HOPE OVER FEAR A DEVOTIONAL COMPILED BY PASTOR JORDAN RIMMER FOR NORTHMINSTER CHURCH DURING A CLOSURE FOR CORONAVIRUS INTRODUCTION The outbreak of the Coronavirus has caused widespread concern and even panic. There are a number of cases confirmed in Ohio and in Pennsylvania, and now as close as Warren, Ohio. This pandemic, as well as the influenza that is spreading, is a source of concern for many of our members, especially those who are older and with compromised immune systems. Many colleges, businesses, sports teams, schools, and churches are choosing to cancel events to try to cut down on the exponential spread of the disease. This week, the session of the church decided that we should be proactive and prudent. We have decided to cancel the public worship gathering for the next three weeks. On March 15, 22, and 29, we will not have church services on the Northminster property. A sermon will be posted to Youtube, Facebook, and our Church website (http://www.npcnc.org) by early Sunday morning. Church family can give online through Paypal on the website or send check in the mail. We will make decisions for Sundays after that as the situation unfolds. This also means we are pausing all activities that were happening at the church until further notice. Meetings, Sunday school class, and all other gatherings or activities are cancelled. We are encouraging outside groups that use the building to do the same. We are called to care for one another in the church. If you have a basic need (toiletries, food, medication…) and you cannot get out or are uncomfortable leaving the house, please let us know if we can help. You can leave a message at the church (724-658-9051) or email me at [email protected]. Just know that the office will not be covered as much as normal, so you will likely need to leave a message. As your pastor, I am concerned not just with health needs, which are important, but also with spiritual needs. As Christians, we are not people of fear but people of FAITH. We do not want to work out of fear or panic. So be cautions, be wise, but do not let fear rule in your heart. In response, I decided to throw together this little devotional. I wanted to offer some encouragement in these challenging times. So I have put together 4 weeks of devotions, with 5 days each week. Some are scriptures, while others are thoughts from the Christian tradition. Week 4 is a sermon by Deitrich Bonhoeffer broken up into 5 days. I have added prayers, as well as some links and resources at the end.
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HOPE
OVER FEAR
A DEVOTIONAL COMPILED BY PASTOR JORDAN RIMMER
FOR NORTHMINSTER CHURCH DURING A CLOSURE FOR
CORONAVIRUS
INTRODUCTION
The outbreak of the Coronavirus has caused widespread concern and even panic. There are a
number of cases confirmed in Ohio and in Pennsylvania, and now as close as Warren, Ohio.
This pandemic, as well as the influenza that is spreading, is a source of concern for many of our
members, especially those who are older and with compromised immune systems. Many
colleges, businesses, sports teams, schools, and churches are choosing to cancel events to try to
cut down on the exponential spread of the disease.
This week, the session of the church decided that we should be proactive and prudent. We have
decided to cancel the public worship gathering for the next three weeks. On March 15, 22, and
29, we will not have church services on the Northminster property. A sermon will be posted to
Youtube, Facebook, and our Church website (http://www.npcnc.org) by early Sunday morning.
Church family can give online through Paypal on the website or send check in the mail. We will
make decisions for Sundays after that as the situation unfolds.
This also means we are pausing all activities that were happening at the church until further
notice. Meetings, Sunday school class, and all other gatherings or activities are cancelled. We
are encouraging outside groups that use the building to do the same.
We are called to care for one another in the church. If you have a basic need (toiletries, food,
medication…) and you cannot get out or are uncomfortable leaving the house, please let us
know if we can help. You can leave a message at the church (724-658-9051) or email me at
[email protected]. Just know that the office will not be covered as much as normal, so you will
likely need to leave a message.
As your pastor, I am concerned not just with health needs, which are important, but also with
spiritual needs. As Christians, we are not people of fear but people of FAITH. We do not want
to work out of fear or panic. So be cautions, be wise, but do not let fear rule in your heart.
In response, I decided to throw together this little devotional. I wanted to offer some
encouragement in these challenging times. So I have put together 4 weeks of devotions, with 5
days each week. Some are scriptures, while others are thoughts from the Christian tradition.
Week 4 is a sermon by Deitrich Bonhoeffer broken up into 5 days. I have added prayers, as well
as some links and resources at the end.
I hope this is helpful. Please be graceful with typos as this was thrown together very quickly.
Stay safe. Wash your hands. Love your neighbor. Be filled with hope and peace.
-Pastor Jordan Rimmer
WEEK 1 MONDAY
Psalm 20
[1] May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble!
May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!
[2] May he send you help from the sanctuary
and give you support from Zion!
[3] May he remember all your offerings
and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah
[4] May he grant you your heart's desire
and fulfill all your plans!
[5] May we shout for joy over your salvation,
and in the name of our God set up our banners!
May the LORD fulfill all your petitions!
[6] Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed;
he will answer him from his holy heaven
with the saving might of his right hand.
[7] Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
[8] They collapse and fall,
but we rise and stand upright.
[9] O LORD, save the king!
May he answer us when we call. (ESV)
From Pastor Jordan-
Chariots and horse were a huge advantage in battle. If you had chariots, it was like having
tanks. In most battles, the army with the most chariots won. You could trust in your chariots.
But the Psalmist stays that this is not our way. Some trust in those things, but we trust in the
name of the Lord our God.
The name of the Lord means his character, his person, who he is. And in Jesus we know the
name of God. We know it is God’s nature to enter our suffering. It is God’s name to love. It is
God’s nature to suffer for us rather than punish us. It is God’s name to rise again and bring
resurrection from the dead. It is God’s nature to bring faith and hope and peace, even peace that
passes understanding—peace that doesn’t make sense.
So remember where your real hope comes from—we trust in the name of the Lord our God!
TUESDAY
From the essay "On Living in an Atomic Age" by C.S. Lewis, 1948. Insert the idea of the
coronavirus to the topic of the atomic bomb and Lewis speaks directly to us today.
In one way we think a great deal too much of the atomic bomb. "How are we to live in an
atomic age?" I am tempted to reply: "Why, as you would have lived in the sixteenth
century when the plague visited London almost every year, or as you would have lived in
a Viking age when raiders from Scandinavia might land and cut your throat any night; or
indeed, as you are already living in an age of cancer, an age of syphilis, an age of
paralysis, an age of air raids, an age of railway accidents, an age of motor accidents."
In other words, do not let us begin by exaggerating the novelty of our situation. Believe
me, dear sir or madam, you and all whom you love were already sentenced to death
before the atomic bomb was invented: and quite a high percentage of us were going to die
in unpleasant ways. We had, indeed, one very great advantage over our ancestors -
anaesthetics; but we have that still. It is perfectly ridiculous to go about whimpering and
drawing long faces because the scientists have added one more chance of painful and
premature death to a world which already bristled with such chances and in which death
itself was not a chance at all, but a certainty.
This is the first point to be made: and the first action to be taken is to pull ourselves
together. If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it
comes find us doing sensible and human things - praying, working, teaching, reading,
listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint
and a game of darts - not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about
bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate
our minds.
From Pastor Jordan-
It seems like every time I read CS Lewis, he is speaking to my world, even though he died in
1963. I think he calls to us to keep our heads amidst our current upheaval.
WEDNESDAY
2 Chronicles 32:1–8
[1] After these things and these acts of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came
and invaded Judah and encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them for
himself. [2] And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and intended to fight
against Jerusalem, [3] he planned with his officers and his mighty men to stop the water
of the springs that were outside the city; and they helped him. [4] A great many people
were gathered, and they stopped all the springs and the brook that flowed through the
land, saying, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find much water?” [5] He set to
work resolutely and built up all the wall that was broken down and raised towers upon it,
and outside it he built another wall, and he strengthened the Millo in the city of David.
He also made weapons and shields in abundance. [6] And he set combat commanders
over the people and gathered them together to him in the square at the gate of the city and
spoke encouragingly to them, saying, [7] “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or
dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more
with us than with him. [8] With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God,
to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people took confidence from the words of
Hezekiah king of Judah. (ESV)
From Pastor Jordan-
King Hezekiah was leading Israel in a very dangerous time. Assyria was a major power that was
taking out Israel’s fortified cities. In response, Hezekiah did two things—he got ready for battle
and he preached that God will fight their battles. It is not easy to trust and get ready. Most
people think if they trust they don’t need to prepare or if they are preparing they are not trusting.
Hezekiah teaches us that it is both. In the end, Assyria did not fight with Hezekiah in Jerusalem.
THURSDAY
Mark 4:35–41
[35] On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other
side.” [36] And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was.
And other boats were with him. [37] And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were
breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. [38] But he was in the stern,
asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that
we are perishing?” [39] And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace!
Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. [40] He said to them, “Why
are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” [41] And they were filled with great fear and
said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (ESV)
From Pastor Jordan-
If I am honest, this story drives me a little crazy. I don’t like the idea that Jesus was sleeping.
For the storm to panic a group with a lot of professional fishermen, it had to be bad. And it was
likely a small boat. How can Jesus be sleeping while everyone in the boat thinks they are
drowning? They wake him up in anger.
It is easy to get angry at God when God is not doing what we want and responding how we
think he should. Is God sleeping as our world falls apart? I love that Jesus first rebukes that
wind and the sea, then rebukes the disciples. In hindsight, they must have felt silly, to doubt the
one who could order nature around.
FRIDAY
Philippians 4:2
[2] I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. [3] Yes, I ask you also,
true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel
together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of
life.
[4] Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. [5] Let your reasonableness be
known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; [6] do not be anxious about anything, but in
everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made
known to God. [7] And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard
your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
[8] Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever
is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there
is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. [9] What you have learned and
received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be
with you. (ESV)
From Pastor Jordan-
Paul encourages the church at Philippi, but his words are kind of foolish. Rejoice in the Lord
always? Can you always rejoice? But he says it again—rejoice! Be reasonable and thankful.
Have a peace that surpasses understanding. Focus on what is good. It is crazy advice today too.
WEEK 2 MONDAY
2 Timothy 1:3–14
[3] I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I
remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. [4] As I remember your tears, I
long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. [5] I am reminded of your sincere faith, a
faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am
sure, dwells in you as well. [6] For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of
God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, [7] for God gave us a spirit not
of fear but of power and love and self-control.
[8] Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner,
but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, [9] who saved us and called us
to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace,
which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, [10] and which now has been
manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and
brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, [11] for which I was appointed a
preacher and apostle and teacher, [12] which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not
ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard
until that day what has been entrusted to me. [13] Follow the pattern of the sound words
that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. [14] By the
Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. (ESV)
From Pastor Jordan-
Paul insists that God did not give Timothy a spirit of fear but of power and love and self-
control. That last phrase is also translated sound judgement. We should not be motivated by
fear, but by the power and love of Christ. We shouldn’t be ashamed either. We should share the
love of God.
TUESDAY
In 1527, the plague or the black death came back to Europe. It hit Wittenberg, Germany hard.
Martine Luther wrote a letter titled “Whether One May Flee from a Deadly Plague” to address
how to live and how to pastor in the face of the plague. Here is a snippet of that letter.
If one makes no use of intelligence or medicine when he could do so without detriment to
his neighbor, such a person injures his body and must beware lest he become a suicide in
God’s eyes. By the same reasoning a person might forego eating and drinking, clothing
and shelter, and boldly proclaim his faith that if God wanted to preserve him from
starvation and cold, he could do so without food and clothing. Actually that would be
suicide. It is even more shameful for a person to pay no heed to his own body and to fail
to protect it against the plague the best he is able, and then to infect and poison others
who might have remained alive if he had taken care of his body as he should have. He is
thus responsible before God for his neighbor’s death and is a murderer many times over.
Indeed, such people behave as though a house were burning in the city and nobody were
trying to put the fire out. Instead they give leeway to the flames so that the whole city is
consumed, saying that if God so willed, he could save the city without water to quench
the fire. No, my dear friends, that is no good. Use medicine; take potions which can help
you; fumigate house, yard, and street; shun persons and places wherever your neighbor
does not need your presence or has recovered, and act like a man who wants to help put
out the burning city. What else is the epidemic but a fire which instead of consuming
wood and straw devours life and body? You ought to think this way: “Very well, by
God’s decree the enemy has sent us poison and deadly offal. Therefore I shall ask God
mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine,
and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not
to become contaminated and thus perchance infect and pollute others, and so cause their
death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me
and I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my
own death or the death of others. If my neighbor needs me, however, I shall not avoid
place or person but will go freely, as stated above. See, this is such a God-fearing faith
because it is neither brash nor foolhardy and does not tempt God.
WEDNESDAY
Luke 12:22–34
[22] And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life,
what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. [23] For life is more than
food, and the body more than clothing. [24] Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor
reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more
value are you than the birds! [25] And which of you by being anxious can add a single
hour to his span of life? [26] If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why
are you anxious about the rest? [27] Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil
nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
[28] But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is
thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! [29] And
do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. [30] For all the
nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them.
[31] Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.
[32] “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
[33] Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags
that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief
approaches and no moth destroys. [34] For where your treasure is, there will your heart
be also. (ESV)
From Pastor Jordan-
I am an anxious guy. Sometimes it is under control, but sometimes I can be overwhelmed. I
come back to this text often as a reminder to pull back the reins on my worry. I need to take
time to consider the lilies. I need to share love and possessions with others. It seems we are in a
time and in a world filled with anxiety. We need to be different.
THURSDAY
Isaiah 41:1–13
[1] Listen to me in silence, O coastlands;
let the peoples renew their strength;
let them approach, then let them speak;
let us together draw near for judgment.
[2] Who stirred up one from the east
whom victory meets at every step?
He gives up nations before him,
so that he tramples kings underfoot;
he makes them like dust with his sword,
like driven stubble with his bow.
[3] He pursues them and passes on safely,
by paths his feet have not trod.
[4] Who has performed and done this,
calling the generations from the beginning?
I, the LORD, the first,
and with the last; I am he.
[5] The coastlands have seen and are afraid;
the ends of the earth tremble;
they have drawn near and come.
[6] Everyone helps his neighbor
and says to his brother, “Be strong!”
[7] The craftsman strengthens the goldsmith,
and he who smooths with the hammer him who strikes the anvil,
saying of the soldering, “It is good”;
and they strengthen it with nails so that it cannot be moved.
[8] But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
the offspring of Abraham, my friend;
[9] you whom I took from the ends of the earth,
and called from its farthest corners,
saying to you, “You are my servant,
I have chosen you and not cast you off”;
[10] fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
[11] Behold, all who are incensed against you
shall be put to shame and confounded;
those who strive against you
shall be as nothing and shall perish.
[12] You shall seek those who contend with you,
but you shall not find them;
those who war against you
shall be as nothing at all.
[13] For I, the LORD your God,
hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, “Fear not,
I am the one who helps you.” (ESV)
From Pastor Jordan-
There are many promises from God in the Bible, but this one seems especially important in
these times. “Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen
you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Realize today that God is
with you and helping you; strengthening and upholding you.
FRIDAY
1 John 4:7–21
[7] Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been
born of God and knows God. [8] Anyone who does not love does not know God, because
God is love. [9] In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his
only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. [10] In this is love, not that
we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our
sins. [11] Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. [12] No one
has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in
us.
[13] By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his
Spirit. [14] And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior
of the world. [15] Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him,
and he in God. [16] So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.
God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. [17] By
this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment,
because as he is so also are we in this world. [18] There is no fear in love, but perfect
love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been
perfected in love. [19] We love because he first loved us. [20] If anyone says, “I love
God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he
has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. [21] And this commandment we have
from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. (ESV)
From Pastor Jordan-
Perfect love, like the love that God has for us, should cast out fear. If you fear in your life, then
perhaps you need to fill your heart with love. The love of Christ kicks fear out of life.
WEEK 3 MONDAY
Psalm 27
[1] The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
[2] When evildoers assail me
to eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall.
[3] Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.
[4] One thing have I asked of the LORD,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to inquire in his temple.
[5] For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will lift me high upon a rock.
[6] And now my head shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the LORD.
[7] Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud;
be gracious to me and answer me!
[8] You have said, “Seek my face.”
My heart says to you,
“Your face, LORD, do I seek.”
[9] Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
O God of my salvation!
[10] For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
but the LORD will take me in.
[11] Teach me your way, O LORD,
and lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.
[12] Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;
for false witnesses have risen against me,
and they breathe out violence.
[13] I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living!
[14] Wait for the LORD;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the LORD! (ESV)
From Pastor Jordan-
One of the things the Psalms so often capture is the feeling that someone or something is out to
get us. It is often in war terms—adversaries, foes, enemies… In real life, it can be viruses,
anxiety, our past, or our mistakes that are coming for us. But the Psalmist insists that if God is
God and you and I are God’s that we don’t need to fear. Sometimes we need God to teach us his
ways and we need to wait for his rescue.
TUESDAY
From the essay “The Minister’s Fainting Fits” by Charles Spurgeon in the book Lectures to my
Students. Though written for pastors, these are great words in dark times.
By all the castings down of his servants God is glorified, for they are led to magnify him
when again he sets them on their feet, and even while prostrate in the dust their faith
yields him praise. They speak all time more sweetly of his faithfulness, and are the more
firmly established in his love. Such mature men as sonic elderly preachers are, could
scarcely have been produced if they had not been emptied from vessel to vessel, and
made to see their own emptiness and the vanity of all things round about them. Glory be
to God for the furnace, the hammer, and the file. Heaven shall be all the fuller of bliss
because we have been filled with anguish here below, and earth shall be better tilled
because of our training in the school of adversity.
The lesson of wisdom is, be not dismayed by soul-trouble. Count it no strange thing, but
a part of ordinary ministerial experience. Should the power of depression be more than
ordinary, think not that all is over with your usefulness. Cast not away your confidence,
for it hath great recompense of reward. Even if the enemy's foot be on your neck, expect
to rise amid overthrow him. Cast the burden of the present, along with the sin of the past
and the fear of the future, upon the Lord, who forsaketh not his saints. Live by the day—
ay, by the hour. Put no trust in frames and feelings. Care more for a grain of faith than a
ton of excitement. Trust in God alone, and lean not on the reeds of human help. Be not
surprised when friends fail you: it is a failing world. Never count upon immutability in
man: inconstancy you may reckon upon without fear of disappointment. The disciples of
Jesus forsook him; be not amazed if your adherents wander away to other teachers: as
they were not your all when with you, all is not gone from you with their departure. Serve
God with all your might while the candle is burning, and then when it goes out for a
season, you will have the less to regret. Be content to be nothing, for that is what you are.
When your own emptiness is painfully forced upon your consciousness, chide yourself
that you ever dreamed of being full, except in the Lord. Set small store by present
rewards; be grateful for earnests by the way, but look for the recompensing joy hereafter.
Continue, with double earnestness to serve your Lord when no visible result is before
you. Any simpleton can follow the narrow path in the light: faith?s rare wisdom enables
us to march on in the dark with infallible accuracy, since she places her hand in that of
her Great Guide. Between this and heaven there may be rougher weather yet, but it is all
provided for by our covenant Head. In nothing let us be turned aside from the path which
the divine call has urged us to pursue. Come fair or come foul, the pulpit is our watch-
tower, and the ministry our warfare; be it ours, when we cannot see the face of our God,
to trust under THE SHADOW OF HIS WINGS.
WEDNESDAY
John 9:1–12
[1] As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. [2] And his disciples asked him,
“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” [3] Jesus answered,
“It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be
displayed in him. [4] We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night
is coming, when no one can work. [5] As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the
world.” [6] Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva.
Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud [7] and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool
of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.
[8] The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this
not the man who used to sit and beg?” [9] Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he
is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” [10] So they said to him, “Then how were
your eyes opened?” [11] He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed
my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my
sight.” [12] They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.” (ESV)
From Pastor Jordan-
This healing begins with an important theological question. Why was this man born blind? We
often want to know why things happen. We want explanations. We want to blame. We want
someone or something to be at fault. The longer I am a pastor, the more I think that our desire
for a why answer is nothing in comparison to God’s desire to do good works in us. We don’t
need to understand to get healing.
THURSDAY
Isaiah 26:1–9
[1] In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
“We have a strong city;
he sets up salvation
as walls and bulwarks.
[2] Open the gates,
that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in.
[3] You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.
[4] Trust in the LORD forever,
for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.
[5] For he has humbled
the inhabitants of the height,
the lofty city.
He lays it low, lays it low to the ground,
casts it to the dust.
[6] The foot tramples it,
the feet of the poor,
the steps of the needy.”
[7] The path of the righteous is level;
you make level the way of the righteous.
[8] In the path of your judgments,
O LORD, we wait for you;
your name and remembrance
are the desire of our soul.
[9] My soul yearns for you in the night;
my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.
For when your judgments are in the earth,
the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. (ESV)
From Pastor Jordan-
Isaiah wants perfect peace for the city, but the Exile is coming. Isaiah is calling the people to
trust the Lord, to stay humble, and to walk God’s path. I love the line, “You keep him in perfect
peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” Whenevery I do not feel peace, I
normally find that my mind is stayed on something other than God. My brain is aimed at what
is wrong and outside my control.
FRIDAY
Matthew 25:31–46
[31] “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will
sit on his glorious throne. [32] Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will
separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. [33]
And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. [34] Then the King will
say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world. [35] For I was hungry and you gave
me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
[36] I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and
you came to me.’ [37] Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we
see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? [38] And when did we see
you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? [39] And when did we see
you sick or in prison and visit you?’ [40] And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to
you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
[41] “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal
fire prepared for the devil and his angels. [42] For I was hungry and you gave me no
food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, [43] I was a stranger and you did not
welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit
me.’ [44] Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or
thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ [45] Then
he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least
of these, you did not do it to me.’ [46] And these will go away into eternal punishment,
but the righteous into eternal life.” (ESV)
From Pastor Jordan-
This teaching of Jesus, like others, is kind of confusing. Somehow when we love and care for
others, we are actually doing those things for Jesus. Or, in a different way, we love Christ by
loving others. We cannot outsource this kind of love to church, nonprofits, or governments. We
must respond to those who don’t have food, drink, or clothes around us.
WEEK 4 For week 4, we will ready through a sermon by Dietrich Bonhoeffer titled “Overcoming Fear.”
Bonhoeffer was a German pastor who was later killed at Auschwitz for his part in a plot to kill
Hitler. This sermon was preached the second Sunday of Epiphany, January 15, 1933. Hitler
was just about to come to power, and there was widespread fear in Germany. The government
was struggling and different movements were striving for power. His words on overcoming fear
are just as potent today as they were in that troubling time. Each day we will read a little more
of the sermon.
MONDAY
Sermon- “Overcoming Fear” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The overcoming of fear—that is what we are proclaiming here. The Bible, the gospel,
Christ, the church, the faith—all are one great battle cry against fear in the lives of human
beings. Fear is, somehow or other, the archenemy itself. It crouches in people’s hearts. It
hollows out their insides, until their resistance and strength are spent and they suddenly
break down. Fear secretly gnaws and eats away at all the ties that bind a person to God
and to others, and when in a time of need that person reaches for those ties and clings to
them, they break and the individual sinks back into himself or herself, helpless and
despairing, while hell rejoices.
Now fear leers that person in the face, saying: Here we are all by ourselves, you and I,
now I’m showing you my true face. And anyone who has seen naked fear revealed, who
has been its victim in terrifying loneliness— fear of an important decision; fear of a
heavy stroke of fate, losing one’s job, an illness; fear of a vice that one can no longer
resist, to which one is enslaved; fear of disgrace; fear of another person; fear of dying—
that person knows that fear is only one of the faces of evil itself, one form by which the
world, at enmity with God, grasps for someone. Nothing can make a human being so
conscious of the reality of powers opposed to God in our lives as this loneliness, this
helplessness, this fog spreading over everything, this sense that there is no way out, and
this raving impulse to get oneself out of this hell of hopelessness.
Have you ever seen someone in the grip of fear? It’s dreadful in a child, but even more
dreadful in an adult: the staring eyes, the shivering like an animal, the pleading attempt to
defend oneself. Fear takes away a person’s humanity. This is not what the creature made
by God looks like—this person belongs to the devil, this enslaved, broken-down, sick
creature.
But the human being doesn’t have to be afraid; we should not be afraid! That is what
makes humans different from all other creatures. In the midst of every situation where
there is no way out, where nothing is clear, where it is our fault, we know that there is
hope, and this hope is called: Thy will be done, yes, thy will is being done. “This world
must fall, God stands above all, his thoughts unswayed, his Word unstayed, his will
forever our ground and hope.” Do you ask: How do you know? Then we name the name
of the One who makes the evil inside us recoil, who makes fear and anxiety themselves
tremble with fear and puts them to flight. We name the One who overcame fear and led it
captive in the victory procession, who nailed it to the cross and committed it to oblivion;
we name the One who is the shout of victory of humankind redeemed from the fear of
death—Jesus Christ, the Crucified and Living One. He alone is Lord over fear; it knows
him as its master; it gives way to him alone. So look to Christ when you are afraid, think
of Christ, keep him before your eyes, call upon Christ and pray to him, believe that he is
with you now, helping you . . . Then fear will grow pale and fade away, and you will be
free, through your faith in our strong and living Savior, Jesus Christ.
TUESDAY
Sermon Continued- “Overcoming Fear” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Let’s say there is a ship on the high sea, having a fierce struggle with the waves. The
storm wind is blowing harder by the minute. The boat is small, tossed about like a toy;
the sky is dark; the sailors’ strength is failing. Then one of them is gripped by . . . whom?
what? . . . he cannot tell himself. But someone is there in the boat who wasn’t there
before. Someone comes close to him and lays cold hands on his arms as he pulls wildly
on his oar. He feels his muscles freeze, feels the strength go out of them. Then the
unknown one reaches into his heart and mind and magically brings forth the strangest
pictures. He sees his family, his children crying. What will become of them if he is no
more? Then he seems to be back where he once was when he followed evil ways, in long
years of bondage to evil, and he sees the faces of his companions in that bondage. He
sees a neighbor whom he wounded, only yesterday, with an angry word. Suddenly he can
no longer see or hear anything, can no longer row, a wave overwhelms him, and in final
desperation he shrieks: Stranger in this boat, who are you? And the other answers, I am
Fear. Now the cry goes up from the whole crew; Fear is in the boat; all arms are frozen
and drop their oars; all hope is lost, Fear is in the boat.
Then it is as if the heavens opened, as if the heavenly hosts themselves raised a shout of
victory in the midst of hopelessness: Christ is in the boat. Christ is in the boat, and no
sooner has the call gone out and been heard than Fear shrinks back, and the waves
subside. The sea becomes calm and the boat rests on its quiet surface. Christ was in the
boat!
We were along on that voyage, weren’t we? and the call, Christ is in the boat, was once
our salvation too. And now, strangely enough, all of us are at sea again, on that voyage
without faith, without hope, overwhelmed, in chains, in bondage, paralyzed by fear; we
have lost heart, lost the joy of living, our limbs heavy as lead; each of us knows what it’s
like. Perhaps, or most likely, we don’t even quite realize what has happened to us; we are
already so used to this state of affairs that it seems natural to us, and we almost like it that
way, all this misery around us and in our own lives. What would we do if we couldn’t
even complain anymore?
And that’s the worst of it: we don’t even want to find a way out. That is the final triumph
of Fear over us, that we are afraid to run away from it, and just let it enslave us. Fear has
conquered us; it can be found among us in various forms. Some persons have become
dull and insensitive and just live from one day to the next, brooding gloomily and
doggedly along, but too apathetic to take their own lives. Others are noisy about their
fear, pouring it out to everyone else in the form of crying and complaining. Still others,
on the other hand, think they can drive out their fear with fine words and bold fantasies,
and if they shout these words loudly enough it may seem to take care of things for awhile.
But those who know can recognize in such empty words the horrifying power of fear all
over again. Fear is in the boat, in Germany, in our own lives and in the nave of this
church—naked fear of an hour from now, of tomorrow and the day after. That is why we
become apathetic, why we complain, why we intoxicate ourselves with this and that.
What else is all the razzle-dazzle and drunkenness of New Year’s Eve, other than our
great fear of a new era, of the future? Fear is breathing down our necks.
WEDNESDAY
Sermon Continued- “Overcoming Fear” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Those who would try to keep up their pride, as if all this had nothing to do with them, as
if they didn’t understand what it’s all about, would hardly be human. No one human
could fail to understand what the people of the world have to be afraid of today.
But look here, right in the middle of this fearful world is a place that is meant for all time,
which has a peculiar task that the world doesn’t understand. It keeps calling over and
over but always anew, in the same tone, the same thing: Fear is overcome; don’t be afraid
[John 16:33]. In the world you are frightened. But be comforted; I have conquered the
world! Christ is in the boat! And this place, where this kind of talk is heard and should be
heard, is the pulpit of the church. From this pulpit the living Christ himself wants to
speak, so that wherever he reaches somebody, that person will feel the fear sinking away,
will feel Christ overcoming his or her fear.
You of little faith, why are you so fearful? In these words we must hear all the
disappointment of Jesus Christ in his disciples and all his love for them. Do you still not
know that you are in God’s hands, that where I am, God is? Why are you so fearful? Be
of good courage, strong, firm, adult, sure, confident, not shaking with fear. Don’t hang
your heads; don’t complain about what bad times these are . . . I am in the boat. And
Christ is here, too, in the nave of this church. So why not hear him and believe him?
We have come here, very probably, because somehow or other we know that something
in our lives needs to change, and because we think perhaps the church can somehow help
us with this. We are aware of how meager, how poor, how petty and short-sighted our
lives have become. All of us see only our own worries and difficulties and no longer
those of others that may be a thousand times worse. Our affairs seem so enormous and
infinitely important to us that we have become dulled toward anything else. This is the
work of fear in us. And now we sense that we can’t bear to be hemmed in like this
anymore; it’s suffocating. The call of the church cuts through this questioning and
foreboding. There is one thing we are lacking: to believe that the Almighty God is our
father and our Lord. To believe that for God, our greatest cares are like the worries of
small children in their parents’ eyes; that God can turn things around and dispose of them
in no time at all; for God it’s easy, not hard at all. We must believe that a thousand years
in God’s sight are like a day [Ps. 90:4], that God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts
[Isa. 55:8–9], that God is with us in spite of everything. Let us receive the call of the
church once again: You of little faith, why are you so fearful? In the midst of the storm,
Christ is in the ship. Away with you, Fear! Let us see you, Lord Jesus, strong helper,
Savior!
But now comes a host of objections and excuses. We say we would like to believe, but
we simply can’t anymore. The suffering is too great. Oh, but let’s not take this kind of
talk too seriously. You cannot believe? Well, neither can we. Do you want to believe?—
in that case you already do, in a way, perhaps not very strongly, only a beginning, but
perhaps a thousand times stronger than many others who think they are able to believe.
Don’t worry about your faith, whether it is weak or strong. Just look to him in whom you
believe, and speak to him: Lord, increase our faith! [See Luke 17:5].
THURSDAY
Sermon Continued- “Overcoming Fear” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
We say that it is not life’s misery that frightens us, but rather our own sin that we fear;
and that we need to fear it, so we won’t be overcome by it! Again, that sounds so right,
but it is really only a trick of fear itself. No, it is not true that we must be afraid of sin.
Those who are afraid of it are already up to their necks in it. Fear is evil’s net, spread to
catch us. Once evil has made us afraid, confused us, we are in its clutches. Don’t be
afraid, be of good courage . . . How can you meet the enemy with fear in your heart? You
of little faith, why are you so fearful? Isn’t God greater than your sin? Let God grow
strong in you; then sin is knocked down. Believe in God . . . Lord, strengthen our faith!
Now, finally, let the most depressed and despairing people speak, those who ask: Isn’t
our time up? Aren’t the years of catastrophe, of utter decline and breakdown, the chaos of
our lives in both great and small things, which no one can ignore, the sign that God has
let us go? God doesn’t want us anymore. There’s no more mercy coming our way from
God. God is against us, and we have to accept it. It won’t do to keep clinging if we aren’t
wanted. This is the cry out of the very depths of despair. There is only one thing that
helps, and it is what the church does with any of us who thinks and feels this way. It takes
the cross and places it before our eyes and asks: Did God abandon him? And since God
did not abandon Jesus, we will not be abandoned by God, either.
Learn to recognize this sign in your own life. Learn to recognize and understand the hour
of the storm, when you were perishing. This is the time when God is incredibly close to
you, not far away. Right there, when everything else that keeps us safe is breaking and
falling down, when one after another all the things our lives depend on are being taken
away or destroyed, where we have to learn to give them up, all this is happening because
God is coming near to us, because God wants to be our only support and certainty. God
lets our lives be broken and fail in every direction, through fate and guilt, and through
this very failure God brings us back; we are thrown back upon God alone. God wants to
show us that when you let everything go, when you lose all your own security and have
to give it up, that is when you are totally free to receive God and be kept totally safe in
God. So may we understand rightly the hours of affliction and temptation, the hours in
our lives when we are on the high seas! God is close to us then, not far away. Our God is
on the cross.
The cross is the sign that stands in judgment on all the false security in our lives and
restores faith in God alone. Be of good courage, be valiant, be confident, be certain—that
is what it says. Yes, but everything depends here on making sure that one last, terrible
misunderstanding does not arise. There is such a thing as false courage, false confidence .
. . and this false confidence is itself only the most subtle form in which fear disguises
itself. Let us return to our story.
FRIDAY
Sermon Continued- “Overcoming Fear” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
When the disciples were climbing aboard the boat, they seemed quite confident; they
seemed not at all afraid. Why were they confident? They looked at the lovely calm sea
and saw no reason to worry. But as the wind and waves increased in force, the disciples
lost their calm and fear grew in them. They gazed apprehensively at the wild sea. Its
appearance had made them feel safe, but now fear was gaining the upper hand. The story
says that Jesus was asleep. Only faith can sleep without a care—that is why sleep is a
reminder of paradise—faith finds its safety in God alone. The disciples couldn’t sleep;
their security was gone; their confidence had been misplaced and now was lost. It was a
false sense of security—it was only fear in disguise. This sense of security does not
overcome fear and soon breaks down. Only the faith that leaves behind all false
confidence, letting it fall and break down, can overcome fear. This is faith: it does not
rely on itself or on favorable seas, favorable conditions; it does not rely on its own
strength or on other people’s strength, but believes only and alone in God, whether or not
there is a storm. It is the only faith that is not superstition and does not let us slip back
into fear, but makes us free of fear. Lord, make this faith strong in us who have little
faith!
But the other side of the coin is also true. When Christ is in the boat, a storm always
comes up. The world tries with all its evil powers to get hold of him, to destroy him along
with his disciples; it hates him and rises up against him. Christians surely know this. No
one has to go through so much anxiety and fear as do Christians. But this does not
surprise us, since Christ is the Crucified One, and there is no way to life for a Christian
without being crucified. So we will suffer and make our way through together with
Christ, looking always to him who is with us in the boat and can soon stand up and
rebuke the sea, so that it becomes calm.
However, it does seem to be true, what you have surely all been quietly wanting to say
for some time, that today Christ is no longer doing such amazing things. He is so
strangely hidden away that we often think he is no longer there at all! Dear brothers and
sisters, what do we know about what Christ can do and wants to do for us, this very
evening, if we will only call upon him as we should, if we call out, “Lord, save us! We
are perishing!” That was fear all right, but it was faith in the midst of fear, because it
knew where help comes from, the only place. We say there are no miracles anymore . . .
but what do we know really, you and I? We will certainly be ashamed of ourselves if one
day we are allowed to see what God can do.
They were amazed, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea
obey him?” We can well understand their amazement. What sort of person is this on
whom fear has no effect, who overcomes the fear in human life and takes away its
power? By asking this question, we are already on our knees before him, praying to him,
pointing to him, the wonder worker, and saying, This is God! Amen.
PRAYERS FOR THE CORONAVIRUS SITUATION
Pastor Jordan compiled the following prayers from online and print resources.
Jesus, during Your ministry on Earth You showed Your power and caring by healing people of
all ages and stations of life from physical, mental, and spiritual ailments. Be present now to
people who need Your loving touch because of COVID-19. May they feel Your power of
healing through the care of doctors and nurses. Take away the fear, anxiety, and feelings of
isolation from people receiving treatment or under quarantine. Give them a sense of purpose in
pursuing health and protecting others from exposure to the disease. Protect their families and
friends and bring peace to all who love them. Amen
Lord, I want desperately to take your Word to heart, but a tsunami of negativity and fear engulf
me. My thoughts wander to worst-case scenarios. I need your insight to diligently untangle
truthful facts from embellished hysteria. I ask the Holy Spirit to guide me in filtering out what I
should avoid listening to or considering. Infuse me Lord with discernment and wisdom. Give
me clarity of mind and heart. Guard my mouth that I don’t spread gossip or hearsay to alarm
others. Help me to exhibit love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, and self-control. Like the apostle Paul, may I learn the secret of being content in all
circumstances, knowing that I can do all things through you who gives me strength to fulfill
your desires. Praise you Lord, Amen.
O Father of mercies and God of all comfort, our only help in time of need: We humbly beseech
thee to behold, visit, and relieve thy sick servant N. for whom our prayers are desired. Look
upon him with the eyes of thy mercy; comfort him with
a sense of thy goodness; preserve him from the temptations of the enemy; and give him patience
under his affliction. In thy good time, restore him to health, and enable him to lead the residue
of his life in thy fear, and to thy glory; and grant that finally he may dwell with thee in life
everlasting; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Oh Holy, Mighty, Majesty, my Father, You Who are the Great Physician. If it is Your will,
please intervene speedily to help my friend/family member be healed or speed their recovery.
The chief goal of my pray is not for my will but to magnify and glorify Your Great Son’s
Name, Jesus Christ, because it is through this Great Name that I am praying through. You are
sovereign over all sickness, illness, and disease. These are nothing to You and so if it be Your
express will Father, please help them supernaturally to the glory of Your Son’s Name. Please
guide the doctor’s hands, bless the nurses work, and give them steady and skilled hands to do
what needs to be done and for the glory of and in the Name of Jesus Christ I pray, amen.
Righteous God in Heaven, thank You for blessing my friend/family member who is in the
hospital with such a good staff and even though it seems we often have to wait, at least here we
have better facilities and staff than most of the world does. Please forgive me for so often taking
these things for granted. I ask you to bless the staff, the work of their hands, the people who do
so much for so many. I would ask to have these blessings be especially poured out on the
doctors and the nurses so that they can perform to the best of their abilities for the benefit of my
friend/family member and for others. So many depend on them and I know I take them for
granted so bless them and I thank You for them and in Jesus’ most holy Name, Amen.
Great God in heaven, I pray for my friend/family member who is in the hospital with a serious
condition. Give them comfort and strength to endure what they are experiencing right now and
to help the family deal with the stresses of being removed from home, their insurance
paperwork and acceptance, their employers that they’d be understanding of the missing
employee, or anything else that I can’t think of that would help them all endure in this time of
crisis for their friend/loved one. Please help the doctors and nurses know exactly what to do in
each specific area and to find the proper diagnosis so that they can specifically treat the
problem. If this means the laboratory staff, the radiologist, or any of the other staff associated
with the care of my friend/family member, I ask for that in the Glorious Name of Jesus Christ,
amen.
Jesus, keep our nurses healthy and strong in all areas of their lives. Protect their families, their
marriages, their children, their incomes, their futures. Provide them with physical and emotional
and spiritual rest. Help them not to “grow weary in doing good”(Galatians 6:9) and build them
up when they’re breaking down. Bless them with so much compassion that it spills effortlessly
into their patients’ lives. Be their backbone, their living water, and the one who continually fills
them before they even come close to running on empty.
Lord, I know that Satan created the spirit of fear, anxiety, doubt, and worries to torture and
entrap my mind and rob me of my joy, peace, and sleep. When what-ifs wake me in the dark of
night, please help me to denounce Satan and remember 1 Peter 5:7 where you say internal peace
is as simple as casting all my anxiety on you because you care for me. I am comforted that you
see into the depths of my heart and the intricacies of my mind where unhealthy fears dwell. You
already know what’s troubling me, but you want to hear me share my concerns with you to
release the stronghold grip they have on my thoughts and emotions. Father, I trust that you
don’t want me to waste a moment of my life fretting. Please calm my racing heart and fill my
troubled mind with hope and my spirit with peace. Assure me that no weapon formed against
me will prosper and you have a plan and a purpose for me in this time of turmoil. Show me
your ways Lord and grant me the courage to follow where you lead. Amen.