him, "It would take more than half a year's wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!" Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?" Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world." Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

Prayer Dear God, sometimes we are guilty of rejecting you, and at other times we feel rejected by you. From our guilt, save us. And from the doubt of our downcast souls, save us. Remind us of the faithful care of Jesus who feeds, nourishes, and gives rest to his flock. Grant us again today a supple sense of our freedom in Christ so that we might walk in the good paths, loving you and our neighbours as you have loved and cared for us.

On this second Wednesday of Lent, we invite you to reflect on these scriptures. What is the Spirit saying to you today?

Psalm 6

Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint; heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony. My soul is in deep anguish. How long, Lord, how long?

Turn, Lord, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love. Among the dead no one proclaims your name. Who praises you from the grave?

I am worn out from my groaning. All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes.

Jeremiah 5

"Announce this to the descendants of Jacob and proclaim it in Judah: Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear: Should you not fear me?" declares the Lord. "Should you not tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it. But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts; they have turned aside and gone away. They do not say to themselves, 'Let us fear the Lord our God…'

"Among my people are the wicked who lie in wait like people who snare birds and like those who set traps to catch people. Like cages full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; they have become rich and powerful and have grown fat and sleek. Their evil deeds have no limit; they do not seek justice. They do not promote the case of the fatherless; they do not defend the just cause of the poor. Should I not punish them for this?" declares the Lord.

Romans 10

If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, "Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

John 5

[Jesus said,] By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true. You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved…

…the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me. … You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

Prayer

Almighty Father, open our eyes that we may see our own sin; open our ears that we may hear your word of redemption and your call to obedience. Give us grace to discipline ourselves in obedience to your Spirit, giving up our sinful ways. As you know our weakness, may we know your power to save. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Genesis 3:1-7 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'" "You will not certainly die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Psalm 51:14-19 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. May it please you to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem. Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Galatians 3:23-29 Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

John 5:24-29 "Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man."

Prayer Dear God, we confess that like our first parents, we have often reached beyond the good boundaries for successes, provisions, and relationships that were not given us to have. Our gut response is to hide from you behind the fig leaf distractions that we can sow up well enough for ourselves. Call us out from our hiding places and into your presence once again, enable us to offer the sacrifice of a contrite heart, and cloth us with the sacrifice and forgiveness of Christ. Hearing your voice of forgiveness in our ears today, may all fear of judgement disappear, so that we might enter fully into the life of Christ.

Take time to pause and reflect on these scriptures. What is the Spirit saying to you today?

Psalm 51:7-13

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.

Isaiah 58:5-7

Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?

"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

Galatians 3:10-14

For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law." Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because "the righteous will live by faith." The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, "The person who does these things will live by them." Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole." He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

John 4:27-42

Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?" They came out of the town and made their way toward him…

Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I ever did." So, when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers. They said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world."

Prayer

Almighty and everlasting God, I confess that I have neglected your commands. In pursuit of my selfish ways, I have ignored the chains that bind many, unwilling to soil my hands to remove the yoke that burdens. In pride, I have followed my own path, believing you would be impressed with my acts of piety. Redeem me from all wickedness, purify me and make me your very own, eager to do what is good for your glory, not for mine. Amen!

Today, as yesterday, take time to pause and reflect on these scriptures after you read each. The audio version (above) includes a musical interlude for this time. What is the Spirit saying to you today?

Psalm 51:1-6 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

Joel 2:1-2, 12-13 Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming. It is close at hand— a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was in ancient times nor ever will be in ages to come. … "Even now," declares the Lord, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning." Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.

Galatians 2:15-16, 19-21 "We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified. … "For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"

John 4:22-26 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth." The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us." Then Jesus declared, "I, the one speaking to you—I am he."

Prayer Have mercy on us, O God. We know that we can never be justified before you by our own works, righteousness, or worship which are always, despite our best efforts, tainted by impure motives and imperfect action. Remind us today that we have been crucified with Christ, our Messiah, such that we no longer live by our own doing, but by faith in him which gives us life.

In this season of Lent, we invite you to listen attentively to the scriptures. Between readings there will be some music. Take that time to bring something of the scripture to the Lord in prayer. Carry one or two pieces of scripture with you into your day (or tomorrow) wondering why the Spirit nudged you to pay attention to it.

Psalm 95

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord. Let us give a loud shout to the Rock who saves us. Let us come to him and give him thanks. Let us praise him with music and song. The Lord is the great God. He is the greatest King. He rules over all the gods. He owns the deepest parts of the earth. The mountain peaks belong to him. The ocean is his because he made it. He formed the dry land with his hands.

Come, let us bow down and worship him. Let us fall on our knees in front of the Lord our Maker. He is our God. We are the sheep belonging to his flock. We are the people he takes good care of.

If only you would listen to his voice today.

Daniel 9:3-6, 17-19

I, Daniel, prayed to the Lord God. I begged him. I made many appeals to him. I didn't eat anything. I put on the rough clothing people wear when they're sad. And I sat down in ashes. I prayed to the Lord my God. I admitted that we had sinned. I said, "Lord, you are a great and wonderful God. You keep the covenant you made with all those who love you and obey your commandments. You show them your love. We have sinned and done what is wrong. We have been evil. We have refused to obey you. We have turned away from your commands and laws. We haven't listened to your servants the prophets…Our God, hear my prayers. Pay attention to the appeals I make to you…Do it for your own honor. Our God, please listen to us…We aren't asking you to answer our prayers because we are godly. Instead, we're asking you to do it because you love us so much. Lord, please listen! Lord, please forgive us! Lord, hear our prayers!

Luke 1:68-75

"Give praise to the Lord, the God of Israel! He has come to his people and purchased their freedom. He has acted with great power and has saved us. He did it for those who are from the family line of his servant David. Long ago holy prophets said he would do it. He has saved us from our enemies. We are rescued from all who hate us. He has been kind to our people of long ago. He has remembered his holy covenant. He made a promise to our father Abraham. He promised to save us from our enemies. Then we could serve him without fear. He wants us to be holy and godly as long as we live.

1 Timothy 6:6-10

Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you…flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.

Prayer

Almighty and everlasting God, who hates nothing that you have made and forgives the sins of all who are penitent, create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, lamenting our sins, and acknowledging our unworthiness, may receive from you, the God of all mercy, perfect forgiveness, through Jesus Christ our Lord, by the power of your Spirit. Amen!

Hear my voice when I call, LORD; be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, LORD, I will seek. Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, God my Savior. … I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. (Psalm 27:7-9,13-14)

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the first day of the season of Lent. This year, Pastor Michael and I will be doing something different for Lent in these devotionals. Rather than writing out our own devotional reflections, we will be letting the scriptures speak for themselves in a more meditative way. As Pastor Michael's devotion spoke of yesterday, we will invite you to meditate on, to savour Scripture. More on that tomorrow. For now, another devotion in preparation that invites us into this new Lenten practice of "seeking God's face."

This is the phrase we are given in Psalm 27. "My heart says of you, 'Seek his face!' Your face, Lord, I will seek." I wonder how often this statement of the Psalmist is true for us. How often do the longings of our heart attach themselves to seeking the face—that is, the presence—of God?

I think we find that our longings attach themselves far more often to lesser things. Things like we talked about on Sunday: keeping up our metrics and streaks on our devices; attending to health and fitness regimes; climbing ladders and accruing resources; allowing our eyes to caress the physical and digital bodies we encounter; becoming information junkies on politics, sports, or the weather.

Some of these things I just listed off are things you might recognize to be wrong, but others you might see as quite ordinary and benign. The Christian tradition has long recognized that even very good things—like our families—can become idols. Each of them, when pursued beyond certain healthy boundaries, carry the possibility of reorienting our desires and the longings of our hearts away from the Creator to the created. These lesser things, when pursued as ends in themselves, only leave us longing for more.

Sports are great. Beauty and relationships are great. Games are fun. Work is fruitful and can be quite meaningful too. Social media is a wonderful tool of connection. But they are, all of them, meant to be received as gifts of God that draw our eyes and attention to Him. None of them are ends in themselves. If we treat them as such, we'll only find our senses dulled and our hearts broken.

Our senses and our seeking were created to find their fulfillment and joy in the face and presence of God. The longing, the aching emptiness, the restless striving we feel in this life, are the cries of our heart to "seek his face!" Against these same restless longings, Psalm 27 chooses not to fill the God-shaped hole in our souls with some lesser, created thing. Instead, in a step of faith, the Psalmist turns the heart's cry of longing into a movement of the soul, mind, and body: a daring act of attention to God—seeking his face in prayer. And then the Psalmist turns around and invites us to join too. To turn away from whatever lesser things we may have been occupying ourselves with to give our attention instead to the Lord. The invitation is to wait on him in confidence that we will see his face and his goodness yet, here in the land of the living. This promise of hope is all the more true in Jesus Christ.

So today and into our Lenten journey to come, turn your attention to God. Seek his face. "Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD."

"Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful" (Joshua 1:8).

Once, while helping a college roommate make a pot of chili, we learned a valuable lesson. Having tasted the chili my roommate decided it needed more heat. So, he added another teaspoon of chili spice, stirred the pot, and took another sample. He didn't think it had improved much, so he added more spice. Once again, he stirred the pot and tasted. I could tell by his reaction he still found the chili rather mild, so I encouraged him to add more spice. This went on for a bit until he thought there was heat in the pot.

Those of you who know something about chili spice, can guess what happened when our dormmates gathered around the table for dinner. (If I remember correctly, more chili ended up on the walls than in our stomachs). You see, it takes several minutes for chili spice to savour the sauce its in. By the time that pot got on the table all that chili spice had released its heat. It was beyond hot!

Mediation on scripture is similar. A simple definition of meditation is to "think deeply or carefully about something". This takes time. Its taking a bit of scripture and letting it slosh around inside our hearts and minds. We savour it. We let it simmer. As we do so, its flavours begin to savour our lives.

Our emphasis is often on reading scripture, including reading the whole Bible in a year. There is nothing wrong with that. But reading is not enough. Reading can be like filling a glass measuring cup with water. We get our fill, but the water does not change the cup. The reading of God's Word is meant to change us. For that, we need to meditate on it. And for that, we need time. Not idle time, necessarily. While doing tasks that don't require our full attention, we can learn to savour God's Word.

For most of Christian history people could not read the scriptures because it was not available through mass publication, and few people could read. But they could mediate. Its purpose is to clear our mental and spiritual vision of God, and to let his truth make its full and proper impact on our mind and heart. The printing press has added many benefits to our society and digital material even more. But more is not always more. Less can be more, if the less has opportunity to change our hearts.

In our text, God is giving the leadership of Israel to Joshua. Moses has died. God says to him, "Be strong and courageous." We like that commission. But when divorced from its context we miss its import. "Be strong and courageous, careful to obey all the law…meditate on it day and night…" (7,8). Joshua's task is not simply to defeat God's enemies in Canaan, but to lead Israel to be God's holy people. For that, Joshua needs to know God's Word. Meditation is the road to knowledge. That is God's commission of Joshua.

We don't want to be like pharisees, who are only holy on the outside. We want to be holy on the inside so that we naturally do what is right; so that we don't even think about it, we just do it. Meditation on scripture leads to fuller obedience, to a deeper attachment to God, to a deeper friendship with Jesus, to a more holy life.

In the New Testament, Paul puts it like this, "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things…Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature…clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience" (Colossians 3:1,2,5,12). Meditation on the Word (written and living) changes the heart and thus, the life.

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you: wherever he may send you. May he guide you through the wilderness: protect you through the storm. May he bring you home rejoicing; at the wonders he has shown you. May he bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

An extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The texts come from Matthew 2:1-12, from the New International Version of the Bible. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection! To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube. Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: immanuelministries.ca

DIVE IN QUESTIONS

1. What stands out to you from hearing these verses? Is God offering an invitation or a challenge to you through those words? Take time to pray about it.

2. What three foggy dark realities hang over Galilee as Jesus leaves the wilderness?

3. What does repentance mean under John, and how does that change once Jesus arrives? What do you learn about repentance here in Matthew 4?

4. How does the "good news of the kingdom" (4:23) enable people to turn from even more than just their sin?

5. What are the preoccupations and sufferings that take your time, heart, and head space and keep you paralyzed in the fog?

6. How will you turn from (and let Jesus turn you from) these things toward a deeper life of following Jesus this week? How will this impact the way you use time and connect with Jesus and others?