Fifth Sunday after Pentecost- Week of June 27, 2021

Begin your devotion time by praying this prayer: Holy God, through Jesus you make your power and presence known in the world. Help us turn toward him, and help others turn toward him, too. Amen.

Reflect on the Way of Love together: This week’s practice on the Way of Love is TURN. Who are the people that have helped you turn toward Jesus in faith and love? How have you helped others turn their lives toward Jesus?

Adult and Small Child

Read: Mark 5:21-43

Reflect: In this passage from Mark, a girl and a women’s life are both turned around by their faith. Regardless of your age your faith will change your life. This is especially true when you choose to follow God. How has your faith changed your life? Knowing that God is loving and full of grace and mercy also means that when we turn towards God, we will receive forgiveness. If we are unkind to a friend we can turn, ask for forgiveness, and change our behavior. We can also turn and notice those around us. How can you help others?

Respond: Draw pictures or make cards of love and encouragement together. Donate your art to a local women’s shelter or children’s hospital. You can also ask the organization if they have a needs list and donate items to them.

- Kelly Benz

Adult and Elementary

Read: Mark 5:21-43

Reflect: Have you ever felt invisible? Have you ever felt like no one even knows you are around? For me, this comes at times when I most need someone to see me and to ask me, “How are you doing today?� or “Are you doing alright?�

I can remember a time when I felt all alone. Even though there were people all around me, I felt incredibly lonely. This loneliness made me want to hide away from everyone, but then a friend noticed my sadness and asked me if everything was alright. Like Jesus, they turned around and saw me and this helped relieve my sadness.

Respond: Are there people around you that need to be seen? Who are the people in your life that need you to turn and see their sadness, their pain, or maybe even their joy? Color a picture or write a note to share with those people.

- Malcolm McLaurin

Adult and Youth

Read: Mark 5:21-43

Reflect: There’s a Christian worship song from years past that goes “If I’m healed by just one touch of your garment, Lord, then how much more of your love is for me than I’m tasting?� It reminds me of the woman who simply touched Jesus’ garment and was healed. And Jairus, who in his hour of greatest need turned to Jesus, trusting him to be able to meet it just with a touch of his hands. For that woman and for that father, Jesus was their only hope, and they knew just a touch would be enough. It begs the question: what would an embrace do? What if we asked for a hug, rather than just a touch? If a touch can bring back to life and heal, how much more does God want to give? What about the life after the crisis? Perhaps there’s even MORE abundance afterwards. Yes, we can turn to Jesus with our deepest, most urgent needs. But maybe Jesus wants to give us still more than that. Maybe if we turn to him and STAY with him beyond the urgent, we’ll experience the effects of even more love poured out over us.

Respond: Ephesians 3:20 tells us that God is able to accomplish “abundantly, far more� than ALL we could ever “ask or imagine.� (NRSV) God wants to respond to us in our crises, but God is much more generous than just that. God has even more to offer. As we turn toward God’s abundance, let’s turn toward each other. How can you go above and beyond to meet someone’s needs today? Make a list of something you can do for each person who lives in your home, something to turn toward them, to go above and beyond to show them they are loved.

- Sally Ulrey

Adult and Adults

Read: Mark 5:21-43

Reflect: This week’s passage includes two of my favorite stories in Mark’s gospel. A woman is healed, and a child is brought back to life! These are two incredible miracles rooted in the faith of those who sought Jesus and wanted to touch him. The woman and the father knew that Jesus could help and heal them. Others may have doubted, but they knew. And Jesus knew, too.

Once I heard a translation of this text that used the phrase “trust courageously� instead of the word “believe.� Those two words—trust courageously—still come to mind every time I read this text. Because they knew that Jesus could heal their brokenness, because they trusted courageously, the woman and the father turned toward Jesus, and helped others do the same. I can only imagine how it must feel to witness such incredible miracles, and witness Jesus’ power first hand! The courageous trust shown by the woman and the father draws others toward the love and power we experience while walking with Jesus. When we turn toward Jesus and trust courageously, we can draw others toward Jesus’ love, too.

Respond: Re-read the text in Mark 5:21-43 again, but this time replace the word “believe� with the words “trust courageously.� What do you think it means to have courageous trust when you turn toward Jesus? Make a list of ways you have courageously turned toward Jesus, and the ways in which you can help others do the same.

- Victoria Hoppes