Holy week devotional

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I will never, I will not

Matthew 26:30–35 (ESV) And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.”…

Silver for (someone) Gold

Matthew 26:14–16 (ESV) Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him. For three years now, he has followed Jesus. Leaving behind family and friends, work and all that he had, because he believed that Jesus was the One. At least…

It must have been the pigeons

Matthew 21:12–16 (ESV) And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests…

Palm branch parades

Matthew 21:6–9 (ESV) The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the…

Let the good times roll (the stone away) – Easter Sunday

In 2021, Emily and I had a vow renewal celebration on our anniversary. We invited almost exclusively family, and a few of our LONGTIME friends, and had a tiny little ceremony and a HUGE party at a friends local farm. We hired a square dance caller lady, wore fancy clothes and ate lots of really great food. It was a really special time, filled with great conversations, tons of awkward dancing, and some really important words spoken between two people…

The honeymoon is over

Honeymoons are made for fun. Planning and executing a wedding can be an extremely stressful time. People are usually moving out of their current place and into another. Even getting ready for the trip and packing your bags can turn into quite the adventure. If we’re being honest, getting married is like picking all of the most stressful moments of your life, and saying, “let’s cram them all together in one week and see who’s still standing at the end…

King of the Jews (Good Friday)

John 19:16–19 (ESV) So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” What kind of king is He? Broken and battered, bloodied and bruised.…

Awkward family dinners (Thursday)

If you ever come to my parent’s house for dinner, you’ll probably be surprised that you’re dining with a pastor. In my defense, there are also two worship leaders and a current church elder at the dinner. It’s not that we’re irreverent or “bad in any way, it’s just that sarcasm happens to be a Steffen trait that has been passed down through the generations like that hutch that no one wants but also won’t get rid of. We know…

That’s what friends are for (Wednesday)

When I was in third grade my dad threw me a surprise birthday party. I remember that it happened extremely well, because I was INCREDIBLY surprised. I walked into the back room of their house, looking for something I had been asked to retrieve, and a group of my classmates jumped out from behind the door, screamed surprise, and I nearly peed my pants. We spent the remainder of the night playing video games, eating junk food, staying up way…

Fulfilling its Holy Week destiny (Tuesday)

Anyone alive in the 90’s and early 2000’s (which I was), is familiar with the television show “Friends.” It tells the story of a unique group of six twenty-somethings in New York City, who find themselves deeply embedded and engrossed in one another’s lives - through every up and down, and twist and turn. As is the case with basically every successful sitcom, there are multiple on again off again relationships, fashion and hairstyle trends, those who find love in…