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 Week of Lent for Families
by Jodi Gutierrez on March 11th, 2025
The three traditional pillars of Lent are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. During this season, we focus on prayer, simplifying our lives, and giving. This week, I encourage you to focus on prayer. There is no "right" way to pray; prayer is simply a conversation with God. Explore different prayer practices to see what resonates with you. Here are a few suggestions to help you connect with God:Easte... 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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