Sunday devotions – Page 2

My Latest Book: Sunday by Sunday – Year C Gospels

My latest book is the beginning of a three-year project that I’ve been wanting to complete for years. I try to write devotionals on Sunday mornings to help church folks, teachers, and pastors focus on God’s Word for each particular Sunday. Over the years, I’ve compiled enough to cover most Sundays in each lectionary year.

My aim is to write a series of books with meditations for the lectionary Gospels, Psalms, Old Testament narratives, and the New Testament epistles.

This first book of devotionals focuses on the Gospels for Year C which begins at Advent on December 1 of this year. It contains seventy meditations including daily devotions for Holy Week, Christmas, and other Feasts. Each devotion includes a highlighted verse, short meditation, a point to ponder, as well as a short prayer. The devotions can be completed individually, with family, or a small church group.

I am already working on Year A Gospels, as well as some of the lectionary psalms. My hope is to produce twelve books which can be read year after year. The books will be available as eBooks for Kindle users (the Kindle app can be downloaded for free on any device or computer) and as paperbacks. The links to this first book are given below. I hope you may at least enjoy looking at them online.

As always, I am grateful for your encouragement and support. God bless.

John Stuart

Ebook and paperback* links

US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DB3TLLYN

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DB3TLLYN

Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0DB3TLLYN

Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0DB3TLLYN

*paperback copies are only available via Amazon in the US, Canada, and the UK.

Sunday Shorts: Listening, But Not Hearing

Devotions, Lectionary devotions, Sunday devotions

Mark 6:20 Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him. (NIV)

Being a Scottish preacher in American churches can be quite novel at times. For some reason, folks like to listen to my Scots accent because they find it to be quite lyrical. I used to think this was a great thing and relished each time I was asked to preach in a different pulpit. Over the years, however, I realized that my accent could sometimes get in the way of the Gospel message. People in the pews liked to listen to how I preached but didn’t absorb the sermon. Sometimes at the church door after the worship service, someone would say: “I loved your Scottish accent, but I didn’t understand what you said.”

King Herod must have felt the same with John the Baptist. The cruel king had imprisoned John for preaching against his marriage. Herod’s wife was greatly offended, so Herod had the fiery preacher arrested and thrown into a jail below his palace.

Herod, however, did not neglect John. He liked to listen to the preacher, although he didn’t fully understand what John talked about. Perhaps the prophet preached on the Kingdom of God which Herod would think rivalled his own sovereignty. Or maybe John talked about repentance for being sinful which Herod totally ignored. Whatever the case, Herod missed his opportunity to be reconciled to God. He liked listening to John, but he never truly heard a word which could have changed his life forever.

Some folks are like that, too. They know about Jesus and have perhaps listened to some of His teaching. Unfortunately, instead of fully embracing Him as their Savior and Lord, they just label Him as another historical holy man whose sermons were quaint and applicable to the past, but not relevant in today’s world. In other words, they listen but do not hear, which is why Jesus constantly told His listeners, “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Point to ponder: Do I like to just listen to what Jesus had to say, or do I hear how His words challenge me to change my ways?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to be truly open to Your Gospel message and holy teachings. Challenge our lives so that we may change our ways by applying Your words in our daily lives. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

Sunday Shorts: The Grand Delusion

church devotions, Devotions, Lectionary devotions, Sunday devotions

Mark 6:2 On the Sabbath, Jesus started teaching in the synagogue, and those who heard him were astounded.

“Where did he learn these things?” they asked. “What kind of wisdom has he been given? And what about these amazing miracles he is performing?

Over many years of being a pastor, one of the saddest things about ministry that I experienced was the number of people who took their faith for granted and attended church very infrequently. No matter how hard I tried to encourage them to be at worship on Sundays, they always had something else to do with family or friends. They simply believed that God would indulge their lack of dedication to His Son. God would just turn a blind eye and allow them to do what they wanted.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus, who knows God more personally than we could ever imagine, was always in synagogue on the Sabbath. He wouldn’t dishonor God by neglecting to worship and study on the special day set aside for glorifying His Father. He could have been exempt and gone elsewhere. He could have communicated with God in the flowered fields and hiking the hills. He could have enjoyed the company of family and friends, but instead He chose to be in God’s House with God’s people worshipping God.

There are many people who have given up on church attendance and a new generation of what’s called ‘nones’ has arisen. They believe in their own version of God, a Supreme Being who watches over them and who will receive them into His Kingdom after death. That’s the biggest lie the devil has spread and sadly, many of the nones will not realize it until it’s too late.

If weekly worship in God’s House was good enough for Jesus, then shouldn’t it be our priority, too?

Point to ponder: How often do I attend church on Sundays? What would Jesus do?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we have made up our own image of God to be an indulgent father or grandfather who lets us do what we want and whose infinite compassion will overlook our lack of faith. You never said that. You never taught it. You never lived that way, either. Teach us with Your astounding knowledge and guide us back into God’s House on a weekly basis, so that we may truly be Your followers and God’s servants. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

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

Sunday Shorts: The Quiet Woman

church devotions, Devotions, Lectionary devotions, Sunday devotions

Mark 5:27-28 She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him, hidden by the crowd and touched his cloak, thinking to herself, “If I only touch his clothes, I will be healed.”

Over the many years that I have worked in ministry, I have seen many women sincerely serve God in their own quiet way. Some of them have worked behind the scenes preparing food for different social events; others have written cards or given flowers to folks who were experiencing illness, loneliness, or grief. I have also watched other women professionally minister to their called congregations, serving with love, enthusiasm, intelligence, and compassion, even in the face of gender discrimination which still can be found in some unenlightened churches. Their quiet endurance is something that I constantly admire and I am grateful for the essential ministry of women which keeps Christ’s Church alive throughout the world.

In today’s Gospel story (Mark 5:25-34), a wee quiet woman seeks Christ’s ministry of healing. She has suffered from a blood disease that has plagued her life for years. She has sought medical help and spent most of her resources trying to find a cure. When she hears about Jesus coming to her town, she knows within her heart that this will be her last opportunity of being healed.

Her illness, though, has left her without any helpers. She may even have felt excluded from the rest of the religious community because blood issues among women at that time were deemed to be unclean. Perhaps she doesn’t want to draw attention to herself in case someone recognizes her, so she quietly and timidly reaches out to touch Christ’s cloak as He is passing. She believes that whatever power He has can be instantly transferred to her without causing a scandal.

Jesus, however, feels some of His divine power draining from Him, so He immediately stops and asked who touched Him. His disciples explain that many people in the crowd who were pushing and jostling with each other to get near Him, must have brushed against Him. But Christ knows what has really happened and the wee quiet woman, who has already been healed, is terrified of what could now occur. In her heart, she must have thought that Jesus would have rebuked her for stealing some of God’s power and so she kneels before Him, trembling.

Christ then does something beautiful here. Instead of rebuking her, He commends her for being faithful and He even calls her “Daughter,” which meant that she was not only physically healed but that she was completely restored to God. For years, she had been on the outside of the faithful community; now, she was fully accepted back into God’s love.

There are many women in the church who are faithfully serving Christ. They don’t look for any rewards, public praise, or congregational recognition. They just seek to serve Jesus quietly, efficiently, and effectively, empowered by His presence in their lives, and encouraging others by sharing God’s love which has helped them, healed them, and restored them.

Point to ponder: Who are the quiet women in my congregation? Am I grateful for their faith and service?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, today we give You thanks for the quiet women in our churches whose support, compassion, and ministries sustain local congregations everywhere. Bless them for their devotion, leadership, and service which has kept our faith alive for centuries. In Your Holy Name, we gratefully pray. Amen.

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

Sunday Shorts: Anxious Prayers

Devotions, Lectionary devotions, Sunday devotions

Sunday shorts: Anxious Prayers

Mark 4:38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” (NIV)

Sometimes I get frustrated with God, especially when my prayers of concern take a while to be answered. I’m usually a patient person, but when I get anxious, I can’t help feeling that God is either ignoring me or doesn’t understand the situation. I can remember years ago, when a church staff member created an almighty conflict in the congregation I served, how vexed I was because I was being falsely blamed for their misconduct. I repeatedly prayed to God to deal with the situation and make others understand the truth. I even spelled out to God how to do it and wondered if He really cared about what I was unjustly enduring. Eventually, it was positively resolved, but I still carry some pain from that unsettling time.

I hear the same anxiety and frustration in the voices of the disciples who are caught in a terrifying storm as they try to cross Lake Galilee (Mark 4:35-41). While the waves are violently crashing against the boat and the wind is fiercely howling, they are terrified about losing their lives. Meanwhile, Jesus is sleeping soundly at the boat’s stern, resting on top of a cushion. The disciples can’t believe that He is so totally unaware of their predicament and so they anxiously shout at Him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

Christ awakes from His deep sleep and responds to their pleas by stilling the storm. The wind and waves become calm; the situation is dealt with; they can now resume crossing over to the other side. Jesus probably went back to sleep again, leaving His disciples no longer anxious, but completely bewildered. They now ask themselves, “Who is this? Even the wind and waves obey Him!”

Perhaps you’re presently anxious about something beyond your control. Maybe you’re also waiting for God to answer your prayers of concern. It may take time to be accomplished, but please know this: God hears your prayers and knows what needs to be done.

Point to ponder: What currently concerns me? How am I asking God for help?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You know everything about our lives, especially the situations and worries that we presently endure. Please help us to remain faithful to You as we hand over all our anxious concerns and deepest issues. Calm the storms in our lives and enable us to continue our journey with You. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

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

Sunday Shorts: A Wee Word

Devotions, Lectionary devotions, Sunday devotions

Mark 4:31 The kingdom of God is similar to a mustard seed, which, when sown into the ground, is one of the smallest the seeds on earth.

Recently, I was traveling back from a church committee meeting with two other pastors. As we drove home, we talked about how a word preached at the right time to the right person can have a profound effect on the lives of others. A short phrase, sentence, or illustration could impact someone in the pew and change their lives forever. The Word of God, no matter how insignificant to other folks, never returns to Him empty.

I remember many years ago preaching in the Scottish country church that I served. I thought my sermon was mediocre, a wee bit long-winded, and perhaps even boring. In the congregation that day was a visitor from Northern Ireland whom I had never met. Something I said clicked with him and when he went home, he gave up his successful job and business because he decided that his talents would better be used to help other people in places where war and famine occurred. Within a couple of months, he used his skills to prepare, organize, and build 250,000 temporary shelters for refugees in Africa. Almost a million people were physically saved through his work and all because some wee word of hope and challenge had been given in an unexceptional sermon. A mustard seed of faith had been planted in his heart and it blossomed into an amazing work of deliverance given by God.

Whenever we sincerely share God’s Word in preaching or conversation, with words of comfort or challenge, the potential to change things for the better is always present. Perhaps something that you share today – an exchange of ideas, a social media post, a phone conversation, or even a text – will have a profound effect on someone else’s life. A mustard seed of faith may be included in your message and God knows that it will not return to Him empty.

Point to ponder: With whom can I share God’s Word today?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, Your words of life have won our hearts and changed our lives. You have implanted seeds of faith within each of us. May we now sow those same seeds in the lives of others who need them, too. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Sunday Shorts: A House Divided

church devotions, Devotions, Lectionary devotions, Sunday devotions

Mark 3:25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

Have you ever seen the old movie “Fall of the House of Usher?” It starred Vincent Price, in what was his only role with blonde hair. It’s based on Edgar Allen Poe’s short story of the same name and was what we called a “Creepie” back in Scotland. If ever a movie was rated by stars, this one was a Black Hole. It was terrible, full of overacting, cheap scenery, and clumsy effects. The best part of the movie comes at the very end, when the old house sinks into the mire it is built upon, and some Gothic text appears on the screen, quoting today’s verse. They don’t make them like that nowadays – and as my father used to say, “That movie was never released in theaters, it must have escaped.”

When Jesus spoke those words so long ago, He was referring to the unpleasant fact that His religious enemies were calling His miracles acts of demonic possession. Instead of glorifying God for His compassion in helping sick and sorrowful people, the scribes and Pharisees were trying to turn the people against Jesus. In other words, they were causing a division amongst God’s people. It must have been a sad time for Christ because He was doing His best to make the world around Him a better place with healthier people, both physically and spiritually. To be condemned for doing something good by religious leaders who should have known better, must have impacted Jesus emotionally.

There’s a lot of fearful talk about civil war coming to the US after the forthcoming election. We used to be a nation that accepted the outcome and strove to upbuild one another, but ever since the turn of this new century, we have let the demons of distrust and deceit damage our souls. I wish we could get back to moving forward and not give in to those who promote division, hostility, and violence. I pray each day that our nation will not become a house divided, but rather that the teachings, compassion, and love of Christ will impact and influence us all. For the sake of our dear children and grandchildren, we must be better than this.

Point to ponder: Am I contributing to the hostility and division among us? What would Jesus do?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help Your church here on Earth to overcome our differences and divisions. Let a united witness be evident in every congregation and community. Keep us more in tune with Your ways, so that we may turn our lives around and make the entire world a better place, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

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

Sunday Shorts: Ticked Off

church devotions, devotional art, Devotions, Lectionary devotions, Sunday devotions

Mark 3:5 Jesus looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. (NIV)

Jesus was ticked off. Someone needed help and the religious folks wanted to keep their religious rules intact instead of reaching out to the man with the withered hand. Their lack of compassion in a House of God is what made Jesus angry. In a sacred place where the community worshiped God, compassion was meant to be available to everyone. Instead, the regular attenders closed their hearts and minds to what was needed because they only wanted their religious rules to be strictly heeded.

Despite their lack of compassion and stubborn pride, which incidentally, embarrassed the man with the withered hand, Jesus broke all of the rules and customs to do what was right, rather than pander to what was so obviously wrong to Him. We tend to think that Jesus only got angry in the Temple when He overturned the moneychangers’ tables in the sacred courts, but here we have Jesus getting angry because good people – good religious people – were doing nothing to help and justified it by hiding behind their sacred rules.

The world throws a similar angry accusation at the Church today. How many issues and problems could be solved in our communities, as well as all over this planet, if Church people – Christ’s followers – were to help those in need instead of hindering the outcast, the alien, the different, the poor, the hungry, the war-trapped, and the unloved? Sometimes church people – even me – get angry when faced with other people’s problems because it would offend our moral or religious codes that we keep inside of ourselves. But instead of us getting angry, we should ask ourselves this honest question: is Christ angry with us because we say or do nothing?

Point to ponder: Who needs my help today?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, following You leads us into difficult situations and causes us a great deal of discomfort. Challenge our indifferent ways and change us so that we may help those in need whom we encounter. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

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

Sunday Shorts: Christ’s Church

Devotions, Lectionary devotions, Sunday devotions

John 17:9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. (NIV)

I see a lot of memes on Facebook that appear to condemn the Church for not being the Church that the world expects. The memes usually attack the Church for being hypocritical, intolerant, and not compassionate enough. There is some truth to what is posted, but these barbs often don’t offer a solution. It’s very easy to poke the Church in the eye for being so blind, but the negativity of those posts doesn’t act as an encouraging remedy; instead, they discourage folks from changing because there’s no guidance to do so being presented.

When Jesus established the Church, He didn’t go looking for perfect people – He wouldn’t have found them anyway. What He did do was to take a bunch of sinners and set them on the right path toward God. Despite their weaknesses and faults, sinfulness and selfish ways, He managed to put together a band of devoted people who would try to live their lives according to His teachings. He never expected them to be perfect which is why in today’s highlighted verse we have something that Jesus constantly did – He prayed for the ones given to Him by God; He prayed for His Church.

Today’s Church has many problems and issues, but that’s what you get when sinful people are called by God. Despite the setbacks that the pandemic brought upon the Church worldwide, the world still needs Christ’s Spirit of compassion, healing, and love to fix our broken planet – which is why Christ is still praying for His Church and this is what we should be doing for our local congregations, national denominations, and international situations. The Church is Christ’s Bride and will always exist, even beyond Time itself.

Point to ponder: What should I be praying for in my local congregation?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, the Church exists because You brought it into being. Its purpose is to spread the Good News of the Gospel through word and deed. Despite our sinful and fallen ways, You still pray for Your Church and for us. Help us to align our prayers with Your will for the whole Church. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

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

Sunday Shorts: Asking God

Devotions, Lectionary devotions

John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. (NIV)

This is one of those Bible verses that is mistakenly used by people who believe in the Prosperity Gospel. They focus on the second part of the verse where Jesus states that ‘whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.’ They think it means that to get anything they want, they just have to ask for it, using Christ’s name as their guarantor, so God will be compelled to give them whatever they desire. But that is not based on faith, it’s actually a form of magic which is called an enchantment. God becomes the Great Genie in the Sky who grants people their wishes, so long as they use the right words.

This mistake occurs because people forget about the first part of the verse where Jesus states that He chose and appointed people to follow Him for one purpose – to bear fruit; in other words, to expand God’s Kingdom and make faith prosperous, not the person, nor their individual desires. It’s what God wants that is important, not what we want. Christ’s name is honored by being associated with the bearing of fruit and is not trivialized or taken in vain by trying to coerce God into doing what we want. We align ourselves to God’s purpose – the sharing of His love through the life, work, and ministry of His Son – instead of maligning God by expecting Him to give us everything we desire.

So next time when we’re praying about something that matters to us, let’s be careful about what we ask for, by personally pondering whether or not we are attempting to manipulate God to our will, rather than consolidate ourselves to God’s will.

Point to ponder: When I pray in Jesus’ Name, am I asking for things that will bear fruit for God’s Kingdom or just myself?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we come to You very often with our needs, wishes, desires, and dreams. We pray for things that we want and forget to ask You what it is that You want for us. Help us to reconsider how we pray and what we ask of You, in order to make our requests more fruitful for God’s Kingdom. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

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

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