Lenten Devotional

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About Pittsburgh Theological Seminary

Rooted in the Reformed tradition, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary is committed to the formation of women and men for theologically reflective ministry and to scholarship in service to the global Church of Jesus Christ.

Become a Student

Certificate Programs

Special Programs

Faculty

In addition to their on-campus duties, our faculty are experts in their fields and are available to preach and teach. Learn more about their topics of research and writing and invite them to present at your congregation or gathering.

Events

The Seminary hosts a wide range of events—many of them free!—on topics of faith including church planting, mission, vocation, spiritual formation, pastoral care and counseling, archaeology, and many more. Visit our calendar often for a listing of upcoming events.

Visit PTS

Interested in the Seminary? Come visit us!

Stay in Touch with PTS

Sign-up to receive the Seminary's newsletters: Seminary News (monthly), Church Planting Initiative (monthly), Continuing Education (monthly), World Mission Initiative (monthly), Metro-Urban Institute (quarterly), and Kelso Museum. Alums, there's also one for you!

Lent Devotional March 24, 2018

Scripture

2 Corinthians 4:13-18

13 But just as we have the same spirit of faith that is in accordance with scripture—“I believed, and so I spoke”—we also believe, and so we speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will bring us with you into his presence. 15 Yes, everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. 16 So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. 17 For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, 18 because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.

Devotional

Written by Dr. Scott Hagley, PTS Assistant Professor of Missiology

In one of his broadcasts of the radio show “A Prairie Home Companion,” Garrison Keillor tells a story about a young boy who grows up believing he has royal bloodlines. Shortly after the boy’s father left him and his mother, we are told, the boy began receiving anonymous letters claiming the family’s connection to Scandinavian royalty. The promise offered in the letters sustains the child throughout the insecurities of childhood and buffers him from fears of abandonment. His unseen identification with royalty enables him to endure all kinds of hardship with peace and equanimity.

In 2 Corinthians, Paul reflects on the different challenges faced by him and his companions for the sake of the gospel. They, too, are vulnerable and have every reason for fear. But Paul has entrusted himself to Jesus Christ and has a gospel-shaped imagination. His sufferings share in the death of Christ and place him at the mercy of the resurrection power of God: “we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us with Jesus, and bring us with you into his presence” (verse 14).

As with the boy in Garrison Keillor’s story, identification reframes Paul’s experiences so that what is hidden—his life in Christ—can re-narrate what is visible—his present circumstances . . . but with one large difference: Paul’s hope stems not from anonymous letters, but from the real presence of Christ in the Spirit and through the grace poured out on the community of Christ.

Prayer

Adapted from Psalm 43:3

Creator God,
      Send out your light and your truth;
          let them lead me;
     let them bring me to your holy hill
          and to your dwelling.

In the name of Jesus Christ,
     raised from the dead;
     and by the power of your Spirit,

Amen.

Lent Devotional March 24, 2018

Scripture

2 Corinthians 4:13-18

13 But just as we have the same spirit of faith that is in accordance with scripture—“I believed, and so I spoke”—we also believe, and so we speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will bring us with you into his presence. 15 Yes, everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. 16 So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. 17 For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, 18 because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.

Devotional

Written by Dr. Scott Hagley, PTS Assistant Professor of Missiology

In one of his broadcasts of the radio show “A Prairie Home Companion,” Garrison Keillor tells a story about a young boy who grows up believing he has royal bloodlines. Shortly after the boy’s father left him and his mother, we are told, the boy began receiving anonymous letters claiming the family’s connection to Scandinavian royalty. The promise offered in the letters sustains the child throughout the insecurities of childhood and buffers him from fears of abandonment. His unseen identification with royalty enables him to endure all kinds of hardship with peace and equanimity.

In 2 Corinthians, Paul reflects on the different challenges faced by him and his companions for the sake of the gospel. They, too, are vulnerable and have every reason for fear. But Paul has entrusted himself to Jesus Christ and has a gospel-shaped imagination. His sufferings share in the death of Christ and place him at the mercy of the resurrection power of God: “we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us with Jesus, and bring us with you into his presence” (verse 14).

As with the boy in Garrison Keillor’s story, identification reframes Paul’s experiences so that what is hidden—his life in Christ—can re-narrate what is visible—his present circumstances . . . but with one large difference: Paul’s hope stems not from anonymous letters, but from the real presence of Christ in the Spirit and through the grace poured out on the community of Christ.

Prayer

Adapted from Psalm 43:3

Creator God,
      Send out your light and your truth;
          let them lead me;
     let them bring me to your holy hill
          and to your dwelling.

In the name of Jesus Christ,
     raised from the dead;
     and by the power of your Spirit,

Amen.

About Pittsburgh Theological Seminary

Rooted in the Reformed tradition, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary is committed to the formation of women and men for theologically reflective ministry and to scholarship in service to the global Church of Jesus Christ.

Become a Student

Certificate Programs

Special Programs

Faculty

In addition to their on-campus duties, our faculty are experts in their fields and are available to preach and teach. Learn more about their topics of research and writing and invite them to present at your congregation or gathering.

Events

The Seminary hosts a wide range of events—many of them free!—on topics of faith including church planting, mission, vocation, spiritual formation, pastoral care and counseling, archaeology, and many more. Visit our calendar often for a listing of upcoming events.

Visit PTS

Interested in the Seminary? Come visit us!

Stay in Touch with PTS

Sign-up to receive the Seminary's newsletters: Seminary News (monthly), Church Planting Initiative (monthly), Continuing Education (monthly), World Mission Initiative (monthly), Metro-Urban Institute (quarterly), and Kelso Museum. Alums, there's also one for you!