Posts with the category “lent”
Easter Sunday
by Schertz UMC on April 20th, 2025
We’ve come through the shadows of Holy Week, and Easter morning has dawned once again. Christ is risen! Whether 2,000 years ago or today, this is a simple, yet irrational declaration: Christ is risen! We don’t fully understand Resurrection. We can’t make logical sense of it. But it is perfect and fitting for God, whose steadfast love endures forever because even death cannot stop Love. So, listen ... Read More
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Holy Week: Good Friday
by Schertz UMC on April 18th, 2025
Of all the difficult, terrible things that can happen in this world, one of the scariest is being alone. Suffering, pain, tragedy—all are easier to bear when we know we are not alone in the struggle. When Jesus cries out from the cross, echoing the opening verses of Psalm 22, he cries out of a longing not to be alone in the midst of senseless violence. Our song today invites us to remain present a... Read More
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Holy Week: Maundy Thursday
by Schertz UMC on April 17th, 2025
At the center of Maundy Thursday is a mandate, or a command, to love one another as Christ has loved us. “Stand Up” by Cynthia Erivo may seem unusual for Maundy Thursday, but at its core, it is a call to live into this new reality and to embody hope, care, and love with one another. Difficult days lie ahead, but God's steadfast love frees us to move forward toward life together in Christ. As you l... Read More
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Holy Week in Lent
by Schertz UMC on April 14th, 2025
This would make a good study to do alone or with a small group. The Passover praise psalm118:1 O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever!118:2 Let Israel say, "His steadfast love endures forever."118:19 Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD.118:20 This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter t... Read More
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Sixth Sunday in Lent
by Schertz UMC on April 13th, 2025
We have arrived at Holy Week. We followed Jesus into Jerusalem amidst joyful multitudes who hailed him as a king, yet we know Friday is coming. The triumphant multitudes will not stick around long. Yet, God’s steadfast love never fails. So, as we move into this holiest of weeks, listen to “You Will Be Found” from the musical Dear Evan Hansen and consider: “How does God’s steadfast love find you, e... Read More
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Cover Me in Sunshine - Reflection Questions
by Leah Krenek on April 9th, 2025
Cover Me in Sunshine music video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGZhMIXH62MThis song was written in 2021 for singer Pink and her daughter Willow Hart. She teased the song on TikTok before its release, and also said in a video, “I love singing with my daughter and my son... we have this song called ‘Cover Me in Sunshine’ that we recorded at home because it made us feel happy and so we're going t... Read More
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Rainbow - Reflection Questions
by Leah Krenek on April 9th, 2025
Rainbow Music Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OFv566mj7sKacey Musgraves wrote this song with her co-writing partners years before it was released. According to Musgraves, it.began as an encouraging note to herself and transformed into “a message of hope for anyone in the midst of dark times.”It was the last song her grandmother heard her write, and the songstress played it at her grandmoth... Read More
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Sixth Week in Lent
by Schertz UMC on April 7th, 2025
This would make a good study to do alone or with a small group. God does great things for us126:1 When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.126:2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with shouts of joy; then it was said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them."126:3 The LORD has done great things for us, and we rejoiced.126:4 Re... Read More
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Fifth Sunday in Lent
by Schertz UMC on April 6th, 2025
“Fill me with laughter.” This is not what we expect so deep into the season of Lent. We are supposed to be getting more serious the closer we get to Good Friday, right? Or, perhaps Psalm 126 is right on time. Laughter, stories, and memories of God’s provision are necessary at all stages of our journey with God as individuals and as family in Christ. They shore up our faith and feed our hope. They ... Read More
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Fifth Week in Lent
by Schertz UMC on April 1st, 2025
This would make a good study to do alone or with a small group. The one whose wrongdoing is forgiven, whose sin is covered over, is truly happy! The one the LORD doesn’t consider guilty—in whose spirit there is no dishonesty—that one is truly happy!When I kept quiet, my bones wore out; I was groaning all day long—every day, every night!—because your hand was heavy upon me. My energy was sapped as ... Read More
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Fourth Sunday in Lent
by Schertz UMC on March 30th, 2025
Steadfast love. What does that mean? Much as we might like it to mean that we will never experience problems and life will be easy and happy all the time, that kind of love is a fairy tale—and not a very good fairy tale, at that. Psalm 32 offers a richer and more robust account of God’s steadfast love—a love that never ends and never fails, no matter what life throws at us. As you listen to Kacey ... Read More
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Lights of Home - Reflection Questions
by Leah Krenek on March 25th, 2025
Lights of Home Music Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ly4ktepK7AU2 frontman, Bono, wrote this song in 2016 after a health scare. In an interview with the London Times, he was asked if this brush with death led him away from God. He responded, “My curiosity takes me to dangerous places, and I've been nonchalant about that. Partly because of my faith, but then I felt that faith go out of reac... Read More
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Fourth Week in Lent
by Schertz UMC on March 24th, 2025
This would make a good study to do alone or with a small group. O God, eagerly I seek youGod, you are my God; I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.So I will bless you as long a... Read More
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Third Sunday in Lent
by Schertz UMC on March 23rd, 2025
To what do you cling? Psalm 63 invites us to reflect on where we find security and sustenance when we are desperate, disillusioned, or in danger. Yes, we need food, water, and shelter. Yes, we need community that protects us when we feel threatened and alone. Yet underneath these basic needs is something even more necessary: God. As you listen to U2’s “Light of Home,” consider: “When you are surro... Read More
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Head Above Water - Reflection Questions
by Leah Krenek on March 20th, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKF6ghfcQicAvril Lavigne wrote this song about her years-long battle with Lyme disease. In an interview with Billboard, she says, "I had accepted death and could feel my body shutting down. I felt like I was drowning. Like I was going under water and I just needed to come up for air. Like I was in a river being pulled in a current. Unable to breathe. Praying to God... Read More
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Second week of Lent fo The second pillar of Lent is fasting. Traditionally, this meant giving up food, but today, Christians fast in different ways. I encourage both children and adults to give up or take up something meaningful. This can look different for each person—like giving up TV and walking once a day, or giving up soda and adding prayer at bedtime or dinnertime. Fasting helps shift our focus toward God. During Lent, many Christians choose to give up something they enjoy to express gratitude for Jesus and to grow closer to God.Families
by Jodi Gutierrez on March 18th, 2025
The second pillar of Lent is fasting. Traditionally, this meant giving up food, but today, Christians fast in different ways. I encourage both children and adults to give up or take up something meaningful. This can look different for each person—like giving up TV and taking up walking once a day, or giving up soda and adding (taking up) prayer at bedtime or dinnertime. Fasting helps shift our foc... Read More
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Third Week in Lent
by Schertz UMC on March 17th, 2025
This would make a good study to do alone or with a small group. The Lord shall keep me safeThe LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh-- my adversaries and foes-- they shall stumble and fall.Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against ... Read More
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Second Sunday in Lent
by Schertz UMC on March 16th, 2025
Like many of us, the writer of Psalm 27 knows trouble, as does Jesus when he is confronted by the Pharisees attempting to scare him into being quiet or, at the very least, getting out of town (Luke 13:31). Yet both the psalmist and Jesus do an odd thing when faced with threats: they stay the course. They refuse to be swallowed up and swayed by fear. Instead, they root themselves in God, whose stea... Read More
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Second Week of Lent
by Schertz UMC on March 12th, 2025
This would make a great bible study to do with family, friends, or in a group. Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16God shall keep youYou who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust."Because you have made the LORD your refuge, the Most High your dwelling place,no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near... Read More
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Rise Up - Reflection Questions
by Leah Krenek on March 11th, 2025
"Rise Up" Music Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmHfo_3EGFA&list=PLzYYFiqv1Onj_UU9oB9Idd6FsQ83QTKqn&index=2Andra Day was inspired by a close friend’s cancer diagnosis to write this song. She describes it as “a sort of prayer” that came about during a freestyle recording session. In 2021, the song was widely used in the Black Lives Matter movement following the murder of George Floyd. A Blac... Read More
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First Sunday in Lent
by Schertz UMC on March 9th, 2025
Rescue me. Perhaps Jesus said it during his temptation in the wilderness. Certainly, the psalmist says it over and again in many ways. We call out to God to rescue us today, sometimes with a certainty that God will answer and other times out of desperation, hoping God will listen when it seems no one else will. As you listen to Andra Day’s “Rise Up,” let the words wash over you as a prayer and as ... Read More
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Family Ash Wednesday Activity
by Jodi Gutierrez on March 5th, 2025
Create a growing paper chainAs we begin this Lenten season, let’s focus on where we see God in our daily lives. To serve as a visual reminder of God's unwavering presence, we can create a paper chain, adding a new link each day. I encourage you and your children to write on each link where you saw God that day. At Vacation Bible School, we call these “God sightings.”On Day 1 of Lent (Ash Wednesday... Read More
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Ash Wednesday Service
by Leah Krenek on March 5th, 2025
You can see and listen to the whole Lenten playlist here: Before Ash Wednesday service tonight, I will sing "Fix You" as a prelude. You can imagine the words as if from God to you, or from one person to another.How do those different perspectives affect the meaning or feeling of the song?Are there some words that are more fitting with one perspective than another?What does it mean "to fix"? And ho... Read More
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Ash Wednesday
by Schertz UMC on March 5th, 2025
Ash Wednesday begins our Lenten journey, and it can be – needs to be – both an individual and a corporate experience. Read More
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Lenten Study
by Schertz UMC on February 27th, 2025
A playlist? For the season of Lent? A Lenten playlist? What an odd idea. Lent is often seen as a somber and even silent season. Certainly, there is space for contemplation, for embracing the quiet, for being still to seek out God. Many of us, however, find music a helpful tool for contemplation. So, we offer this playlist as another tool for your worship experience this season. We chose a song for... Read More
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