The Third Week of March

Printable Guide

We Read…

In Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18, we read about God making a covenant with Abraham. Abraham comes to God struggling because his experience does not match the promise God has given him. God takes Abraham out to examine the sky, instructs him to count the stars, and compares the number of stars to the number of descendants he will have. The Lord then instructs him to prepare a ceremony for a covenant; after doing so, God goes before Abraham in the form of a smoking firepot and flaming torch, signifying that God will take on the responsibility for the covenant.  

Psalm 27 switches gears to remind us of the confidence we can have in the God of the universe. Even when we encounter enemies and hardship, we can have hope in the Lord, who is our “Light and our salvation.” 

The Psalm also calls us to ask the Lord to direct our ways. In Philippians 3:17-4:1, Paul encourages the Philippians, if they are struggling to know the way forward, to pattern their lives after Paul as he patterns his life after Jesus and the way of the cross. It is following this path and pattern that will lead to eternal life. By telling us our citizenship is in heaven, Paul is telling us the Philippians that their primary Identity is not found in earthly kingdoms, but in the kingdom of God. 

Finally, as we open to Luke 9:28-43a- 43a and the story of the transfiguration, Peter, John, and James are given a glimpse into the glory of Jesus. Naturally, they desire to set up their tents and stay a little while longer, but soon, the experience is over, and they are back down the mountain and met with the harsh realities of a broken world. After the disciples could not heal this boy, Jesus can rebuke the spirit and heal the boy. 

Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18

15 After these events, the Lord’s word came to Abram in a vision, “Don’t be afraid, Abram. I am your protector. Your reward will be very great.” 

2 But Abram said, “Lord God, what can you possibly give me, since I still have no children? The head of my household is Eliezer, a man from Damascus.” 3 He continued, “Since you haven’t given me any children, the head of my household will be my heir.” 

4 The Lord’s word came immediately to him, “This man will not be your heir. Your heir will definitely be your very own biological child.” 5 Then he brought Abram outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars if you think you can count them.” He continued, “This is how many children you will have.” 6 Abram trusted the Lord, and the Lord recognized Abram’s high moral character. 

7 He said to Abram, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as your possession.” 

8 But Abram said, “Lord God, how do I know that I will actually possess it?” 

9 He said, “Bring me a three-year-old female calf, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a dove, and a young pigeon.” 10 He took all of these animals, split them in half, and laid the halves facing each other, but he didn’t split the birds. 11 When vultures swooped down on the carcasses, Abram waved them off. 12 After the sun set, Abram slept deeply. A terrifying 

and deep darkness settled over him. 

Genesis 15:17–18 

17 After the sun had set and darkness had deepened, a smoking vessel with a fiery flame passed between the split-open animals. 18 That day the Lord cut a covenant with Abram: “To your descendants I give this land, from Egypt’s river to the great Euphrates, 

Psalm 27

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation. 

Should I fear anyone? 

The Lord is a fortress 

protecting my life. 

Should I be frightened of anything? 

2 When evildoers come at me 

trying to eat me up— 

it’s they, my foes and my enemies, 

who stumble and fall! 

3 If an army camps against me, 

my heart won’t be afraid. 

If war comes up against me, 

I will continue to trust in this: 

4 I have asked one thing 

from the Lord— 

it’s all I seek: 

to live in the Lord’s house 

all the days of my life, 

seeing the Lord’s beauty 

and constantly adoring his temple. 

5 Because he will shelter me 

in his own dwelling 

during troubling times; 

he will hide me in a secret place 

in his own tent; 

he will set me up high, safe on a rock. 

6 Now my head is higher 

than the enemies surrounding me, 

and I will offer sacrifices in God’s tent— 

sacrifices with shouts of joy! 

I will sing and praise the Lord. 

7 Lord, listen to my voice when I cry out— 

have mercy on me and answer me! 

8 Come, my heart says, seek God’s face. 

Lord, I do seek your face! 

9 Please don’t hide it from me! 

Don’t push your servant aside angrily— 

you have been my help! 

God who saves me, 

don’t neglect me! 

Don’t leave me all alone! 

10 Even if my father and mother 

left me all alone, 

the Lord would take me in. 

11 Lord, teach me your way; 

because of my opponents, 

lead me on a good path. 

12 Don’t give me over 

to the desires of my enemies, 

because false witnesses 

and violent accusers 

have taken their stand against me. 

13 But I have sure faith 

that I will experience 

the Lord’s goodness 

in the land of the living! 

14 Hope in the Lord! 

Be strong! Let your heart take courage! 

Hope in the Lord! 

Philippians 3:17-4:1

17 Brothers and sisters, become imitators of me and watch those who live this way—you can use us as models. 18 As I have told you many times and now say with deep sadness, many people live as enemies of the cross. 19 Their lives end with destruction. Their god is their stomach, and they take pride in their disgrace because their thoughts focus on earthly things. 20 Our citizenship is in heaven. We look forward to a savior that comes from there—the Lord Jesus Christ. 21 He will transform our humble bodies so that they are like his glorious body, by the power that also makes him able to subject all things to himself. 

4 Therefore, my brothers and sisters whom I love and miss, who are my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord. 

Luke 9:28-43a

28 About eight days after Jesus said these things, he took Peter, John, and James, and went up on a mountain to pray. 29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed and his clothes flashed white like lightning. 30 Two men, Moses and Elijah, were talking with him. 31 They were clothed with heavenly splendor and spoke about Jesus’ departure, which he would achieve in Jerusalem. 32 Peter and those with him were almost overcome by sleep, but they managed to stay awake and saw his glory as well as the two men with him. 

33 As the two men were about to leave Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it’s good that we’re here. We should construct three shrines: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—but he didn’t know what he was saying. 34 Peter was still speaking when a cloud overshadowed them. As they entered the cloud, they were overcome with awe. 

35 Then a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, my chosen one. Listen to him!” 36 Even as the voice spoke, Jesus was found alone. They were speechless and at the time told no one what they had seen. 

37 The next day, when Jesus, Peter, John, and James had come down from the mountain, a large crowd met Jesus. 38 A man from the crowd shouted, “Teacher, I beg you to take a look at my son, my only child. 39 Look, a spirit seizes him and, without any warning, he screams. It shakes him and causes him to foam at the mouth. It tortures him and rarely leaves him alone. 40 I begged your disciples to throw it out, but they couldn’t.” 

41 Jesus answered, “You faithless and crooked generation, how long will I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” 42 While he was coming, the demon threw him down and shook him violently. Jesus spoke harshly to the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father. 

We Think…

• What stands out to you in these verses? Does anything confuse you or not make sense?

• How do these verses compare to your own experience in life or the church? What are you considering?

• What questions come to mind?

In the period of Abraham, the typical covenant ceremony involved cutting several animals in half and placing one side on the right and the other on the left. In Hebrew, you “Cut” a covenant because it involves cutting these animals in two. The covenant partners would then take turns walking through the middle of the two halves of the carcasses, representing that they were taking on the fate of these animals if they were to violate the covenant. There was a particular order in which they were to walk as well, with the lesser party walking first and then the more powerful party walking second. The interesting thing about Genesis 15 is that after Abraham gets the ceremony ready, the text tells us that a deep and terrifying darkness descends on him, causing him to fall into a deep sleep. Abraham then sees a smoking pot and a flaming torch pass through the animals. When Abraham gets scared, God goes before him. God walked before Abraham, taking on the responsibility and the risk of the Covenant. 

• What do you think it means in Psalm 27:4 to “live in the house of the LORD all the days of your life?” 

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• Paul encourages the believers to pattern their lives around him in Philippians 3:17-4:1. Who are the people you pattern your life around? Who has modeled the life of Jesus to you? 

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• In Luke 9:28-43, we see two very different episodes. Have you ever experienced being on a spiritual mountain? What was it like for you when you got back to the struggles of everyday life? 

We Feel…

• What emotions are you experiencing today? How are you making space for these feelings?

• Where have you seen God today or this week? What is pointing you to God (maybe it is something in creation, a friend or adult that cares for you)?

• What has God made new in your life? In your heart?

• Have you ever experienced a “deep and terrifying darkness” like Abraham in Genesis 15? How does it make you feel to know that amid Abraham’s fear, God went before him? 

  
  

• Psalm 27 calls us to “wait patiently for the Lord.” We can be brave and courageous, knowing that God has taken on the responsibility and risk of faithfulness to the covenant. God is not waiting for us to fail; he is inviting us to follow Jesus on the right path. 

  
  

• As citizens of heaven, we are to model our lives after the way of the cross. Lent is a time when we draw close to God and remind ourselves of the cross-shaped love in which we are called to live. Reading Philippians 3:17-4:1 alongside Luke 9:28-43, reminds us, however, that in the same way that Jesus’ body was glorified at the transfiguration and in the resurrection, so our bodies too, will be changed into “glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under control.” What emotions come to mind when you hear that the same power that was at work in Jesus is at work in you? 

We Believe…

One of the key themes throughout these scriptures is the concept of Prevenient Grace. Before we were able to choose God, God chose us. God has already paved the way for us to say yes to Jesus. God went before us when we were stuck in the deep and terrifying darkness. God walked before Abraham, taking on the responsibility and risk of faithfulness to the Covenant. On the cross, Jesus then fulfilled God’s part of the covenant. “The Lord is our light and our salvation, so why should I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1) We are still called to walk on the right path and pattern our lives around Jesus, but God has done the heavy lifting and calls us to “wait patiently for the LORD” (Psalm 27:14). When the disciples were unable to cast out the evil spirit within the boy, Jesus stepped in to bring healing. In the same way, when we fail to fully embody God’s call in our lives, we can turn to Jesus and trust that God will show up in our midst. 

Another key theme at work in these scriptures is the idea of Theosis. An early church theologian named Athanasius of Alexandria (4th Century) once said, “Christ became what we are so that we might become what he is.” This does not mean we become God, but we are shaped to become more like Jesus. We pattern our lives after Jesus, trusting that as we walk in His way, God will take our “weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.” This includes the way of the cross, but it also includes the glory of Jesus’ transfiguration and resurrection. 

Patterning our lives after Jesus can be difficult, but in the same way that Paul encourages the Philippians to try instead to pattern their lives after his, we can look to other Christians as role models to help us know what this might look like for 2025. This is at the heart of why some traditions have established “saints.” This is not a way to idolize people; it is simply to help point to the places in our history that have best modeled the way of Jesus to our world. 

We Practice…

We can’t always predict when we will experience the fear and anxiety of the deep and terrifying darkness, but one way we can turn our eyes to God amid this darkness is through breath prayers. These simple prayers center our hearts on God, focus our breathing, and “wait patiently for the LORD.” Here are two such prayers from our reading. 

Inhale: When Abraham experienced fear

Exhale: God went before him. 

Inhale: When I experience fear

Exhale: God goes before me. 

Inhale: Wait patiently for the LORD

Exhale: You are my Light and Salvation

Inhale: You are my fortress,

Exhale: My heart will not be afraid. 

Think about the people who have shown you what Jesus looks like. Write them a letter, telling them how they have impacted your picture of Jesus. As you name the characteristics, actions, and habits that have impacted you, pray that God will help you live into this pattern.