Sabbath Psalms – Sacred Sanctuaries

Devotions, Lectionary devotions, Psalm devotions, Sunday devotions

Psalm 026sPsalm 26:8 Lord, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory dwells. (NIV)

We all get attached to the sacred buildings where we worship. Within the bricks and walls, stones and stained-glass windows, we create a womb-like sanctuary where we feel the presence of God when we pray silently, or as we praise God with others around us. In the midst of a world which is always in a hurry and sometimes hostile, it’s therapeutic and refreshing to find a place of peace and acceptance, faith and love.

Over many years, I’ve worshiped and served in different churches with varied ministries and missions, programs and projects that displayed their congregational focus and how the people practiced their faith. No matter how different the churches were denominationally or spiritually, I always felt being in a place of peace where God’s presence was experienced, whether it was in a small country church or a grand Gothic cathedral. They were, and still are, special places to me, where Heaven and Earth seem to meet, where the Eternal One abides with mortal ones.

I think that the psalmist of old understood this, too, which is why he preferred God’s company and sacred house, rather than sitting around with dishonest and deceitful people. In the midst of a culture that was destroying itself with greed and corruption, the writer of Psalm 26 took solace in being with God, away from the maddening crowd. I think this is something important that we still need today – a place of quiet in a noisy world, a sanctuary of hope in chaotic times.

Perhaps you are undergoing a lot of pressure in your life right now. Maybe you are in a situation that burdens you, or in the midst of circumstances that threaten to overwhelm you. Perhaps you have been too strong or self-sufficient too long, and now feel stretched, exhausted, and vulnerable. Maybe you don’t know what to do or where to go. Can I suggest that you find a nearby church sanctuary where you can bring your heartfelt pleas and personal prayers to God? Like me, you probably need somewhere to lay down your burdens and just be embraced by the Living and Loving God. A local church building or even a large cathedral may be just what you’re looking for. Try it and see.

Point to ponder: Where can I go to find God’s peaceful presence in my life?

Prayer: Lord God, Whose presence abides on our planet and Whose blessing can be found in many holy places on Earth, we seek Your peace and love to help us endure and overcome our problems and troubles. Guide us to a sacred place where we can quietly pray; lead us to special sanctuary where we can experience Your loving presence and praise Your Holy Name. Amen.

John Stuart is a Scottish Presbyterian pastor now living in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Advent Candles art – 2024 series

Advent 1 art, Advent 2 art, Advent 3 art, advent 4 art, Advent art, advent bulletin covers, Advent candles art, advent clip art, Advent coloring pages, bulletin cover art, Christ Candle art, Christ Candle bulletin, Christmas Day bulletin art, coloring pages for church, Lectionary art, lectionary coloring pages

Advent Candles art and coloring pages – 2024 series.

Annual subscribers and donors can copy and download various sizes.

The traditional progression of candles is Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. You can add those words into the images at the bottom or simply name them Advent 1, 2, 3, 4 and Christ Candle.

ADVT2024 01   ADVT2024 02

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Narrative Lectionary art: Moses and Golden Calf

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Narrative Lectionary Year 3: Week 5 – Moses and Golden Calf art and coloring page.

Annual Subscribers and donors can copy and download various sizes for use.

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W05 - Moses and Calf

Ordinary 27B Bulletin art and coloring

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Ordinary 27B bulletin art and coloring pages.

Annual subscribers and donors can copy and download various sizes for use.

Bulletin covers for World Communion Sunday can be found at this link: WCS.

Gospel: Mark 9 – Jesus welcomes the children.

 

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Ordy 27B

 

Psalms 26 & 8. Subscribers and donors can copy & download for use.

 

Psalm 26

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27B - Psalm 26

Alternate: Psalm 8

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Hurricane Helene Prayer

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Almighty God, Whose Spirit hovers over the waters of chaos, and Whose Son stilled the stormy sea, we humbly come before You, crying out for the sake of our people whose lives and properties have been devastated by the recent hurricane. The damage and destruction is unbelievable; the vulnerability and fears of our brothers and sisters is unimaginable. Small towns and villages have been wrecked and washed away by unrelenting torrents; roads, paths, bridges, and trails have been obliterated. We are staggered and stunned by the scenes we have watched; we feel helpless and hopeless for the mountain folks who have lost everything.

Gracious Lord, we pray for the first responders and rescuers, for the linesmen and companies that are beginning the long process of repair and renewal. It will take years to accomplish and billions of dollars to pay for the damage and rebuilding. Grant us the patience, resolve, and resources to do all that we can to restore our devastated communities.

We pray for the families who have lost loved ones. We ask that you surround and support them with people who will care for, help, and sustain them. For those whose grief will always be with them, we pray for comfort; for those whose losses will never be regained, we pray for peace and love. For those congregations whose churches have been destroyed or whose fellowship has been broken, we pray for Your Spirit to be dear and near to them. And to those of us on this side of the damage and destruction, with little impact of the hurricane, grant us charitable hearts to financially support the places and people who have both urgent and long-term needs. Hear us now as we silently pray for those who cannot pray for themselves.

In Christ’s Name, we make these heartfelt and sincere prayers. Amen.

Sabbath Psalms – The World We Live In

church devotions, Devotions, Lectionary devotions, Psalm devotions

Psalm 124sPsalm 124:8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Some days I worry about climate change and what kind of impact it will have on my grandchildren. Each year, our little planet is getting warmer, glaciers are retreating, and sea levels are rising. The weather is erratic, and I’ve never seen so many floods and torrential downpours in my thirty years of living in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee. Some people say it’s just cyclical and eventually the climate will right itself. I don’t know about that; it seems like wishful thinking instead of finding a solution which will help my grandchildren.

Today’s highlighted verse reminds me that God is the Maker of this beautiful planet, so perhaps I should address God, asking for guidance and answers. If human beings are messing up what God created, then why doesn’t God intervene and set things right? As an artist, I take great pride in what I draw or paint and I would hate it if someone vandalized or broke the work of my hands. This makes me wonder if God steps back from Creation to allow human beings to see how destructive we can be, in the hope that we would recognize our mistakes and start to apply our knowledge, wisdom, and skills to repair what we have broken and to cherish what God has made.

The psalmist wrote that our help is in the name of the Lord which tells me that we need to cry to God in order to rely on God to remedy the climate crisis we are in. I think this is why more churches are focusing on environmental health as well as spiritual growth; it’s almost as if the Maker of heaven is encouraging us to be caretakers of the world we live in. I hope so, for the sake of my grandchildren and their grandchildren.

Point to ponder: What do I do in my life to care for the environment?

Prayer: Lord God, You created this unique planetary jewel that spins around the Sun as it moves through space. There’s nowhere else like it in our Solar System, so please help us recognize how fragile this world is by giving us the courage to repair the damage we have selfishly and sinfully caused. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is a retired Scottish pastor now living in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Ordinary 26B art and coloring pages

Bible art, bulletin covers, church bulletin covers, Church coloring pages, church worship art, Gospel art, Lectionary art, lectionary coloring pages, Sunday church art, Virtual worship background, worship cover art

Ordinary 26B bulletin art and coloring pages. Gospel and psalm drawings. Annual subscribers may copy and download for use, including larger versions of the images, as per the instructions sent to each subscriber. A one-time donation may also be given for the use of these images.

Gospel Art: Mark 9:38-50

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Ordy 26B

Psalm 124

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Psalm 124

Psalm 124

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Narrative lectionary art – Year 3 – Week 4 – Passover

church bulletin covers, Church coloring pages, Lectionary art, Narrative lectionary art, Narrative lectionary bulletin cover, Narrative lectionary bulletin covers, Narrative Lectionary resources, Narrative lectionary worship resources

Passover art based on Exodus 12.

Paid subscribers and donors can copy and download various sizes for use.

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Sunday Shorts – Her Ministry

church devotions, Devotions, Lectionary devotions, Sunday devotions

Ordy 25BsMark 9:35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

Years ago, on Sunday mornings, my wife Evelyn and I would have a coffee at either McDonalds or a bakery. Evelyn enjoys talking to folks and over the years, she developed friendships with the people who worked there. She talked to and helped single mums who were working all day in the restaurant, trying to get their high school diplomas at night. She blethered (an old Scots word for ‘talked’) with the seniors who were regulars, shared family photographs and funny stories with them. She listened to young students who were working their way through college, giving them encouragement to fulfill their ambitions. Evelyn often went just to have a quiet read and a cup of coffee, but I know that she also enjoyed the community of workers she befriended over all those years.

Evelyn did the same at the West Town Mall. She got up early (before 6am!) and did four laps of the Mall. I tried walking with her, but I couldn’t keep up – she walks too fast – and I’m not an early bird either. She talked to all the people in the Mall like they were her best friends – the walkers, the security guards, and the cleaners. When one senior walker was diagnosed with cancer, she made him some cookies and sent a card. When another walker suffered bereavement, she comforted her with prayers and love. I’m not saying that my wife is a saint – although she must be, she’s married to me – but what I am saying is that she has a ministry of her own which is quiet, unnoticed and just based on befriending, supporting, and serving the least among us. Over many years, she has quietly helped people in the congregations I served without drawing any attention to herself. She still does that today by writing and sending cards to folks she knows with words of encouragement, support, and love.

The mission of each church is to do the same. Many people have been blessed by the personal ministries that church folks accomplish with their families, friends, church visitors, and even strangers on the street. These ministries are the least publicized of all, but do you know what? These small ministries are among the greatest in the eyes of God and the most beautiful in Christ’s Kingdom. The best way to serve God is to serve others with faith, hope, and love, as well as respect, acceptance, and compassion.

So, wherever you are today, take time to be interested in other people, especially those who serve you in stores, restaurants, petrol stations, cash registers, banks and supermarkets. They are all children of God’s grace and just like you and me, they need to be appreciated, recognized, and loved.

Point to ponder: Who will I encounter today? How can I serve God by treating them respectfully?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus wherever we are today and with whoever we meet, may we see God’s image in their faces and God’s grace in their eyes. Instead of looking to be served, may we look for opportunities to serve quietly, faithfully and effectively. In Your Most Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

Sabbath Psalms – Like a Tree

Bible Studies, church devotions, Devotions, Lectionary devotions, Psalm devotions, Sunday devotions

Psalm 001sPsalm 1:3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

Many years ago, I took a group of church people on a coach tour of Scotland. It was a wonderful experience, and I personally delighted in showing everyone the wonders and beauty of the auld country.

In the middle of the tour, we visited a small town, right in the heart of Scotland, called Dunkeld. The scenery was breathtaking and all the tourists with me loved the buildings, bridges, and beautiful gardens in and around the town. We stayed there for two days, but just before we left Dunkeld, I took the group to a secret spot behind the Birnham hotel, where we were staying.

We walked for about 500 yards and came to the riverside. There, next to the water banks, stood four ancient oak trees, about 900 years old. They were massive and the girth of one of the trunks took half of our party to circle. It was amazing to experience one of Scotland’s hidden treasures.

For nine hundred years, those trees had been planted by the water. They were mentioned in Shakespeare’s Scottish play “MacBeth” in the lines “when Birnham wood comes to Dunisane hill.” They had survived the most turbulent years of Scottish history, and they still thrive, bearing acorns every year.

Today’s Bible verse tells us about the prosperity and strength of those who rely upon the Lord. It’s a lesson for each of us to experience, for no matter what we go through – pain, sorrow, or trouble – if we remain true to the Lord, He will enable us to endure, overcome, and prosper. God grants us this hope for being faithful to His Son. We are truly blessed, not because of what we do or accomplish, but because of all that God has done for us through Jesus.

Point to ponder: How has remaining faithful Jesus helped me through difficult times in my life?

Prayer: Lord God, Your strength carries us through life and Your will sustains us each day. Enable us to keep focused on Your ways, so that we may spiritually thrive and faithfully prosper in Your Kingdom on Earth. Refresh our souls with the Living Water of Jesus Christ and strengthen our spirits with the riches of His grace. In Jesus’ Name, we gladly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is a retired Scottish pastor now living in Knoxville, Tennessee.