Devotio Moderna - Affective Meditation on the Cross

Wow! Today's class was definitely one of the more emotionally testing ones. Today, we learned about Gerard Groote and his influence on Christianity in the 14th century via Devotio Moderna. This man called clergy from being lukewarm to devotion to God about 200 years before Luther sparked the Reformation. In the practice of Affective Meditation of the Cross, we reflect on Jesus Christ as he is nailed on the cross, suffering for our behalf. As we pray we imagine ourselves at the foot of the cross and experience that life changing moment in this prayer. To check out the recording for this class and the accompanying handout click this link: Prayer Through the Ages and look for Lesson 3 - Devotio Moderna.

The Life of King Hezekiah, Lesson 3

For the past two weeks, we've looked at the life of King Hezekiah as he has called his nation back to God and was threatened by a strong enemy empire. This week, we explore what happened in the encounter between King Hezekiah and Sennacherib. The hand of God was undeniable in this event in history, as evidenced by the Bible and even records accounted by the Assyrians themselves. The Bible we believe in is real--its truth is all around us. Hezekiah prayed and God defended his city, for His own namesake. If you look at that map of the Assyrian empire in the PowerPoint slides, you'll know God was present in this fight.

Next week, this study on the life of King Hezekiah will conclude with a study of Hezekiah's illness close to his death and how God was with him through it all. Sennacherib is out of the picture here, so this class may have a different feel to it. If you have any questions or comments over this week's lesson or next week's to come, feel free to leave a comment.

The Life of King Hezekiah, Lesson 2

We had our second class yesterday on Wednesday, August 18th on the Life of King Hezekiah. In this class, we discussed the preparations King Hezekiah made to protect his land from what seemed to be a imminent painful destruction. But King Hezekiah was no fool. The man prayed and prepared. In this lesson, we discuss the preparations King Hezekiah took, some of which can still be seen today.

In the life of this man, we see a king who fought against impossible odds, but still had faith. I think this verse says it all in 2 Chronicles 32:8, "With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles." (NIV)

Again, if you have any comments or questions feel free to leave them in the comments space below. I'll do my best to answer them here or in the next teaching. If you'd like to see the powerpoints, view the handout, and/or listen to the teaching, click the folder below for this week's lesson and last week's lesson.