2021 Lent Devotional

Written by Matt Benton, Pastor of Bethel United Methodist Church in Woodbridge, VA. Why do the nations conspire,    and the peoples plot in vain?The kings of the earth set themselves,    and the rulers take counsel together,    against the Lord and his anointed,...

Written by Elaine Ellis Thomas, Rector of All Saints Episcopal Parish in Hoboken, NJ. As part of my training for ordained ministry, I spent a summer as a hospice chaplain. Sitting at the bedside praying with those nearing life’s end was an extraordinarily holy...

Written by Joe Lenow, Rector of St. James’ Episcopal Parish in Lothian, Maryland. Joe is pastor Larry's son. Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six...

Written by Brian Johnson, Pastor of Haymarket Church in Haymarket, VA. Brian Johnson is the husband of Trinity's Communications Consultant Kim Johnson. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us—because it is written, Everyone who is...

Written by Matt Benton, Pastor of Bethel United Methodist Church in Woodbridge, VA. Two stories and their settings are the same.  A man stands in a garden, before God, and is afraid. Two stories whose settings are the same, but couldn't be more different. Adam...

Written by Hung Su Lim, Associate Pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church in Richmond, VA.  Isaiah proclaims a profound message to the people in exile. This prophet sings a new song of hope and speaks comfort to the people, and his message is unique and powerful,...

Written by Grace Han, Pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church in Alexandria, VA. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” - John 1:29 “Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each...

Written by Hyo G. Kim, Pastor of the West Brunswick Charge in Farmville, VA. Jesus eats a fish; a fish eats Jonah. Jonah is a book about God's calling for repentance, obedience, salvation, grace, and so much more. It is one of the well-known stories that even...

Written by Anna Petrin, a Professor at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC. “Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is...

Written by Joe Lenow, Rector of St. James’ Episcopal Parish in Lothian, Maryland. Joe is Pastor Larry's son. “Why are your robes red, and your garments like theirs who tread the wine press?” “I have trodden the wine press alone, and from the peoples no one was with...

Written by Jonathan Page, Pastor of Herndon United Methodist Church. The Israelite people called it manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and tasted like honey wafers. Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Let an omer of it be kept safe for future...

Written by Dan Kim, Pastor of Gum Spring United Methodist Church. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.  They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual...

Written by Taylor Mertins, Pastor of Cokesbury United Methodist Church in Woodbridge, VA. We think the “law” can save and fix our messed up and broken lives. From infancy we’re spoon-fed a narrative of righteous self-determination, that if you do all the right...

Written by Leah Wise, a student at Yale Divinity School The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses,...

Written by Lauren Lobenhofer, Pastor of Cave Spring United Methodist Church in Roanoke, VA. Genesis 37:17b-20 (NRSV): “So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan. They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill...

Written by Andrew R. Guffey, Priest-in-Charge of St. Mary’s In-The-Hills Episcopal Church, Lake Orion, Michigan. Our lives are full of information. We can get answers to just about any question of trivia we might have on Google within seconds. We can look up our...

Written by Matt Benton, Pastor of Bethel United Methodist Church in Woodbridge, Virginia. Genesis 22:1-14 Once upon a time there was a man named Abram.  One day Abram was out working in his father’s fields and God spoke to him.  God promised a great...

Written by Michael Petrin, a professor at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. Genesis 18:1-8: And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and...

Written by Yun Kim, Pastor of St. Peter’s UMC in Richmond, VA.             YHWH Elohim breathed in 'ADAM' “Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of...

Written by Sarah Locke, Pastor of Hickory United Methodist Church in Chesapeake, VA. “Then he said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.’” -  Mark 2:24-28 "Come to me, all you who are...

Written by Taylor Mertins, Pastor of Cokesbury United Methodist Church, Woodbridge, VA.“But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” – Isaiah...

Written by Stephanie Kimec-Parker, Pastor of the Gathering at Scott Memorial United Methodist Church in Virginia Beach, VA. In Genesis 11:1-9, we see the people have come together to make something great. They are using their intelligence to build a wonderful city,...

Don't miss our Ash Wednesday worship service online today at NOON. Introduction Who is God?  What is God like?  Are Jesus and God different?  Why are there two parts to the Bible?  Does God change in between?  Why does God seem so...

Lent is a season of 40 days (not counting Sundays) leading up to Easter. It’s a time when Christians take time to grow in faith, pay more attention to God, and get ourselves ready to tell the sacred story of the death and resurrection of Jesus. In order...