Lenten Devotional – “Cross-Bound”

Complimentary copies are still available now in the church office, while supplies last!
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In 2013, Mount Pleasant Presbyterian Church in South Carolina invited artist Staci Sarkowski to paint interpretations of each Lenten and Easter Sunday sermon. Her original artwork, along with brief reflections, serves as a parallel devotional in this year’s guide.

When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.—Luke 9:51
From “Presbyterians Today” magazine:    Jesus foretells his coming death twice as he heads toward his crucifixion. Instead of running away from suffering, he embraces it, step by step. He is bound for the cross, and by the end of his journey, he will be bound to the cross. He is, in a word, cross-bound. Along his journey, Jesus challenges those around him to move toward the cross. He calls us to take up our cross and follow him, too. Jesus challenges us to put others before ourselves and join God’s mission to transform the world in love. The cross-bound life seeks not to glorify the Christian but to glorify Christ. The cross-bound life serves and sacrifices and endures. It relies on Jesus’ strength in order to follow Jesus’ example of setting his face toward Calvary—not for his own benefit but for ours. Like Jesus’ original disciples, we often resist the cross. This Lenten study invites readers instead to embrace it.

The devotion begins on Ash Wednesday, and with each day we will travel through the last week of Jesus’ life as told in the Gospel of Luke. Each daily meditation includes a prayer and a Scripture reading. Chip Hardwick, author of this year’s devotional, is the director of Theology, Worship, and Education for the Presbyterian Mission Agency of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).