When Heaven touches Earth; God is breaking through
During Advent we experienced the sermon series in worship called “When Heaven touches Earth; God is breaking through.” It causes us to ponder what does this mean in our lives? At Advent we recognized God’s coming to be with us through the birth of Jesus and recognizing that he will come again. All of that is important.
So now in Lent, our question is how does that presence of God break into our lives in a way that allows us to share our faith with others. How does this breakthrough empower us to speak into the troubles of our world to bring the Light of Christ…to bring hope where there is none? What does God’s presence allow us to do in bringing people together despite our differences so that we can together show love to those around us? If we can do this it will cause a ripple effect of love. What a difference that could make!
This Lent, we will be experiencing “Wandering Heart” and we will be walking in the steps of Peter. Peter also experienced God breaking into his life in a powerful way. Let’s walk with Peter and listen to the stories of our congregation members and find ourselves watching for God’s breaking into our own lives.
We are thankful for those in our congregation who wrote devotions in this booklet for us this year.
Blessings,
Kim La Rue
Adult Ministries Director
Lent is the season of forty days, not counting Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. The season of Lent is a preparation for celebrating Easter. Easter is the first Sunday, after the first full moon, after the vernal equinox. For this reason, Easter is never the same date two years in a row.
Lent is a time for penance by all Christians. The First Sunday describes Jesus’ temptation by Satan; and the Sixth Sunday (Passion/Palm Sunday), Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem and his subsequent suffering and death. Because Sundays are always little Easters, the penitential spirit of Lent should be tempered with joyful expectation of the Resurrection.
Ash Wednesday emphasizes a dual encounter: we confront our own mortality and confess our sin before God within the community of faith. The use of ashes as a sign of mortality and repentance has a long history in Jewish and Christian worship, and the Imposition of Ashes can be a powerful nonverbal and experiential way of participating in the call to repentance and reconciliation.
Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday and continues through the great three days from sunset on Holy Thursday through sunset Easter day. This is the climax of Lent and the whole Christian year, and a bridge into the Easter season. These days proclaim the mystery of Jesus Christ’s passion, death and resurrection. During these days, the community journeys with Jesus from the upper room, to the cross, to the tomb, and to the garden.