Author: Eva Sullivan-Knoff

The One Who Draws Near

Eva Sullivan-Knoff News

Pastor Aaron on our board offers this encouraging word for us, ‘The One Who Draws Near’. This was first preached at Resurrection Covenant Church on March 15, 2020.

 

Grace and peace to you, ResCov!

We hope you are hanging in there as we seek to ‘flatten the curve’ and keep social distance. These are strange days in which so many of our rhythms and routines are being upended including, as you know, our Sunday morning worship. While we are not gathering together for corporate worship, our hope is that these resources offer an opportunity for you to worship where you are in a way that is reminiscent of worship at ResCov. This is new for all of us, so please let us know if this is helpful and how you experience it.

 

Here are links to the materials for today:
1. A reformatted version of our typical bulletin with links to songs for you to reflect on and/or sing along.

2. Pastor Aaron’s sermon for today which you can listen to as part of the service in the link above.

3. Materials for ResCov Kids:
– Water, Water, Everywhere! – an interactive devotional with activities and a paraphrase of Exodus 17:1-7, with a tie into John 4:5-42. It can be adapted for use with Pre-K to 5th graders.

– Generous Giving Week 3 – EOT Kids: They have been working each week to read and complete these lessons outside of class. These lessons do not follow the lectionary, and they can certainly be used by all ages!

– God Calls Me – a coloring sheet for all ages

Again, this is new for all of us. We hope these resources help as you seek God’s glory while we all live into our commitment to neighbor’s good. And please, stay in touch with us, reach out to and pray for one another, and let us know how we can help and support each another.

Peace to you, friends!

– Pastor Aaron, Pastor Dave, and Pastor Kyle

Third Week of Lent

Eva Sullivan-Knoff News

Opening
Lord, as I sit here with you, quiet my heart and mind. You invite me to come as I am and so I come. Open my heart to all you have for me. Awaken me to your voice within.

Reflection
As we continue our journey through Lent
we slow our pace so we can listen well
to what God desires to say to us.
God’s love seeks to heal the broken places within us,
To free us from the things that bind us
To bring light into our shadow places.
God desires us to know life in a fuller way,
And to live from a place of belovedness and belonging.

Invitation
Read the Scripture through slowly a couple of times. Pause where you are drawn.

John 4:5-14 (To read the whole story continue through verse 42)
So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.
7 A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.”

Prayer Response
Gracious Lord,
I am struck by the way
you meet us where we are,
in our place of need.
How much you notice us
and see what is beyond our awareness.
There is compassion in your seeing
and the desire to deliver us
from the places where we are stuck.
With your help,
enable us to let go of the things that bind us
And that hold us back.
You have so much for us.
Open our eyes, our hearts, our minds
to receive the life we have in you.
Amen.

Second Week of Lent

Eva Sullivan-Knoff Lent

Opening
Lord, as I sit here with you, quiet my heart and mind. You invite me to come as I am and so I come. Open my heart to all you have for me. Awaken me to your voice within.

Reflection
As we continue our journey through Lent
we slow our pace so we can listen well
to what God desires to say to us.
God’s love seeks to heal the broken places within us,
To free us from the things that bind us
To bring light into our shadow places.
God desires us to know life in a fuller way,
And to live from a place of belovedness and belonging.

Invitation
Read the scripture through slowly a couple of times. Pause where you are drawn.

John 3:16-17
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

Prayer Response
Gracious and Holy God,
Who are we that you are mindful of us,
And yet you so are.
You are beyond our understanding,
bigger than the boxes we put you in.
You want so much more for us
than what we recognize.
The life and love you have for us all,
is freeing, healing, life-giving.
May it seep into the deepest part of us
And affect all that we are.
Oh may we embrace the life
You have for us.
May it transform
how we see ourselves
and each one you have made.
May it pour out of our pores
in a compassionate grace filled stream
that heals and blesses
all those around us.
Amen.

First Week of Lent

Eva Sullivan-Knoff Lent

Opening
Lord, as I sit here with you, quiet my heart and mind. You invite me to come as I am and so I come. Open my heart to all you have for me. Awaken me to your voice within.

Reflection
We begin our journey through Lent once again.
We slow our pace so we can notice and pay attention to all God has for us.
God’s love seeks to heal the broken places within us.
God’s love seeks to show us a transforming way to see and hear and live.
Let us intentionally imagine Jesus walking beside us.
What does He want to show us
within ourselves, within others?
May we listen and as we do
May we notice how deeply we are loved.

Invitation
Read the scripture through slowly a couple of times. Pause where you are drawn.

Scripture: Mark 1:9-15
“In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” 12 And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. 14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

Prayer of Response
Beloved God,
You name me your beloved.
Help me to live from that space.
Help me to so claim it
that its truth resides anchored in my inner core.
Even when I fail
may I remember this truth
that there is no place I can go
where you are not with me.
There is no place I can go
where I am not loved by you.
And oh Holy One,
may I remember and live out
that the same thing is true
in every person you have made.
Help me to recognize
their belovedness
and to love them well.
Help me to be touched by their pain,
to celebrate their joys
and to claim
our inherent connection to each other.
So Beloved God, to whom I belong,
please forgive me
for all the ways I have failed
You, others, and myself.
Help me once again to live in
and reflect your love
and all of our belovedness
wherever I am.
Amen.

Ash Wednesday

Eva Sullivan-Knoff Lent

Opening
Lord, as I sit here with you, quiet my heart and mind. You invite me to come as I am and so I come. Open my heart to all you have for me. Awaken me to your voice within.

Reflection
We begin our journey through Lent once again.
We slow our pace so we can notice and pay attention to all God has for us.
God’s love seeks to heal the broken places within us.
God’s love seeks to show us a transforming way to see and hear and live.
Let us intentionally imagine Jesus walking beside us.
What does He want to show us
within ourselves, within others?
May we listen and as we do
May we notice how deeply we are loved.

Invitation
Read the scripture through slowly a couple of times. Pause where you are drawn.

Scripture: Psalm 51:1-3, 10-12
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.”

Prayer of Response
The challenge of Lent is to see myself as I am
with all that is good and with all that is not
and at the same time
to see myself through your eyes
through your love and grace.
Your love and grace are healing
and transforming
at same time
because they ask me to be more.
They ask me to love myself and others
the way that you do.
They ask me to look upon others
with compassion and grace
and prayers for healing and transformation.
Lord, please answer this prayer
I long to be a person
after your own heart.
I desire to be a reflection of you
in which people see your love and grace in me,
for me, for them,
in love and communion with you.
Amen.

New Year Reflection

Eva Sullivan-Knoff News

Before you enter the new year, I invite you to reflect over this last one. Imagine God sitting next to you as you do. Ask God to guide you through the year as you look back, drawing your attention to where it is needed.

Are there experiences to which you still need to be present ? Listen to what they have to say to you. Is anything else needed? Do they still need you to grieve them? What wisdom do they offer you as you listen? Gently look back and spend time with any such spaces still calling for your attention.

Are there places, people, or things that it is time to let go of? Spend some quiet time in reflection and prayer, asking God to show you. You may even want to journal about these things or talk with someone you trust.

As you look back, review those moments, persons, and experiences for which you are grateful. Savor them and offer God your thanks. Maybe send a note of thanks to those who touched your life this last year.

As you look to the New Year, where are you most drawn? Where do you feel most energized to invest yourself? Fredrick Buechner says, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” What is that life-giving place for you?

Is self-care something you need to attend more to? How do you play and rest? Are your relationships inviting you to invest more in them? As you reflect on these questions, pay special attention to what energizes you. You may want to journal about these things and talk with someone you trust.

Each year there are a few spiritual practices I do to help me enter the new year. I do an Examen of the Year, I redo my Life Rule and look at my Personal Compass. I commend these spiritual practices to you as you begin the New Year. If you want to know more about them, you can easily find resources on the internet, or email me and I will be glad to share resources with you.

New Year Blessing
May you be aware of God’s leading and God’s presence with you in each of your moments and days. May God grant you clarity of vision, a renewed sense of call, and meaningful people to journey alongside you. May God’s deep blessings be yours, as you seek “to see God more clearly, love God more dearly, and follow God more nearly, day by day.” (Lyrics from Godspell Day by Day written in 1971 by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak.) Amen.

Because You Are

Eva Sullivan-Knoff Advent

Fourth Sunday of Advent

Opening Prayer
Emmanuel, God with us, we give you thanks and praise for who you are and all you have done.
In these moments, help us to soak it in, that we may be filled with joy and the awareness of your presence within.

Invitation
Christmas soon approaches. Some of you may be connected to the joy it brings. For others of you, grief may be intensified. Wherever you find yourself, with questions and heartache, or with joy and promise, may you sense Emmanuel, God with us, coming to you right where you are.

Because You Are
Giver of Joy and Promise
We pause to take in
This wonder of wonders
Beyond our imaginings
That You come as one of us
To know what we know
To experience what we do
To share your life with us
Your life within us

Because You are
Hope is realized
For you bring hope from despair
beauty from ashes
Comfort from sorrow
Honor from shame
Transforming our pain
Giving us life anew

Because You are
Joy comes in the morning
Because you come to us as we are
Calling us by name
Lifting our face
That we may gaze in your eyes
And see your love and acceptance
reflected there

Because You are
Love heals us
For You come
Embracing us to yourself
Imprinting upon our hearts
That we are your beloved
Made in your image
Each one of us

Because You are
We are restored
For You walk beside us always
Your presence healing and renewing
Because You came
Because You are
Because You are
Emmanuel, God with us.

Amen.

(Rev. Eva Sullivan-Knoff, copyright 2019)

While We Wait

Eva Sullivan-Knoff Advent

Third Sunday of Advent

Opening Prayer
Gracious God, as we sit with you, may your presence illuminate us with light and warmth like that of a glowing fireplace. We draw close Lord.

Invitation
As you read the poem below, notice the ways in which Emmanuel, God with us, comes to us, comes to you, even in the waiting.

While We Wait
While we wait,
Longing for answers
and for hope realized
We slow our step,
Pausing and paying attention
Noticing and Pondering
Signs of your presence
Around us
We quiet ourselves
Listening for your whispers
Reminding us we are your beloved
For You leave us not alone
And so
Pausing and paying attention
Noticing and Pondering
We seek to recognize you
In the faces we meet
And in the little gifts received
A warm smile
Shared tears
Children’s laughter
The words of a friend
While we wait
Longing for answers and for hope realized
We seek to recognize you
In the many ways you come to us
Reminding us
We are your beloved
And You leave us not alone.
Amen.
(Rev. Eva Sullivan-Knoff, copyright 2019)

Waiting in Hope

Eva Sullivan-Knoff Advent

Opening Prayer
Gracious God, as we sit with you in these moments,
fill us with your peace.

Invitation
In God alone, our soul waits in silence.
Sit for a moment or two and breathe in God’s peace.

Reflection
Advent touches all the places in our lives
and in our world where we wait.
All the prayers waiting for answers. All the aching waiting for good news. All the dreams waiting to be realized. All the waiting for a new start, a new season.
Sometimes all we can do is cry out.
Waiting is draining. Hope can seem elusive.
In our waiting, in our crying out
for ourselves and for our world,
May we find ourselves met by God right where we are.
May we find comfort and hope right in the midst of it.

Read the poem below a couple of times.
Pause where you are most drawn.

Waiting
We are in a season of waiting
for good news
for comfort in our mourning
for hope in the midst of despair
to get on the other side of whatever it is
with which we struggle
We are waiting for peace
to calm the chaos within
for a glimpse of light in the darkness.
We are waiting for joy to return
for longings to be realized
for promises to come to fruition
We wait but not without hope
We wait in remembrance
of who God has been
and what God has done
for the uncountable moments of:
God’s presence by our side
when God’s tears have merged with ours
when our prayers have known answers
and our joy has been reborn
We wait in remembrance of the miracles of all sizes
We wait in hope
because of who God is
because of who God has always been
That hope allows us to keep walking toward the light
It keeps us believing and moving forward
It keeps us loving and reaching out to others
offering what we have received.
We wait in hope
because we know Emmanuel, God with us
has been felt by our side
and will be again.
Amen.

(Rev. Eva Sullivan-Knoff, copyright 2019)

Advent Begins

Eva Sullivan-Knoff Advent

Opening Prayer
Lord, it seems hard to quiet my heart and mind. So much is swirling around and within me. In these moments, please quiet me within. I need your peace of heart and mind to have strength for the day. Hear me Oh Lord, I pray.

Invitation
Pause for a moment or two to quiet your mind, heart, and body. Take in a few deep breaths. Inhale God’s peace and release any tension. Do this a few times. Breathe in deeply God’s peace for you.

Reflection
As we begin Advent, so many troubles and heartaches in the world clamor for our attention. Climate Change has reached a state of emergency. Children continue to be separated from their parents at the border. Power and privilege continue as weapons to hurt others. Too many people are still without their basic needs. Racism still oppresses. LGBTQ lives are still not honored with value. If ever we longed to connect to the hope of Advent it is now.
Read the poem below through a few times. Pause and reflect on a word or phrase on where you are drawn.

Advent Begins
Longing and yearning
Stretching and straining
Desiring with all my being
Your light in the midst of the encompassing darkness
Heartaches cover my vision
And dim the light within
I cling to Hope to wrap myself in
like a soft warm blanket
Lift my eyes above and beyond
All that aches without and within
May the light of hope kindle a fire
Bright to warm the hearts of all who gather
Radiant to fill our eyes with your vision
Ablaze with your hope and your life
We gather you within and around
Just as you gather us in
And embrace us with yourself.
Amen.

(Rev. Eva Sullivan-Knoff, copyright 2019)