We gather for a Worship Service on this Sunday, February 25th, 2024, Second Sunday in Lent in person at the Chapel (2700 W 14th Street) at 11:00 a.m.

To join us at the Chapel, buzz Zion Church (Bob Bucklew) from the Directory at the front of the 2700 Building on the campus of San Sofia apartments or enter from the accessible ramp from the rear parking lot. When you arrive, call Bob at 216-375-5323 to open the parking lot gate.

The Sunday Bulletin is attached in PDF format. You may use it as a devotional during the week.

A Message for this Second Sunday in Lent:

What does it mean to trust in God’s ways? Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16) had to wait a long time, and even though God promised them they would be the ancestors of a multitude, they still had to wait for one baby boy to be born, long after they hoped for him. Peter (Mark 8:31-38) wanted to trust Jesus but thought in that moment, when Jesus spoke of his death for the first time, that Jesus must be wrong. Peter had the audacity to try to call out Jesus on it, but Jesus instead called him Satan, the one who had set his mind on human ways and not on God’s ways. Paul spoke to the church in Rome (Romans 4:13-25) that God’s ways were about faith, trust in God, pursuing God, and that the law was not necessary for that. The psalmist (Psalm 22:23-31) reminds us that trust in God is a pursuit of God’s ways of peace and justice, of giving thanks for all God has done for us and resting in the assurance of what God will do. We are called to deny ourselves—our own selfish desires, safety and security, wealth and power, the assurance of this world—and take up our cross. Put to death what holds us back, what makes us try to trust the world’s ways that will continue to fail us—and instead, put our trust in God and the assurance that God will continue to be with us, and will continue to fulfill the promises of old”

(Rev. Mindi Welton-Mitchell, Worship Re-sources for February 25, 2024—Second Sunday in Lent, on her blog, Rev-o-lution. http://rev-o-lution.org/).

The Focus Scripture Reading is Mark 8:31-38

This is the pivotal moment in the Gospel of Mark (from here through the story of the Transfiguration in Mark 9:2-9). Before this, in Mark’s account, Jesus did not speak about his suffering and death and resurrection—this is the first time he did so, and he did so very openly. And his disciple Peter was horrified by it,  so much that he pulled Jesus aside to rebuke him. However, Jesus rebuked Peter and called him Satan, a stumbling block fixed on human things and not on the divine. Jesus further instructed the crowd how to be his disciples: to deny themselves, take up their cross and follow him. This is the moment when Jesus turns toward Jerusalem, and began to teach what it really meant to follow him, but the disciples did not fully understand.

Sermon/Reflection: “What Does It Mean to Deny Ourselves?” by the Rev. Scott Rosenstein, based on the reading of Mark 8:31-38.

Please join us this Lenten season to give thanks to God and to seek the companionship of Christ in-person at Zion Chapel.

Pastor Scott Rosenstein
216-273-7561 – church
216-577-1514 – mobile

Bulletin Cover Image:
Art for Lent 2B – Second Sunday in Lent – Psalm 22 and Mark 8:31-38 – Carrying Crosses to Follow Him
This Sunday’s Lectionary Art – Stushie Art
Church bulletin covers and other art by artist Stushie (a Scottish pastor ministering in East Tennessee)
Unique crayon and digital worship art
https://stushieart.com/this-sundays-lectionary-art-3/