lent | RCPC Roanoke

The Lenten Devotional theme this year is The Way of the Shepherd. The shepherd reveals a kind of power rooted not in what can be taken, but in what can be given. Not in coercion, but in care. Not in fear, but in faithful presence. The shepherd knows the flock by name, tends to their needs, searches for the lost, protects the vulnerable, and stays close—even in the valley of the shadow of death. In Jesus, that Good Shepherd takes on flesh—walking among us, feeding the hungry, healing the wounded, welcoming the outsider, and laying down his life for the sheep.

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Easter Sunday, April 5

Matthew 28: 1-10 After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are lookin

4 days ago

Day 40—Holy Saturday, April 4

Matthew 27: 62-66 The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember what that impostor said while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ Therefore command the tomb to be made secure until the third day; otherwise, his disciples may go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception would be worse than the first.” Pilat

5 days ago

Day 39—Good Friday, April 3

John 19:25-30 Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the script

6 days ago

Day 38—Maundy Thursday, April 2

John 13: 31-35 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also shou

7 days ago

Day 37—Holy Wednesday, April 1

John 13:21-32 After saying this Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared, “Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.” The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking. One of his disciples — the one whom Jesus loved — was reclining next to him; Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So while reclining next to Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I give this piece of

Apr 1

Day 36—Holy Tuesday, March 31

John 12:20-36 Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much f

Mar 31

Day 35—Holy Monday, March 30

John 12:1-8 Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, ‘Why was th

Mar 30

Day 34—Saturday, March 28

Acts 20:28-33 Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son. I know that after I have gone, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Some even from your own group will come distorting the truth in order to entice the disciples to follow them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to w

Mar 28

Day 33—Friday, March 27

Genesis 49:22-25 “Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall. With bitterness, archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility. But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the skies above, blessings of the deep sp

Mar 27

Day 32—Thursday, March 26

Ecclesiastes 12:11-12 The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one shepherd. Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body. I have a group of friends from my hometown - Camden, New York. We have all been friends since 2002. We first developed our friendship by playing a Star Wars role playing game (It’s like Dungeons and Dragons but easier). T

Mar 26

Day 31—Wednesday, March 25

Isaiah 49: 8-10 This is what the Lord says: “In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances, to say to the captives, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’ “They will feed beside the roads and find pasture on every barren hill. They will neither hunger nor thirst, n

Mar 25

Day 30—Tuesday, March 24

Exodus 3:1-4 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jetho his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the Mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire, it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight–why the bush does not burn up.” When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God ca

Mar 24

Day 29—Monday, March 23

Brave Like a Shepherd by the God Alive 4th and 5th Graders 1 Samuel 17:34-36 - International Children’s Bible But David said to Saul, “I, your servant, have been keeping my father’s sheep. When a lion or bear came and took a sheep from the flock, I would chase it. I would attack it and save the sheep from its mouth. When it attacked me, I caught it by its fur. I, your servant, have killed both a lion and a bear! Goliath, the giant Philistine will be like the lion or bear I ki

Mar 23

Day 28—Saturday, March 21

Matthew 25:31-36 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the

Mar 21

Day 27—Friday, March 20

Luke 12:32-34 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Do not be afraid. If only it were that easy… As a generally anxious, Type-A person, I struggle a lot with overthinking and o

Mar 20

Day 26—Thursday, March 19

Isaiah 40:10–11 See, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep. There are seasons when God feels impossibly far away. A devastating diagnosis. A grief that presses the air from your lungs. In that silence, you may find yourself asking what the ancient exiles once ask

Mar 19

Day 25—Wednesday, March 18

John 10:1-6 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never

Mar 18

Day 24—Tuesday, March 17

Revelations 7:16-17 “They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Revelation 7:16–17 has always been there, tucked quietly into the middle of a book that many of us were taught to fear. Growing up in a Baptist church, I learne

Mar 17

Day 23—Monday, March 16

Jeremiah 31:10 Hear the word of the Lord, you nations; proclaim it in distant coastlands. He who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over his flock like a shepherd. The people of Israel were in exile and scattered having been judged for their disobedience. But in God’s world even the hardest times don’t last forever. God promises that the people will be gathered as sheep and restored physically and spiritually. Even though God judged the people, God never left

Mar 16

Day 22—Saturday, March 14

Ezekiel 34:11-16 For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep and will sort them out. As shepherds sort out their flocks when they are among scattered sheep, so I will sort out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them into their own land, and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by th

Mar 14