Intersections

Worship Guide April 18, 2021

Scripture Readings

Children’s Worship Ages 4-7

Children’s Worship Ages 8-12

The Resurrection Revolution continues on this Third Sunday of Easter!

This week is the perfect time to join in our worship online or in-person. We simplified our online service and made it even easier to participate, and viewing does not require a Facebook account! Join the video stream on Facebook Live (www.facebook.com/coldspringchurch.Or, if you don’t have internet access, use our call-in number: +1 (929) 205-6099. Enter Meeting ID: 882-3154-2428 Password: 1714.

You have found a place to encounter God and people who care about you – just as you are, right where you are, anytime. Once you and your family are ready, share the picture with us by posting to Facebook #ColdSpringChurch or Instagram #coldspringchurchnj. You may want to subscribe to our weekly Connections email newsletter. Sign up here!

Worship Preview

Our Seven Weeks of Easter continues. While the admonition, “If you see something, say something!” is most associated in airports and public places, Jesus gave his disciples the same message when he said, “You will be my witnesses” (Luke 24:48). Find out what Christ rising in our lives can mean.

Please join us this Sunday at 10:30 in-person or online and enjoy music, videos, Scripture readings, and an inspiring message to help you take a step forward with the Author of Life (a title given to Jesus in our Scripture reading this week from 1 John.) If you see something that inspires you, reminds you of God’s presence, or makes you smile, say something! Another way to share is to snap a pic or video, share your Easter season story on Instagram #ColdSpringChurch, or email hello@coldspringchurch.com. Come as you are and discover the spiritual resources you need to live in Christ’s revolutionary, resurrection power!

Birthday blessings to Lillian Ridgway (19^th). Happy anniversary to Charles & Barbara Keister (20^th), Nancy and Guy Kessler (20^th)!

Thank you for connecting to our worshipping community and its mission to bless greater Cape May with the Good News of Jesus Christ!

Worship Your Way! In-Person, or Online

While we continue to worship online every week, we are excited to welcome all who are able and comfortable to worship in-person in our historic Red Brick Church on Sundays at 10:30 AM. Your safety, health, and wellness are our top priority. West Jersey Presbytery approved our session’s re-opening plan and our pastor, staff, and teams have worked hard to prepare for your arrival. Following the guidance from the CDC and health officials, we have implemented safety protocols and designed an approximately thirty-minute worship experience that will be spiritually energizing and safe for you, your family, and other worshippers.

Dear online worshipping friends: We apologize in advance should our live stream be interrupted by Facebook. We are working with Facebook and the music publishers to honor our music licenses and resolve these disconnect issues. Any interrupted live stream will be re-launched within a minute or two. Please rejoin as soon as we are back! Thank you for your patience. Pre-registration for in-person worship is encouraged but not required to attend worship. If you’d like to worship in person, you may contact the office at 609-884-4065 or email hello@coldspringchurch.com.  

Worship Guide April 11, 2021

Scripture Readings

Children’s Worship Ages 4-7

Children’s Worship Ages 8-12

The Resurrection Revolution continues in this Second Sunday of Easter!

This week is the perfect time to join in our worship online or in-person. We simplified our online service and made it even easier to participate, and viewing does not require a Facebook account! Join the video stream on Facebook Live (www.facebook.com/coldspringchurch.Or, if you don’t have internet access, use our call-in number: +1 (929) 205-6099. Enter Meeting ID: 882-3154-2428 Password: 1714.

You have found a place to encounter God and people who care about you – just as you are, right where you are, anytime. Once you and your family are ready, share the picture with us by posting to Facebook #ColdSpringChurch or Instagram #coldspringchurchnj. You may want to subscribe to our weekly Connections email newsletter. Sign up here!

Worship Preview

Easter worship was such a fantastic event. On Sunday, about 45 in-person and more online celebrated together. But what if you’re just not feeling it? Sure, you recall parts of the Easter story. You remember the palm branches swaying, the children singing, the smell of lilies, colorful eggs, and baskets of candy. Great memories from long ago. But right now? Right now, it feels more like Good Friday than Easter Sunday. It’s O.K. to be where you are, how you are. More than that, Jesus knows that you, no, all of us, from time to time, feel overwhelmed with despair, anxiety, disappointment, and even trauma, not to mention the Pandemic’s continuing devastating effects on ourselves, our family, and friends. The Good News is that God meets us where we are and promises us hope.

Come as you are and join with others like you on Sunday at 10:30 AM, in-person or online, and discover spiritual resources you need to breathe, to move freely. At your own pace. In your way. You may be surprised to know that after Easter, Jesus’ disciples felt a lot like you think right now. They were kind of stuck. Then, each in their own time and as they were comfortable, understood the pierced hands and side of Jesus. Because Jesus lives, they knew they could live, too.

Our Seven Weeks of Easter continues this week. Enjoy music, videos, Scripture readings, and an inspiring message to help you take a step toward a living hope! See you Sunday!

Music Preview

We begin worship with a special countdown video and a stirring soundtrack that depicts the stone rolling away in front of an empty tomb. Throughout our Grand Celebration, Jayne McDonough will offer special piano accompaniment to help set the spiritual tone during prayers and silent reflections. After the Pastor’s welcome, let’s be open to God’s Spirit during a meditative video arrangement of Because He Lives. Special music will be offered by Barbara Cain singing, Then Came the Morning. Following the message, we can say/sing along with the video lyrics to the Easter favorite, Christ the Lord Is Risen Today. An Easter mini-movie will challenge us, He’s Still Risen, just before we receive the benediction. Please invite your friends to join you for our Grand Easter Celebration this Sunday!

Thank you for connecting to our worshipping community and its mission to bless greater Cape May with the Good News of Jesus Christ!

Worship Your Way! In-Person, or Online

While we continue to worship online every week, we are excited to welcome all who are able and comfortable to worship in-person in our historic Red Brick Church on Sundays at 10:30 AM. Your safety, health, and wellness are our top priority. West Jersey Presbytery approved our session’s re-opening plan and our pastor, staff, and teams have worked hard to prepare for your arrival. Following the guidance from the CDC and health officials, we have implemented safety protocols and designed an approximately thirty-minute worship experience that will be spiritually energizing and safe for you, your family, and other worshippers.

Dear online worshipping friends: We apologize in advance should our live stream be interrupted by Facebook. We are working with Facebook and the music publishers to honor our music licenses and resolve these disconnect issues. Any interrupted live stream will be re-launched within a minute or two. Please rejoin as soon as we are back! Thank you for your patience. Pre-registration for in-person worship is encouraged but not required to attend worship. If you’d like to worship in person, you may contact the office at 609-884-4065 or email hello@coldspringchurch.com.  

Worship Guide April 4, 2021

Scripture Readings April 4, 2021

Children’s Worship Ages 4-7

Children’s Worship Ages 8-12

This week is the perfect time to join in our worship online or in-person. We simplified our online service and made it even easier to participate, and viewing does not require a Facebook account! Join the video stream on Facebook Live (www.facebook.com/coldspringchurch) or, if you don’t have internet access, use our call-in number: +1 (929) 205-6099. Enter Meeting ID: 882-3154-2428 Password: 1714. (Please remember to use the Passcode to have the very best worshipping experience on the phone!)

You have found a place to encounter God and people who care about you – just as you are, right where you are, anytime. Once you and your family are ready, share the picture with us by posting to Facebook #ColdSpringChurch or Instagram #coldspringchurchnj. You may want to subscribe to our weekly Connections email newsletter. Sign up here!

Worship Preview

Easter Sunday morning changed everything when the followers of Jesus proclaimed the truth that “Christ is risen!” What a week! But what was it that brought the change? Remarkably, when we consider the timeline of Jesus’ 3½ years of teaching, miracles, and activities recorded in the Bible, it spans only three weeks! No wonder John writes, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written (John 21:25). But of those three weeks, one is Holy Week. Think about that. Fully one-third of Jesus’ complete story captures events from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday when the stone was rolled away, revealing an empty tomb!

You’ll want to join us for our Grand Easter Celebration! Enjoy music, videos, Scripture readings, the Lord’s Table, and an inspiring message to help you discover that it was more than a philosopher’s stone that rolled away!

Music Preview

We begin worship with a special countdown video and a stirring soundtrack that depicts the stone rolling away in front of an empty tomb. Throughout our Grand Celebration, Jayne McDonough will offer special piano accompaniment to help set the spiritual tone during prayers and silent reflections. After the Pastor’s welcome, let’s be open to God’s Spirit during a meditative video arrangement of Because He Lives. Special music will be offered by Barbara Cain singing, Then Came the Morning. Following the message, we can say/sing along with the video lyrics to the Easter favorite, Christ the Lord Is Risen Today. An Easter mini-movie will challenge us, He’s Still Risen, just before we receive the benediction. Please invite your friends to join you for our Grand Easter Celebration this Sunday!

Thank you for connecting to our worshipping community and its mission to bless greater Cape May with the Good News of Jesus Christ!

Worship Your Way! In-Person, or Online

While we continue to worship online every week, we are excited to welcome all who are able and comfortable to worship in-person in our historic Red Brick Church on Sundays at 10:30 AM. Your safety, health, and wellness are our top priority. West Jersey Presbytery approved our session’s re-opening plan and our pastor, staff, and teams have worked hard to prepare for your arrival. Following the guidance from the CDC and health officials, we have implemented safety protocols and designed an approximately thirty-minute worship experience that will be spiritually energizing and safe for you, your family, and other worshippers.

Dear online worshipping friends: We apologize in advance should our live stream be interrupted by Facebook. We are working with Facebook and the music publishers to honor our music licenses and resolve these disconnect issues. Any interrupted live stream will be re-launched within a minute or two. Please rejoin as soon as we are back! Thank you for your patience. Pre-registration for in-person worship is encouraged but not required to attend worship. If you’d like to worship in person, you may contact the office at 609-884-4065 or email hello@coldspringchurch.com.  

Here are Your Maundy Thursday Worship Resources!

Maundy Thursday Worship Guide April 4, 2021

Worship Preview

Come and enjoy our very special Maundy Thursday Communion Worship Service on Facebook Live or in-person in our beautiful, historic, Red Brick Church. The Thursday before Easter is known as Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday. Maundy is derived from the Latin word for “command.” Pastor Kevin’s message, “What’s love have to do with it?” will invite us to consider Jesus’ command to his followers to “Love one another as I have loved you.” Join us in our mission to show God’s love to bless the greater Cape May region. All are welcomed to gather to the Lord’s Table as we remember to put God’s love into community action.

Join the video stream on Facebook Live (www.facebook.com/coldspringchurch) or, if you don’t have internet access, use our call-in number: +1 (929) 205-6099. Enter Meeting ID: 882-3154-2428 Password: 1714.

You have found a place to encounter God and people who care about you – just as you are, right where you are, anytime. Once you and your family are ready, share the picture with us by posting to Facebook #ColdSpringChurch or Instagram #coldspringchurchnj. You may want to subscribe to our weekly Connections email newsletter. Sign up here!

Thank you for connecting to our worshipping community and its mission to bless greater Cape May with the Good News of Jesus Christ!

Worship Your Way! In-Person, or Online

While we continue to worship online every week, we are excited to welcome all who are able and comfortable to worship in-person in our historic Red Brick Church on Sundays at 10:30 AM. Your safety, health, and wellness are our top priority. West Jersey Presbytery approved our session’s re-opening plan and our pastor, staff, and teams have worked hard to prepare for your arrival. Following the guidance from the CDC and health officials, we have implemented safety protocols and designed an approximately thirty-minute worship experience that will be spiritually energizing and safe for you, your family, and other worshippers.

Dear online worshipping friends: We apologize in advance should our live stream be interrupted by Facebook. We are working with Facebook and the music publishers to honor our music licenses and resolve these disconnect issues. Any interrupted live stream will be re-launched within a minute or two. Please rejoin as soon as we are back! Thank you for your patience. Pre-registration for in-person worship is encouraged but not required to attend worship. If you’d like to worship in person, you may contact the office at 609-884-4065 or email hello@coldspringchurch.com.  

Here are this week’s Worship Resources!

Worship Guide March 28, 2021

Scripture Readings March 28, 2021

Children’s Worship Ages 4-7 March 28, 2021

Children’s Worship Ages 8-12 March 28, 2021

This week is the perfect time to join in our worship online or in-person. We simplified our online service and made it even easier to participate, and viewing does not require a Facebook account! Join the video stream on Facebook Live (www.facebook.com/coldspringchurch) or, if you don’t have internet access, use our call-in number: +1 (929) 205-6099. Enter Meeting ID: 882-3154-2428 Password: 1714. (Please remember to use the Passcode to have the very best worshipping experience on the phone!)

You have found a place to encounter God and people who care about you – just as you are, right where you are, anytime. Once you and your family are ready, share the picture with us by posting to Facebook #ColdSpringChurch or Instagram #coldspringchurchnj. You may want to subscribe to our weekly Connections email newsletter. Sign up here!

Worship Preview

Welcome to Holy Week! “Holy,” you ask? The term “holy” is used when describing something unique and separate.

Palm Sunday starts Holy Week, retelling the powerfully unique events in the life of Jesus. It begins with his triumphant entry into Jerusalem during Passover, including his unique encounters with many people. On Thursday, Jesus celebrated the Passover with his disciples. After supper, he was betrayed, denied, and abandoned by Good Friday when he died on the cross. Easter Sunday morning changed everything when the followers of Jesus proclaimed the truth that “He is risen!” What a week!

“Follow the crowd” may sometimes be good advice. Still, crowds can be, well, maddening and even dangerous, often making horrible decisions. (Consider the Spring Break crowds in Miami ignoring health protocols.) Crowds that are depicted in Scripture appear to make poor choices, too. Remember the chaos of the Tower of Babel, Joseph’s brother’s abusive acts, and the wildly catastrophic Golden Calf event, to name just a few.

Jesus entered Jerusalem to cheering crowds that shouted, “Hail him!” A few days later, the crowds turned into a mob yelling, “Nail him!” This week at Cold Spring Church, we will consider the power of crowds and Jesus’ focus on small numbers. Who will you be influenced by? Who will you influence? It matters who you follow this week. Choose wisely!

Thank you for connecting to our worshipping community and its mission to bless greater Cape May with the Good News of Jesus Christ!

Worship Your Way! In-Person, or Online

While we continue to worship online every week, we are excited to welcome all who are able and comfortable to worship in-person in our historic Red Brick Church on Sundays at 10:30 AM. Your safety, health, and wellness are our top priority. West Jersey Presbytery approved our session’s re-opening plan and our pastor, staff, and teams have worked hard to prepare for your arrival. Following the guidance from the CDC and health officials, we have implemented safety protocols and designed an approximately thirty-minute worship experience that will be spiritually energizing and safe for you, your family, and other worshippers.

Dear online worshipping friends: We apologize in advance should our live stream be interrupted by Facebook. We are working with Facebook and the music publishers to honor our music licenses and resolve these disconnect issues. Any interrupted live stream will be re-launched within a minute or two. Please rejoin as soon as we are back! Thank you for your patience. Pre-registration for in-person worship is encouraged but not required to attend worship. If you’d like to worship in person, you may contact the office at 609-884-4065 or email hello@coldspringchurch.com.  

Here are this week’s Worship Resources!

Worship Guide March 21, 2021

Lenten Devotional Guide

Scripture Readings March 21, 2021

Children’s Worship Ages 4-7 March 21, 2021

Children’s Worship Ages 8-12 March 21, 2021

This week is the perfect time to join in our worship online or in-person. We simplified our online service and made it even easier to participate, and viewing does not require a Facebook account! Join the video stream on Facebook Live (www.facebook.com/coldspringchurch) or, if you don’t have internet access, use our call-in number: +1 (929) 205-6099. Enter Meeting ID: 882-3154-2428 Password: 1714. (Please remember to use the Passcode to have the very best worshipping experience on the phone!)

You have found a place to encounter God and people who care about you – just as you are, right where you are, anytime. Once you and your family are ready, share the picture with us by posting to Facebook #ColdSpringChurch or Instagram #coldspringchurchnj. You may want to subscribe to our weekly Connections email newsletter. Sign up here!

Worship Your Way! In-Person, or Online

Worship Preview

 These uncertain times have really taken their toll on all of us. It has been particularly challenging to keep up our energy, health, resources, and motivation. How have you been sustained in mind, body, and spirit? The more we reach back for previously exhausted resources or depleted tools, we less equipped we become. Like miners, we keep dragging out more and more stored resources that can never be renewed. We dig and dig until the mine is empty! While we may fondly look back to times before the pandemic, we need to be replenished from authentic practices that produce vitality and growth. This week, we will gain sustaining spiritual resources for our Lenten journey and beyond!

Jesus and his disciples attend a festival. Lots of excitement welcomes visitors from other parts of the world. If you’d assume that the “out-of-towners” are clueless about Jesus, you would be wrong. As it turns out, the Greeks tell disciple Philip they want to see Jesus. They are looking for life and hope. Find out what happens next in Pastor Kevin’s message, Mining Vs Planting: Spiritual Sustainability. Cold Spring Church is the place to be in-person or online.

Thank you for connecting to our worshipping community and its mission to bless greater Cape May with the Good News of Jesus Christ!

Here are this week’s Worship Resources!

Worship Guide March 14, 2021

Lenten Devotional Guide

Scripture Readings March 14, 2021

Children’s Worship Ages 4-7 March 14, 2021

Children’s Worship Ages 8-12 March 14, 2021

This week is the perfect time to join in our worship online or in-person. We simplified our online service and made it even easier to participate, and viewing does not require a Facebook account! Join the video stream on Facebook Live (www.facebook.com/coldspringchurch) or, if you don’t have internet access, use our call in number: +1 (929) 205-6099. Enter Meeting ID: 882-3154-2428 Password: 1714. (Please remember to use the Passcode to have the very best worshipping experience on the phone!)

You have found a place to encounter God and people who care about you – just as you are, right where you are, anytime. Once you and your family are ready, share the picture with us by posting to Facebook #ColdSpringChurch or Instagram #coldspringchurchnj. You may want to subscribe to our weekly Connections email newsletter. Sign up here!

Worship Your Way!

Worship Preview

 “Have you received your COVID-19 vaccine yet?” How many times have you asked this question!? New CDC guidelines for life after you are vaccinated have just been released. According to the guidelines, people who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can gather in small groups together indoors without masks or social distancing. And those fully vaccinated can visit unvaccinated people who are from one household and low risk for severe COVID symptoms. Still, very far from the “back to normal” we long for.

The term vaccine comes from the Latin for cow (vacca), first used in 1803. But you may be surprised to learn historians have documented the practice as far back as 200 BCE! The science of vaccines reflects homeopathic principles that “like cures like” (part of the disease is administered to help the body kill the disease), and “minimum dosage” (administer the smallest dosage that achieves optimum results). Learn more about vaccine history with an interactive timeline here.

Our Scripture texts this week are stories about vaccines, too, when the disease itself becomes the cure using the optimal dosage. You’ll want to download the Worship Guide to preview the readings, and then plan to hear Pastor Kevin’s message, “A Spiritual Vaccine for the World.” Maybe the metaphor of Jesus being a spiritual vaccine is new to you, but there is no doubt that God sent Jesus that whoever believes the world through him might be saved (a word also meaning healed and delivered). The dead tree of the cross became the tree of life. Good news this week at Cold Spring Church!

Welcome to Our Worship Page

Download your Lenten Devotional Guide Here

Worship Guide (v1) for March 7th, 2021

Readings for March 7th, 2021

Children’s Worship Ages 4-7 for March 7th, 2021

Children’s Worship Ages 8-12 for March 7th, 2021

This week is the perfect time to join in our worship online or in-person. We simplified our online service and made it even easier to participate, and viewing does not require a Facebook account! Join the video stream on Facebook Live (www.facebook.com/coldspringchurch) or, if you don’t have internet access, use our New call in number: +1 (929) 205-6099. Enter Meeting ID: 882-3154-2428 Password: 1714. (Please remember to use the Passcode to have the very best worshipping experience on the phone!)

You have found a place to encounter God and people who care about you – just as you are, right where you are, anytime. Once you and your family are ready, share the picture with us by posting to Facebook #ColdSpringChurch or Instagram #coldspringchurchnj. You may want to subscribe to our weekly Connections email newsletter. Sign up here!

Worship Your Way!

Worship Preview

The Cancel Culture phenomenon is a modern form of public shaming. When individuals or groups deviate from a set of community rules, there is immediate and mass removal of community approval. When someone is cast out, they are said to be “canceled.” Rendered invalid. Yikes! While this may seem like a modern experience, bullying and public shaming have been part of human experience from the earliest of times. (Remember Cain’s mark described in Genesis 4?) The Cancel Culture can be observed in the Christian Church at large, too. Think of persecutions, witch hunts, excommunication, community rejection and shunning of entire people groups for its entire history.

This week, in the Scripture readings and Pastor Kevin’s message, we will consider the Cancel Culture to see if it fits in the Kingdom Culture of Jesus. We will hear Paul explain that the cross of Jesus is by definition foolish, an offense, even crazy talk, to most people who listen to it. People cancel Jesus and his story because it sounds so absurd. How can anyone who “hangs on a tree” (Gal. 3:13) bring life? The religious leaders asked Jesus, how can you rebuild what was destroyed?. Every part of the Jesus story is an offense to the culture. Jesus welcomes everyone, and he doesn’t cancel anyone. The Savior seeks out canceled outsiders, ostracized groups, and people we disagree with or those we judge unworthy. We respond with a surprised “wait, what?!” when we consider that Jesus came to validate the unfriendly and unloved people and groups in the margins because from time to time, any of us can be “canceled” to someone, too. Jesus doesn’t cancel people. He doesn’t condemn. Jesus cancels sin, and sets the prisoner free, frees us all from cancellation! Now, that’s Good News worth sharing.

Welcome to Our Worship Page

Download your Lenten Devotional Guide Here

Worship Guide (v1) for February 28th, 2021

Readings for February 28th, 2021

Children’s Worship Ages 4-7 for February 28th, 2021

Children’s Worship Ages 8-12 for February 28th, 2021

This week is the perfect time to join in our worship online or in-person. We simplified our online service and made it even easier to participate, and viewing does not require a Facebook account! Join the video stream on Facebook Live (www.facebook.com/coldspringchurch) or, if you don’t have internet access, use our New call in number: +1 (929) 205-6099. Enter Meeting ID: 882-3154-2428 Password: 1714. (Please remember to use the Passcode to have the very best worshipping experience on the phone!)

You have found a place to encounter God and people who care about you – just as you are, right where you are, anytime. Once you and your family are ready, share the picture with us by posting to Facebook #ColdSpringChurch or Instagram #coldspringchurchnj. You may want to subscribe to our weekly Connections email newsletter. Sign up here!

Worship Your Way!

Worship Preview

It has been almost one year since the coronavirus pandemic swept into our lives, something we share with every other person on the planet. With more than 500,000 dead from COVID-19 in the United States, millions sick, variants to contend with, and a halting vaccine rollout, it cannot be overstated: our lives are forever changed. The effects of the pandemic on our lives are felt in every area of our lives; subtly or acutely, it is a burden to bear. This week, we will explore Jesus’ invitation to take up our cross and follow him. What is “our” cross Jesus is speaking of? Is it more than the ordinary and extraordinary difficulties of life? Certainly Jesus’ cross was more than daily burdens and cares. Jesus walks in our shoes, and we are called to walk in his. But where is Jesus walking? What is our cross to bear? We will take a fresh look at the cross Jesus bore, and discover where Jesus is walking to gain spiritual resources for our Lenten journey. Keep on walking.

Welcome to Our Worship Page

Download your Lenten Devotional Guide Here

Worship Guide (v1) for February 21st, 2021

Readings for February 21, 2021

Children’s Worship Ages 4-7 for February 21, 2021

Children’s Worship Ages 8-12 for February 21, 2021

This week is the perfect time to join in our worship online or in-person. We simplified our online service and made it even easier to participate, and viewing does not require a Facebook account! Join the video stream on Facebook Live (www.facebook.com/coldspringchurch) or, if you don’t have internet access, use our New call in number: +1 (929) 205-6099. Enter Meeting ID: 882-3154-2428 Password: 1714. (Please remember to use the Passcode to have the very best worshipping experience on the phone!)

You have found a place to encounter God and people who care about you – just as you are, right where you are, anytime. Once you and your family are ready, share the picture with us by posting to Facebook #ColdSpringChurch or Instagram #coldspringchurchnj. You may want to subscribe to our weekly Connections email newsletter. Sign up here!

Worship Your Way!

Worship Preview

Our Scripture readings this First Sunday of Lent present a powerful and empowering new beginning for all of us to nurture our faith into action in every area of our life, especially in these challenging times. From Genesis to Revelation, the entire scope of God’s written word is about relationships that can often feel stressed. Our usual ways to strengthen relationships are severely constrained as together we reduce the spread of COVID-19. Necessary physical distancing, avoiding crowds, and other wellness protocols can result in feelings of isolation and anxiety from time to time. It can often feel like we’re living in a virtual wilderness where resources are scarce. The Good News is that God is in the relationship business, and this week you will discover Creature Comforts as we consider Jesus’ trials in the wilderness where he was tested by Satan and comforted by wild animals and angels.

Remember that our Creator made a promise with “every living creature,” and in turn, we can learn from Jesus, who, after his baptism, was sent out into the wilderness. Between Christ’s contending with Satan and being comforted by angels, we read that he was “with the animals,” reinforcing how animal life intertwines with ours.

Thoughts for the Wilderness Journey:

1. How does God’s sign of the rainbow and other promises equip you to make new spiritual connections through Christ?
2. Jesus’ companionship with animals in the temptation story highlights his honoring and preserving their independent worth. What does this story suggest to you about animal welfare?
3. How do you respect “every living creature, ” and how will you be open to new connections with individuals who may differ from you in areas such as spiritual, social, political, racial, language, educational, or financial experiences?
4. In what ways does every encounter with another creature move us out of our isolation and preoccupation with ourselves?