Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals — one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

Luke 23:32–34, 44–46

Darkness. Deep darkness. The entire land covered in darkness. The Son of God — the Savior of the world — hung on a cross and died.

Today is Good Friday, the day in the liturgical calendar that we remember the crucifixion of Jesus. But why on earth do we call it “Good”? Wouldn’t it be better to call it “Dark Friday”? That seems a more fitting name for a day when we are remembering the death of God’s Son, Jesus.

But look closely in the text. Jesus says two very important things here. In verse 34, He says, “Father, forgive them.” Then in verse 46, He cries out, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” Jesus’s death on the cross paid a price for a debt that you and I owe and could never pay. He called out for His tormentors (and you, and me) to be forgiven. Then ultimately He gave Himself into the hands of His father, our wise, perfect, loving, all-knowing God. That is what makes it “good.” Our forgiveness. Jesus paying our debt. The fulfillment and completion of God’s work to restore in humanity what He intended from the foundations of creation.

On Sunday, we will celebrate Easter — a grand, glorious, heart-thumping, soul-nourishing celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. It will be marvelous. But please don’t go there too quickly. The magnitude of that celebration can only be seen through the lens of Good Friday. So spend some time today remembering. Embrace the darkness of Good Friday. Admit your sin. Ask for forgiveness. And ask Jesus to walk with you through every dark, lonely, painful part of your life. He longs for you to surrender all of that into His hands, just as He surrendered His life into His Father’s hands.

For Reflection

What sin do you need to confess to God? Ask Him to forgive you through the death of Jesus for each sin.

How can you more intently focus on the depth and gravity of Good Friday?

As you ponder darkness, in your life and in this world, ask Jesus to bring His light in to it.

Prayer

Thank You, Jesus, for the cross. Thank You for dying for me and for forgiving my sin. Thank You that I can surrender every part of my darkness to You. Thank You for being my Savior. Amen.

Dr. Barry Gaeddert

Pastor for Spiritual Formation

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.”

Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

“This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

Mark 14:22–25

The first time I presided over the Lord’s Supper, there were about fifteen or twenty of us gathered around a room in an assisted living home at the conclusion of a bi-weekly Bible study. That moment did not look a great deal like what I was used to as communion at Peachtree: the bread was a homemade loaf that my mother had baked for the occasion, which sat on a linen napkin atop one of Lauren and my dinner plates, and while I had a chalice for the grape juice, I had forgotten about the pitcher to use in pouring the juice as I said the Words of Institution. While that moment was different from what I usually saw as the time of the sacrament, for the residents of the assisted living home, it was a time when church came to them in a way that was uplifting.

When Jesus interrupted the Seder meal with His disciples to institute what we now think of as the Lord’s Supper, He shifted their reality. A meal that had been part of the Passover celebration for nearly 1,500 years changed in meaning from God’s salvation of the Israelites from the hands of the Egyptians to God’s irrevocable freedom for all people from the wages of sin and death. As we sit in a time when communion has changed from a time of celebration as a church community gathered around a common table, we are still called to remember the salvific grace that we have been given through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

For Reflection

How has God’s grace been evident to you in the past week? How would you share this experience with others?

What does Communion mean to you? Has this understanding changed as your relationship with God has changed?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank You that You have prepared a meal for us that lasts for all eternity. Help us to experience the grace of communion in our day to day lives, and equip us to be instruments of Your grace in our homes, our communities, and with all who we meet.

Rev. Scott Tucker

Associate Pastor for Grand Adults

Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53:4–6

Hidden deep within the cultural, mental, and emotional DNA of many Americans today is a kind of “manifest destiny.” That is defined as “the 19th-century doctrine or belief that the expansion of the US throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable.” It works its way through many of us in a “I’ll do it my way whatever it takes” or via Frank Sinatra’s My Way.

But spiritually, there are things you simply cannot do yourself. For instance, you cannot remove your own sin. You cannot erase the impact of your own sin. You simply cannot save yourself.

For that, you need Jesus. He has paid the price for your sins, and only He could pay that price. All you need do is accept that reality, and thank Him.

For Reflection

Have you been living your life as if you did not need Jesus?

Will you open yourself — heart, mind, soul, strength — to Him now?

Prayer

Jesus, forgive me for thinking I can live my life without You. Come in and claim every part of me, and make me whole. Amen.

Dr. Chuck Roberts

Pastor for Congregational Life

Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’ He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. Then he said to them, ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.’ And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.’

Matthew 26:36–39

Here, Jesus has some unexpected non-togetherness. He wanted His dearest friends to stay awake with Him while He wrestled over His destiny in prayer to the Father. But they fell asleep, repeatedly disappointing Him in His deepest need. There comes a time when you and I, no matter how crowded the house or life, are alone with God. Alone with our tearful prayers. God is there, and the tears flow. We bang on the doors of Heaven.

When you read about Jesus’s agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, your mind might go back to your time of greatest agony, your most earnest pleas to God. I think of the time during my father’s illness when I prayed on my knees at the side of our bed for him not to die. You might think of a cancer diagnosis for yourself or someone dearly loved, whose life you pled for before God. You might think of your earnest prayers for a prodigal to return home or for a mentally ill loved one to get the help they desperately need. God hears those prayers. And sometimes, we don’t know why, they don’t get answered as we have pled and begged. It is one of the most painful mysteries of our faith. Friends, it takes courage to stubbornly persist in faith when we don’t get what we prayed for. Let’s be stubbornly faithful together. Even in the dark, we stubbornly believe that there will be light.

Jesus senses that His prayer to be spared the Crucifixion is answered “No.” With the greatest courage, He says to God, “Not my will but Thine be done.” He prepares to offer His life, His very precious Life, on behalf of a world enslaved to sin and in fear of death. He got up and walked into that for us all. It takes our breath away.

Even as He prepares for this act of courage, He calls God, “My Father.” Let us persist as Jesus did, in staying close to God even when we do not understand, and when the way is dark ahead. God will see us through even the darkest night of the soul. Believe, and hang on.

For Reflection

What was your time of deepest agony and prayer? Have you had a time of not having prayer answered “Yes,” but “No”? How did you respond?

How can you help a friend who is going through a time of agony like this?

What does it mean to you that Jesus knew what would happen to him, and yet, He purposefully gave Himself to God for God’s purposes?

Prayer

Dear Lord, You know the prayers of our hearts, the everyday ones and the ones that we cry to you from the depths. And You have been there with us as we prayed and wept and as we heard, “yes” … or “no.” Lord, we will not let go of You until we receive your blessing. Bless us even in our darkest hour. Help us to endure as You endured, help us to stay by Your side even when we doubt and fear. Lord, bring us to a new day. Bring us to a time of recovery and healing. We will wait and hope. Through Christ our Lord, we pray, trusting and believing in You. Amen.

Rev. Vicki Harrington Franch

Pastor for Pastoral Care

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

John 17:1–5

“Father, the hour has come.” With these words, Jesus goes to His Father in prayer. In the final hours before His arrest, Jesus has gathered together with His disciples. He has shared a meal, washed their feet, and now prays for them. It’s His final act before He walked across the Kidron Valley to Gethsemane. In what is often called the High Priestly Prayer, Jesus prayed that He would glorify the Father in what was to come. It’s an intimate window into the relationship of the Father and Son, united before the world began, bringing its salvation to pass. In this critical moment, Jesus’s focus is on His relationship with His Father and with His closest friends.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism teaches that the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. As followers of Christ, we are called to glorify God with our lives — even in our most difficult days. We have never experienced a Holy Week quite like this — remembering the sacrifice of Christ as so many of in our world are suffering. Leaning on the hope of the resurrection without the joy of celebrating together. However, in spite of it all, we follow the example of Jesus. We can bring glory to God by sharing a meal, serving one another, and praying as we have never prayed before. The hour has come.

For Reflection

How do you think the experience of Jesus relates to the experience of people suffering during this pandemic?

How might you specifically serve and pray for others during this time?

Prayer

Lord, as we reflect on Your love for us during this week, we are in awe that You poured out Your life for us. Help us in this time of fear and great uncertainty. We pray that the Spirit will give us courage and confidence in these days ahead. Give us the grace to reflect your love to our neighbors and glorify You in all that we say and do. Amen.

Dr. Jay Madden

Pastor for Mission

Lord, you have been our dwelling-place
in all generations.

Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

You turn us back to dust,
and say, ‘Turn back, you mortals.’
For a thousand years in your sight
are like yesterday when it is past,
or like a watch in the night.

You sweep them away; they are like a dream,
like grass that is renewed in the morning;
in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it fades and withers.

For we are consumed by your anger;
by your wrath we are overwhelmed.

You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your countenance.

For all our days pass away under your wrath;
our years come to an end like a sigh.

The days of our life are seventy years,
or perhaps eighty, if we are strong;
even then their span is only toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.

Who considers the power of your anger?
Your wrath is as great as the fear that is due to you.

So teach us to count our days
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 90

More than usual, you and I are feeling the fragility of life. By now, you may know and love someone who is sick with this virus. By now, you may know a beloved person who has died from it. This may be the first time you have ever been afraid of illness. We know that our bodies are vulnerable. We feel it every day now, as we wipe things down with bleach wipes, and wash our hands over and over.

The Psalmist thinks of the infinity of God, how God brought creation into being and the way God can finish life and turn us back into the dust we were formed from. For God, time passes differently, with 1,000 years passing like a day. If we are fortunate, says the Psalmist, we humans will get 70 or 80 years on earth.

And in our fragility and our finitude, our misfortune and our short life span can feel as though God is doing that to us in anger. For the Psalmist, God’s wrath looms large as he considers his life.

But the Psalmist did not have the benefit of knowing Jesus. We do. Our lives are lived knowing that, even knowing our sin, Jesus Himself valued us enough to come and live with us. Jesus feels the things we feel in the body: sickness, worry, fragility, grief, fear, joy, and peace. Jesus valued us enough to step between us and sin and death, He fought Hell for us and won. We know for sure that we are worth more than blades of grass or dust to God because of the surpassing gift of Jesus.

And yet, we join the Psalmist in wanting to live through these days in such a way that we get a heart of wisdom, as we live however long a life God wants us to have. We want to use our time here with each other fully, abundantly, wisely. Like the Psalmist, we want to look at our every day as an offering to God, to our families, to our church and city.

For Reflection

What are the moments that you feel most anxious, these days? What do you do to help yourself with that anxiety?

How can you remind yourself that you are valuable in Jesus’s eyes?

How are you getting a heart of wisdom and numbering your days, making them count?

Prayer

Dear Lord, we put our worries and fears into Your hands, knowing that You love us and live life with us daily. Thank You for helping us to make our days count, every day. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Rev. Vicki Harrington Franch

Pastor for Pastoral Care

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Acts 2:42–47

This passage has captured the imagination of Christians through the centuries. It describes the missional purity of the early church, before it became well organized and, some might say, domesticated. The church was at its essence a fellowship of believers committed to their common devotion — living in the way of Jesus. They gathered regularly for teaching, they broke bread together, and they cared for anyone in need. Because they lived this way, other people noticed and joined their community of grace.

It captures our imagination because we long for that kind of community. This longing stems from the fact that we are created in the image of the Father, Son, and Spirit. Granted, some of us are introverts and others are extroverts, but we all need connection. That is one reason that this time in our lives is so difficult. We can’t be with people that we love. We miss a handshake, a pat on the back, and a hug. We even miss sitting together on an uncomfortable pew.

There is an African word Unbuntu that means “people are people through other people.” I believe that is true for us as well. The reality is that when we are not together we are not fully ourselves. So in these days of distancing let’s do all that we can to stay connected until we can be together again.

For Reflection

What are some creative ways that I can stay connected to others in a time of social distancing?

Make a list of people that you can call and encourage this week.

Prayer

Lord, you created us for You and for one another. Inspire us with creative ways to love and serve our neighbor during this time. Help us to appreciate our need for one another. We bring all our fears and anxieties to You and ask that You give us patience, courage, creativity, and hope for the future.

Dr. Jay Madden

Pastor for Mission

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’” Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”

Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.” “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”

Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.

Matthew 4:1–11

Did you know that the forty days of preparation and fasting before Easter Sunday (the season of Lent) was inspired by this encounter that Christ endured with the enemy?

Our nation’s current situation surrounding the Coronavirus pandemic is new to each of us. We’ve never experienced anything like this before! And for those of us who chose not to participate in fasting this Lenten season, well, ALL of us are fasting something now whether it be your favorite canceled sport or temporarily closed hobby. Whatever the case may be, we’re experiencing a fast.

An interesting (and admittedly abstract) thought keeps popping into my head… What curious timing that this “forced fast” is happening in conjunction with the Christian church’s Lenten season. Could it be that the Lord is possibly calling us into a season of fasting certain aspects of the Church? Maybe you’re strictly a consumer of worship, maybe you only value church because of the social/professional networking, or maybe you’ve idolized certain program ministries or spiritual leaders.

Whatever our struggles, I think there’s opportunity for growth for each of us — opportunity to feast “on every word that comes from the mouth of God,” opportunity to draw closer to our King Jesus in uncertain times, and opportunity to connect with others in profound and intentional ways.

For Reflection

During this period of waiting, how can I intentionally draw closer to the Lord? To my family?

If you chose to fast this Lent, assess how that’s going. Was your fast rooted with selfish motives, or has it been spiritually fruitful?

I keep thinking about how amazing our first week back is going to be! What are you most excited about when the church is given the “all clear” to gather again?

Prayer

Father, thank You for Your perfect, beautiful, faithful, and relentless love for each of us. Thank You for the gift of Your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank You that our King Jesus is no stranger to our challenges, hardships, and sufferings in life. He knows us; He loves us. He understands our deepest pains, and He celebrates our greatest joys. Lord, I pray that when we return to our gathering, and we’re able to once again enjoy the community of faith in person, that we’d return with fresh perspective about what a gift it is to be a part of the body of Christ and what a privilege it is to pour out our praise in worship! Lord, speed up this “forced fast” and comfort every image bearer that has been impacted by this pandemic. We love you, King Jesus, and we pray these things in the name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit.

Wil Brown

Director of Contemporary Worship

After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Luke 5:27–32

I always dreaded having a physical as a child since it seemed to inevitably entail receiving at least one shot and, more often many of them, even though I have never been one of those people who had a fear of needles. More than the dread of inoculations, though, was the simple fact that I could not understand why a healthy kid should need to go to see the doctor. In my mind, the doctor’s office should only have been visited during a time of sickness.

The words of Jesus in this passage call to mind the image of our Savior as a physician to sinners, which is a theme that has best been defined by the quote, “the church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.” All of us, regardless of where we find ourselves on our journey with the Lord, are still in need of some spiritual medicine, of some tweaking within our lives and our habits to draw us closer to the image of God into which we were created. Some days, these places are quite evident, while on other days, my personal confessional time requires more soul searching, and often ego-squelching, when I think that I have been doing things more correctly than I want to admit. In this strange time, where we cannot gather together as the body of Christ, we must not forget that we continue to be a hospital for sinners, though it might resemble a bit more of the trend towards tele-medicine.

For Reflection

Where in my life do I see that Jesus can help me in curing my spiritual illness?

What are some steps that I can take to continue to reach out to other people to offer them support, comfort, and a healing hand?

Prayer

Jesus, thank you for calling us to You where we are, not looking at us with eyes of judgment but rather with arms of compassion. Help us to be the hands and feet of You, our Great Physician, especially in a time where we can so easily feel isolated from each other and You.

Rev. Scott Tucker

Associate Pastor for Grand Adults

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Galations 6:2

Recently, I passed by Chick-Fil-A and the sign read “Drive-Through or Mobile Orders Only.” Tears came to my eyes. Just days earlier, I was having a conversation with the store manager about what steps they were taking regarding the coronavirus. The tears came not because I might have to do without Chick-Fil-A (which would be bad enough!), but because the world was shifting so very quickly that it took my breath away.

Did you know that we have different types of tears? According to Henry Cloud, we have tears of grief, tears of change, onion tears, and laughing tears, and they actually have different molecular structures. Who knew? Our tears have very different functions depending on the kind of emotion they are carrying.

Tears come as you express how you are metabolizing events in your life, heart, mind and soul. So, each one of them is doing its own work, carrying the message of what you have been and are going through.

This week, many of our women’s communities met in virtual communities online. There, I saw many faces and many tears. Stories of grandmothers having to make hard choices about not being able to see their grandchildren, a woman that had to let go all of her employees, and women who are no longer able to visit their mothers or fathers who are isolated in nursing care facilities. The list goes on.

Tears are in our eyes for a reason. They need to be seen by someone who cares in order for us to be healed.

For Reflection

What type of tears are you crying these days? Journal about what they might be telling you.

Who could you call/see today (Facetime or online) that might need to release some tears with you?

This week, watch a funny movie and cry some ‘laughing’ tears. It will be good for your soul.

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of tears, the gift of your presence in our life and the gift of technology that helps us to stay connected during this time. Grow us into more caring, authentic, and transparent people who can carry one another’s burdens. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Rebecca Madden

Director of Connections & Women’s Ministry

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

Acts 1:6–11

We’ve all done it. After a spiritual experience, we can too easily freeze and hang onto the moment, the day, the feeling. Like the disciples standing there in Jerusalem (at least, that is the traditional site) looking up in the sky, and essentially being told to get about the business of the Kingdom, sometimes we need a good kick in the seat of our pants. It’s not about shame; at the end of the day, it’s about the Kingdom.

As our nation — and the world — grapples with the realities of COVID-19 and the recurrent social distancing changes to life as we know it, it could be dangerously easy to stare — not so much at the sky, but maybe at the news, or social media, or simply at nothing, locked into fear or anxiety or the “paralysis of analysis.”

What the disciples needed to do, was just to do something. Don’t just stand there; do something! And perhaps what we as followers of Jesus need to do is to do something — anything — for someone else. But do it in the name of Jesus, and let the Lord claim all the glory.

For Reflection

Am I catching myself staring at something that I need to distance myself from?

What is one thing I could do to shift a pattern in my life?

Prayer

Lord, help me to shift my gaze from looking for You to seeing You in the lives and faces of “the least of these;” In Your name, Amen.

Dr. Chuck Roberts

Pastor for Congregational Life

Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Luke 19:8–10

Our health system is overwhelmed! Many people are hospitalized. Many more are attempting to see their doctors or are trying to make an appointment. Even more are trying to do everything they can to stay healthy in midst of a global pandemic. Sick people want to be healed … and those who are well don’t want to get sick.

In Luke 19, we meet Zaccheus. He was a tax collector. In that time and culture, it meant that he could overcharge people and pocket the difference. And the Bible says bluntly, “He was rich.” He probably cheated a large number of people.

Zaccheus heard about Jesus and wanted to see Him. But since he was short in stature, he climbed up in a tree to see over the crowd. Jesus noticed Zaccheus, and told him that He would dine with him that very day. Jesus saw into Zaccheus’s heart and knew it needed to be healed. And it was! Zaccheus offered to pay back even more than he took from people. And Jesus declared that salvation had come to him.

Only the Great Physician can bring the kind of spiritual healing that Zaccheus needed — and that we need as well. But that is exactly why Jesus came. He declared “The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost” (v. 10). What an incredible gift that in Jesus we are healed of our spiritual brokenness and sickness.

For Reflection

Do I look for ways to see Jesus at work in the world around me? Would I go out of my way as Zaccheus did just to make sure I could have an encounter with Jesus?

In what ways am I spiritually sick or broken? In what ways do I need to ask Jesus, the Great Physician, to heal me?

Prayer

Thank you God for the gift of spiritual healing offered in Jesus. I confess my sin and need for healing from you, The Great Physician.

Dr. Barry Gaeddert

Pastor for Spiritual Formation

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Matthew 5:4
 

Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.

Psalm 126:5–6

One of the most beautiful pieces of music ever composed is Brahms’s A German Requiem, or Ein deutsches Requiem. Johannes Brahms wrote it midway into his career, from 1865–1868, following the death of a friend and the death of his own mother. He chose all the scripture himself from the Luther Bible instead of using the words of a Latin Requiem mass. (He later told a friend that he wished it would be called “Ein menschliches Requiem” or “A Human Requiem.”)

The late Atlanta Symphony Chorus founder, Robert Shaw, once said, “Whenever I perform this work, I am aware that there are people in the audience who are hearing it for the very first time — and there are people who are hearing it for the last time.” In this devotional, I wanted you to have not only the scripture from the first movement of this epic piece, but also a video in which you can listen to the first movement of this sublime music:

I feel blessed by this music, in the knowledge that it is frequently performed all over the world and that singers have come to faith by singing it. I pray for your comfort, for these anxious days and for the days yet to come, days which will be filled with “songs of joy.”

For Reflection

Where can I stop and see beauty today? With whom can I share that discovery?

How can I allow myself space to mourn? How can I reach out to others and give them that same space?

Prayer

Gracious, generous God, who gives us moments of human beauty, sorrow and joy, cover us with Your Presence. Reveal to us your tender, guiding hand. Shape our anxiety into trust, our solitary songs of sorrow leading to shared songs of joy. Always in Your name, Amen.

Mary Hoffman

Director of Music Ministry

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:16–18

It’s hard to understand how the Apostle Paul could describe the hardships faced by himself and the early church as “light and momentary troubles.” After all, this was the man who had been beaten, imprisoned, and shipwrecked. He had suffered in countless ways, and yet, he never lost his eternal perspective. His troubles were certainly not light by any measure! However, when compared with his relationship with Christ and the opportunity to be His servant, they seemed by comparison insignificant.

This current public health crisis does not seem light either. In fact, it is quite possibly the greatest challenge that our nation has faced in our lifetime. It is a time for all of us that follow Christ to clearly see what is happening and take it very seriously. However, we should not “fix our eyes” on it, but instead focus on the truth that in the midst of this time, God is at work in and through us. He is renewing us inwardly every day. He wants to use us to care for our neighbors. In the same way that God used the hardships of Paul’s life, He will use this time in our lives if only we fix our eyes on Him and keep an eternal perspective.

For Reflection

How can I take this crisis seriously, but yet have an eternal perspective?

How might God be using this time to renew my faith?

Prayer

Lord, in these anxious days help me to keep an eternal perspective, confident that you are at work in all things. Give me the wisdom and courage for this day ahead.

Dr. Jay Madden

Pastor for Mission

Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”

Mark 14:8–12

My parents are wonderful people who made many sacrifices to provide for my siblings and me, both as we were being raised and even into our adulthood. However, it was not until I became a parent that I began to understand just what it means to be a father. I knew about fatherhood. I had read some books about it (not nearly as many as I probably should have), but it did not make sense until I held our daughter and had spent a few weeks of sleep-deprived stumbling through daily life as a new dad.

In a similar light, we can know about God by reading through Scripture, but it is only in the person of Jesus that we can truly understand who God is. Through the Messiah, we are able to see the Lord made flesh in a way that is tangible to us as people, rather than simply trying to understand a concept that is beyond our capacity to see, know, and touch: God. Of all of the blessings that we have been given, this ability to truly understand who our Creator is by seeing who Jesus is, is one of the greatest, especially when we couple it with the ability to see in the Christ who God created us to be as people formed in the image of the divine.

For Reflection

How do I see God in the person of Jesus? What do I wish to know more about our Creator?

What about Jesus do I wish to make more a part of my life?

Prayer

Lord, you have shown us your face in a way that baffles our imagination, and we thank you for doing so. Help me to see you in new ways, to understand your will and desires for my life, and open my heart and mind to be formed as people created in your image.

Rev. Scott Tucker

Associate Pastor for Grand Adults

Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”

Mark 9:33–37

Who do you think of when you are asked, “Name someone great”?

Most of us gravitate to someone with significant political power or great financial wealth or someone who is famously popular. That’s simply the way we are wired.

Yet in this simple interaction with His disciples, Jesus turns greatness on its head. The great one, He says, is not someone who attracts attention based on power or influence. Rather, the person in the Kingdom of God who is seen as great is the one who sets their own agenda aside and serves others.

In 2016, Dak Prescott was a rookie quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. On Thanksgiving Day, the Cowboys were playing the Baltimore Ravens, and the sideline cameras caught something surprising. Prescott drank some Gatorade, tossed the cup to the trash, and it bounced off and landed on the ground. He got up, picked up his cup, and put it in the trash.

A premiere player on “America’s Team” picking up his own trash — not expecting to be served, but serving.

For Reflection

How could I serve my community/neighbors in this season of the world’s life?

Prayer

Lord, help me to trust You enough today to look for opportunities to serve the world around me. Help me to seek Your good in my life and the lives of others. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

Dr. Chuck Roberts

Pastor for Congregational Life

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away — and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep.”

John 10:11–15

Every day for a couple of weeks now, my husband, who is a physician, has attended briefings and meetings preparing for the arrival of many sick patients during this Coronavirus pandemic here in Atlanta. He reads the latest reports from the front lines of this battle and adjusts his thinking about what to expect and look for. When he wakes up in the morning, he gets up and takes his temperature before going to Emory or the VA or his dialysis unit to begin caring for patients. He’s aware that he could become ill with coronavirus himself and wants to protect his patients from being treated by a sick doctor. Over the course of the day, as he goes in and out of their rooms and treatment areas, he will wash his hands over and over and use hand sanitizer. He will gown, glove, and mask if necessary. He cares for his patients deeply. He is willing to put himself at risk to care well for them. He is a good doctor.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He knows His flock well. He observes the surrounding terrain; he watches over them carefully. He looks for danger that might affect them: predators, pitfalls, thieves. He makes sure they have clean water and good grazing. He spends time with them. (There is a book about being a pastor by Lynn Anderson called They Smell Like Sheep: Spiritual Leadership for the 21st Century. It’s called that because good shepherds spend time with the flock, the flock rubs off on them, and they rub off on the flock!)

A Good Shepherd spots predators and goes toe to toe with them. He defends the flock knowing that it puts Him in danger.

If He were only a hired hand, He would turn and run, leaving the sheep behind. He might say, “I’m not getting paid enough for this.” The Good Shepherd lays His life down for the sheep.

As we go through this difficult time, when we are being asked to stay home and forgo our usual time together, we remember that there are others going straight into the battle to save lives. We can pray for them as they do that self-sacrificing work. As we find out that we are having events canceled and deal with disappointment, and sometimes anger, that we are having to withdraw from beloved people and places, we can reflect on the Good Shepherd who looks out for dangers to His flock (us!) and who works to keep us safe. And we can reflect on and pray for our own shepherds here at Peachtree, who are trying to watch over us and protect our shared life. We are not sheep without a heavenly Shepherd or earthly shepherds either. Thanks be to God for the gift and example of the Good Shepherd and the gift of our church.

For Reflection

Am I a shepherd for any small gathering or group or for my business or department at work? Do I have others that I am shepherding at home or work or school? How are they responding to my guidance?

What is one important thing I want to bring back into our shared life together?

Prayer

Dear Lord, thank you for the shepherds in our lives, all those who watch over us to keep us safe, secure, and nourished. We are praying for the health of all those who work with the sick, we pray for researchers, doctors, nurses, technicians, EMTs, and first responders who are putting themselves in harm’s way to help others. Thank you for all those making decisions to help and protect us. Help us to be creative as we consider ways to enhance our connection with each other as friends, neighbors, and fellow members of the flock. Lord, we put ourselves — body, mind and souls — in Your hands. We trust and love You. In Christ’s name, Amen.

Rev. Vicki Harrington Franch

Pastor for Pastoral Care

He entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”

Luke 19:1–10

It’s hard to read this story without admitting the dominant image that most people have of it. That little ditty that we learned as children; “Zacchaeus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he…” (Sorry about giving you that ear worm.)

I’ve often wondered, “Why Zacchaeus?” There was a crowd there, likely a pretty significant one; so why Zacchaeus?

Maybe Jesus knew he (Zach) could reach people in ways no one else could. Through Zacchaeus, Jesus could touch the lives of people that “polite society” might see as marginal, and thus the grace of God could impact people that were seemingly beyond the reach of the love of God. Maybe. Just maybe.

Too many people think that it’s just the clergy (professional Christians?) who can share God’s good news. But nothing could be further from the truth. You can reach people and show them the love of God in ways that no other person on earth can. You can show them; you can tell them; you can — dare I say it — let them see Jesus in you.

Sure, the opposite is true, as well. We can turn people off from God. But not if we daily yield to the leading of Holy Spirit!

For Reflection

Who are the people in my daily path, whom I may have overlooked for years, but God has placed in my life to impact positively for Him?

How can I share or show the love of Christ to one person outside my family today?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, help me to climb out of the tree of my security and anonymity today to share Your love with others; in Your name I pray, Amen.

Dr. Chuck Roberts

Pastor for Congregational Life

“…Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Mark 10:43–45

Jeopardy is a fun show to watch. I sometimes know the answer to the question…about 5 seconds after the contestant rings in. I say to myself, “Oh yes, I think I knew that!” I wouldn’t make a very good Jeopardy contestant. Ken Jennings, on the other hand, was crowned Jeopardy’s ‘Greatest of All Time’ — his wealth of knowledge had no end it seemed!

Jesus taught about greatness. Some of His followers were arguing about who would be the greatest in God’s Kingdom. Jesus turned everything upside-down when he told them “Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant” (Mark 10:43). He said that true greatness is found in serving and caring for the needs of others.

But the truly amazing thing is that Jesus not only taught that — He lived it. He gave himself as a sacrifice on the cross for our sins. When we accept forgiveness through the cross, we are united with Him in His death. Are we living like Him as well — by serving those around us? Lent is a great time to sharpen our serving skills as we care for one another’s needs.

For Reflection

Do I seek more often to serve or to be served? Do I seek more often to be great or to be a servant?

How can I be more like Jesus in this day by serving the needs of those around me?

Prayer

Jesus, Your love for us was limitless, going all the way to the cross for our sins. Thank you for dying for me. Help me to live for You by intentionally serving other people.

Dr. Barry Gaeddert

Pastor for Spiritual Formation

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.”

Matthew 7:24–25

On October 1, 1987 at 7:42am I was on my hands and knees under my kitchen table. The entire apartment complex in which I lived in Pasadena, California shook and rolled as we experienced a 6.1 earthquake. The sound was deafening. My heart raced for hours afterwards. But the apartment building — my home — stood unaltered by the shaking ground. The foundation was solid and allowed the building to survive.

Jesus says that, for us, hearing and obeying His words is the same as building a house on a solid rock. Meanwhile, those who do not obey are compared to someone who built their house on shifting sand. In Jesus’s story, a storm strikes both houses, but only the one on the solid foundation (obedience to what Jesus taught) remains standing.

In the midst of the storms of this day — blowing winds that bring frightening news and worry every day — we can have certainty if we build our lives on the solid foundation of God’s word. It does not make the storms go away. But it gives us the assurance that in the end, our foundation of hearing and obeying God’s Word is the essential element to keep us standing.

For Reflection

In what ways am I building my life (my choices, my values, my commitments) on God’s Word instead of on the shifting sands of our culture?

How do Jesus’s words about foundations give me comfort and encouragement in the midst of the challenges of today?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, help me to build my life on Your words. I want to obey all that You have taught and live out my commitment on a daily basis.

Dr. Barry Gaeddert

Pastor for Spiritual Formation