What is Lent?
Pastor Eugene Peterson once spoke of our need for an "uncluttered time and space to distance ourselves from the frenzy of our own activities so we can see what God has been and is doing."
The church season of Lent is an invitation to such uncluttered time.
Lent is an opportunity to put space between ourselves and the frenzy of our busyness. It is a call to be humble and quiet before the LORD and see what our busyness so often keeps us from recognizing. Namely, that we are a people in desperate need of rescue and that everything we've ever needed -- to be or to have -- is met in Jesus.
The beautiful tension of Lent is that, while we soberly consider our great debt of sin, we also behold the even greater love of God.
The season of Lent is a forty-day journey marked by joyful humility and the spiritual practices of reflection and repentance.
The observance of Lent has traditionally incorporated spiritual disciplines like fasting and prayerful meditation on God's Word. Lent is a time of preparation for the celebration of Easter – when God rescued and redeemed His children through the suffering and resurrection victory of Jesus.
Lent is an invitation to consider our extraordinary need and rejoice in the more extraordinary grace of Jesus.
The season begins on Ash Wednesday, marking the call to reflection and repentance. As a representation of our mortality and need, ashes are applied to one's forehead in the shape of a cross. As the ashes are applied, the pastor speaks the words of Jesus in Mark 1:15, "Repent, and believe in the Gospel." The ashes are not magical, but they can be meaningful. They are a vivid reminder that we came from the dust of the earth and that all will indeed return to dust until the Resurrection (Gen 3:19, Rom 6:5).
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, March 2nd. We hope you will be able to join us in our sanctuary at 5:00 or 6:30 PM for a time of singing, scripture reading, prayer, and communion.
We will also gather as a church family to observe Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. For more information on times and locations, check out our Lent website.
Additionally, throughout Lent, our Sound & Season podcast will include new voices while leading us through the Gospel of John. New episodes will be available daily on Apple Podcasts and Spotify! Links to the podcast and written versions of our Lenten devotional can be found on our our Lent website.
