Lent
“When Christ calls a man He bids him come and die”- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Want to get closer to God? We’re beginning an intentional journey,
going deeper with God, beginning tonight.
Lent (the word means “spring” 
) is a time to prepare for the death and
resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and to renew our life in him.
Traditionally in the Church Lent begins with the imposition of ashes
on Ash Wednesday (we make the sign of the cross, in ashes, on people’s
foreheads). Although not a common Protestant tradition (very common
in the Roman Catholic Church), it is a powerful way to remember our
mortality, to remember the gift of Christ’s sacrifice for the
forgiveness of our sins, and to purposefully and intentionally set
aside the next 6 weeks as a time to turn toward him and draw
especially near. We’ll explain more about it at the Ash Wednesday
service. Some people think of Lent as a time to give up something,
to sacrifice something in order to remember Christ’s sacrifice for us
(fasting – i.e. not eating chocolate or something else they enjoy for
6 weeks,; others set aside this time to take on something, to do some
things for the Lord that they haven’t been doing or haven’t been doing
as regularly or intentionally as they’d like to (prayer/scripture
reading/regular acts of mercy and justice); some do both.
On Ash Wednesday, we’ll worship together, repent (turn away from the ways of
the world and turn toward the Lord), and we will begin a 40 days
journey towards Easter. Worship will be meditative and intentional
toward that end. We will encourage you to listen to what the Lord is
saying to you about how he wants you to spend the next 6 weeks – what
will most help you draw nearer to him and to the world he died to
save. To that end we’re encouraging people to set aside 25 minutes
every day from Ash Wednesday until Easter to be with the Lord. We’ll
have a devotional book available for those who would like the
guidance, as well as suggested scripture readings for each day.
Hopefully we’ll be posting a bit more on the blog as we reflect on Lent. See you Tonight!
