Bulletin Shorts for the First Sunday of Lent

First Sunday of Lent – 01 March 2020 

Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7.  Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 17.  Romans 5:12-19.  Matthew 4:1-11.

Keep Grace Upfront.  Transgression and sin play a big part in the garden of Eden story.  So does grace – which is the first part of that story.  In the Roman’s reading, Saint Paul counterpoints Adam and Eve with the saving death of Jesus Christ.  He is the very grace of God.  It is only when standing within this grace can we name what is non-grace, what is wrong with life, what is sin.  Thus, Jesus can face the tempter without faltering – and help us do the same.

• How will the Bread of Life (Communion) fill me more than daily bread?
• How will I trust and not test God this Lent?
• What things and/or people will I stop “worshipping” so that I will worship God alone?

This post was first published on the worship pages of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois website.
Sunday Prayer Shaping Life and Belief
Written by Eliot Kapitan.

Permission is given to use, reprint, and distribute these bulletin shorts in any way you find helpful for your community.

Image credit:  Tyler Nix,  Unsplash, CC0.