Daily Devotional by Text and Email
For those who are looking to “go deeper” and really dig into the season of Lent, we’ve put together a devotional called “Jesus in the Old Testament.” We will be exploring stories from the Old Testament and seeing how they point us to Jesus. These devotionals have been written by pastors and Christian scholars from throughout Virginia (and beyond). A few times each week, we will send a link (by text and email) that will take you to the devotional for the day. To sign up to receive these daily devotionals by text, simply text “LENT” to 474747. To sign up to receive them by email, simply send an email with the subject line “Sign me Up for the Lenten Devotional” to info@haymarketchurch.org.
You can find all of the devotionals (all those that have been published so far) here.
The New Temple
Written by Joe Lenow, Rector of St. James’ Episcopal Parish in Lothian, Maryland. Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise…
Easter and God’s Laughter
Written by Matt Benton, Pastor of Bethel United Methodist Church in Woodbridge, VA. Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together,…
“My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?”
Written by Elaine Ellis Thomas, Rector of All Saints Episcopal Parish in Hoboken, NJ. As part of my training for ordained ministry, I spent a summer as a hospice chaplain. Sitting at the bedside praying with those nearing life’s end was an extraordinarily holy…
Cursed is the One Who Hangs on a Tree
Written by Brian Johnson, Pastor of Haymarket Church in Haymarket, VA. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us—because it is written, Everyone who is hung on a tree is cursed.” – Galatians 3:13…
Adam and Jesus in the Garden
Written by Matt Benton, Pastor of Bethel United Methodist Church in Woodbridge, VA. Two stories and their settings are the same. A man stands in a garden, before God, and is afraid. Two…
The Suffering Servant
Written by Hungsu Lim, Associate Pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church in Richmond, VA. Isaiah proclaims a profound message to the people in exile. This prophet sings a new song of hope and…
Jesus, the Paschal Lamb
Written by Grace Han, Pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church in Alexandria, VA. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” – John 1:29 “Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each…
Stories of Fish with Jonah and Jesus
Written by Hyo G. Kim, Pastor of the West Brunswick Charge in Farmville, VA. Jesus eats a fish; a fish eats Jonah. Jonah is a book about God’s calling for repentance, obedience, salvation, grace, and so much more. It is one of the well-known stories that even…
Christ our Great High Priest: Resting in Prayer
Written by Anna Petrin, a Professor at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC. “Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is…
Joshua and Jesus
Written by Charlie Baber, Pastor of Youth Ministry at University United Methodist Church in Chapel Hill, NC. “I’ve commanded you to be brave and strong, haven’t I? Don’t be alarmed or terrified, because the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9,…
Isaiah 63:1-3 – The Grapes of Wrath
Written by Joe Lenow, Rector of St. James’ Episcopal Parish in Lothian, Maryland. “Why are your robes red, and your garments like theirs who tread the wine press?” “I have trodden the wine press alone, and from the peoples no one was with me; I trod them in my…
Manna – What Is It?
Written by Jonathan Page, Pastor of Herndon United Methodist Church. The Israelite people called it manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and tasted like honey wafers. Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Let an omer of it be kept safe for future…
Rock and Rolling Stones, Cleft for Me
Written by Dan Kim, Pastor of Gum Spring United Methodist Church. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them,…
Jesus and Moses
Written by Taylor Mertins, Pastor of Cokesbury United Methodist Church in Woodbridge, VA. We think the “law” can save and fix our messed up and broken lives. From infancy we’re spoon-fed a narrative of righteous self-determination, that if you do all the right…
Daniel and the Immaculate Conception
Written by Ashley Faulkner, a professor at the University of North Florida. Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image’s head was of fine gold,…
The Bronze Serpent
Written by Leah Wise, a student at Yale Divinity School The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses,…
Joseph: Dreams and Drama
Written by Lauren Lobenhofer, Pastor of Cave Spring United Methodist Church in Roanoke, VA. Genesis 37:17b-20 (NRSV): “So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan. They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to…
Christ as God’s Wisdom, the Heart of Creation
Written by Andrew R. Guffey, Priest-in-Charge of St. Mary’s In-The-Hills Episcopal Church, Lake Orion, Michigan. Our lives are full of information. We can get answers to just about any question of trivia we might have on Google within seconds. We can look up our…
Jesus and Isaac
Written by Matt Benton, Pastor of Bethel United Methodist Church in Woodbridge, Virginia. Based on Genesis 22:1-14 (click here to read the story). Once upon a time there was a man named Abram. One day Abram was out working in his father’s fields and God…
The Three Strangers
Written by Michael Petrin, a professor at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men…
The New Adam
Written by Yun Kim, Pastor of St. Peter’s UMC in Richmond, VA. YHWH Elohim breathed in ‘ADAM’ “Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.” – Genesis 2:7 Job…
The New Sabbath
Written by Sarah Locke, Pastor of Hickory United Methodist Church in Chesapeake, VA. “Then he said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.’” – Mark 2:24-28 “Come to me, all you…
The Elected Rejected
Written by Taylor Mertins, Pastor of Cokesbury United Methodist Church, Woodbridge, VA. “But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” – Isaiah…
The Inverted Babel (Genesis 11)
Written by Stephanie Kimec-Parker, Pastor of the Gathering at Scott Memorial United Methodist Church in Virginia Beach, VA. In Genesis 11:1-9, we see the people have come together to make something great. They are using their intelligence to build a wonderful city,…
Jesus in the Old Testament: An Introduction
Who is God? What is God like? Are Jesus and God different? Why are there two parts to the Bible? Does God change in between? Why does God seem so judgmental in the Old Testament and so loving in the New Testament? These questions and…