Welcome!
On the fifth Sunday of months with 5 Sundays, Anchor & Hope has committed to a practice we call “Reset Sunday.” Instead of gathering in community together on that day, we encourage you to connect with God, others, and yourself out in God’s world!
Simple Intentionality
Over the last several weeks, we’ve been journeying together through the theme, “Reasons to Love Myself.” As we begin to see ourselves through Jesus’ eyes, we are able to love others more fully.
Today, we invite you to be intentional in meeting God in deep rest, deep beauty, and deep joy of the Sabbath, which was given to us as a gift from God! We always encourage you to get a little more sleep, or to eat something good, or to see something beautiful — to engage with your senses to see God’s goodness, beauty, and truth in the world!
We hope these creative approaches to engaging Scripture will help you grow in your love for God, others, and yourselves. A couple of words of encouragement:
- There is no set timeframe for these practices. We engaged some of these practices during our weekly Lenten Zoom gatherings, which were about 15 minutes each. However, your time with these practices might be shorter or longer!
- We encourage you to engage one, two, three, or even all four of these practices today!
- If you have children with you, these can be a simple way to immerse yourself in Scripture together. Invite your kids to pick a practice that is speaking to them, and then follow up by asking how they experienced God through it.
Today’s Scripture Passage
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
24 O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
25 There is the sea, great and wide;
creeping things innumerable are there,
living things both small and great.
26 There go the ships
and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.
27 These all look to you
to give them their food in due season;
28 when you give to them, they gather it up;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
when you take away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.
30 When you send forth your spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the ground.
31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works—
32 who looks on the earth and it trembles,
who touches the mountains and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.
35 Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Praise the Lord!
Practice 1: Creative Writing
- Consider: As you read through the psalm, think about how you can be present to God, others, and yourself. What words, phrases, or images are speaking to you?
- Write: Try writing a haiku (First line 5 syllables, second line 7 syllables, third line 5 syllables) that comes from your experience in meditating on this passage.
- Reflect: Did it reveal something surprising? How can being present to God, others, and yourself lead you into the future?
Practice 2: Visio Divina
- Consider: Take a moment after reading the passage to sit with this image.
- Viewing 1: Notice what draws your attention and focus in on one part of the photo. Look at the details of that particular part of the image. What feelings, thoughts, ideas come to mind as you focus on this part of the image?
- Viewing 2: Begin to allow yourself to look elsewhere at the whole picture. What else draws your attention? What feelings, thoughts, ideas come to mind as you focus on the whole image?
- Viewing 3: Finally, sit with the image one more time and take a moment to reflect and pray — whatever may come to your mind & heart.
Practice 3: Prayer Doodling
- Materials needed: White paper, black Sharpie, black pen
- Instructions: On a piece of white paper, as you reflect on today’s Scripture passage, let your hand move freely, drawing basic circles, squares, or wavy lines using a black sharpie (see Fig. 1).
- Prayer Doodling: Fill in the “blanks” with words or phrases that stood out to you from the passage using a black pen (see Fig. 2 — you can also use the slider on Fig. 3 to see the example of filling in the blanks)
Practice 4: Lectio Divina
- Note: Lectio Divina can be practiced individually or in a group
- Pray: Take a moment to pray and ask God to illuminate your reading of the word; remember to take a moment to pause between each reading.
- First Reading: Read the passage out loud once (read it out loud whether you’re alone or with others)
- What word or phrase is God speaking to you from this passage? Share the word or phrase – without explanation – if you’re with others or consider writing it down if you’re by yourself.
- Second Reading: Read the passage out loud again.
- When you hear the word or phrase that stood out to you, take some time to meditate on it. What do you think God is saying to you through this word or phrase?
- Third Reading: Read the passage out loud a third time.
- How is God inviting you to respond to this passage and in particular to the word or phrase that stood out to you?
- Fourth Reading: Read the passage out loud a final time.
Blessing of Peace
Send a text message of blessing and peace to someone from our Anchor & Hope community, or someone else who could use a blessing!
Anchor & Hope Church 