Lenten Series: Exactly What I Need

Our services will focus on these themes during these weeks:

Ash Wednesday- Forgiveness

Ash Wednesday marks the begging of Lent, reminding us of our mortality and calling us to repent. The ancient practice of imposing ashes on the foreheads of the faithful is what gives Ash Wednesday its name. The church father Tertullian (c. A.D. 160-215) writes of the practice as a public expression of repentance and of our human frailty that stands in need of Christ. Ashes can remind us forcefully of our need for redeeming grace as they recall words from the rite of Christian burial—“earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust…”—words that will someday be spoken over us all.

First Sunday in Lent- A Champion

Second Sunday in Lent- Faith

Third Sunday in Lent- Water

Fourth Sunday in Lent- Sight

Fifth Sunday in Lent- Light

In the world’s first week, God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. The pattern was set. In the world’s greatest week, God redeemed the world in six days. And on the seventh day, the Son of God rested in the tomb, the Sabbath of all Sabbaths. When you see the suffering of our Savior on your behalf this week, you may be tempted to look down, hanging your head in shame. You may be tempted to look around at everything disappointing in this world and shake your head. But God encourages you to look up. Your redemption is near!

Palm Sunday- To See Your King (3/29 @ 10:30am)

You are going about your daily business. There is a crowd. You are easily distracted by all the activity. It’s a holiday, and there are extra things to prepare. It is easy to focus on your personal task at hand and lose sight of the bigger picture. Focus! Look up! There is a King who presents himself so humbly that you might miss the importance of his arrival. Hail the King who humbly comes to save us!

Holy Thursday- To See a Glimpse of Heaven (4/2 @ 6:30pm)

We need to be washed clean in the blood of Jesus. Our own need can distract and overwhelm us with the details of our sin and our guilt. Blood always gets our attention, but it can make us feel queasy and uneasy. Jesus wants to lift our eyes above all that to his marvelous promise of forgiveness. Where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation. The Lord’s Supper gives us a glimpse of the heavenly feast where we will eat of the eternal manna and drink from the river of God’s delights forever.

We will close the service with the Stripping of the Altar. As Jesus life is stripped away, we strip away all the paraments and items from the altar to prepare it and ourselves for Good Friday

Good Friday- To Find Your Source Salvation (4/3 @ 6:30pm)

On Good Friday we remember the crucifixion and death of our Lord. The Son of Man was lifted up on the cross to the glory of God and for our salvation. While others see a wounded man, we see the source of eternal salvation. We pray to him with confidence, remembering what he has done for us.

Our Good Friday service is a Tenebrae service (service of darkness). As we read the final words Jesus spoke on the cross, the church slowly gets darker signaling the darkness that came during Jesus’ time on the cross. At the end of the service we hear the strepitus a loud sound that indicates the shutting of Jesus and foreshadows the rending of his tomb on Easter.

Life is full of either/or moments. Some of them are of little long-term consequence. I will have either the chicken or the fish. Some of them matter more. I will accept the new job offer or keep my current job. One either/or moment is life-changing for every human being. Either Jesus is still dead, or Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus claimed he would rise from the dead. “The Son of Man must suffer many things. . . be killed and after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31). So if Jesus remains dead, he is both a failure and a fraud. If Christ has not been raised, we are still in our sin. But Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! It makes all the difference! He lives! The season of Easter is a 50- day celebration of that fact.

Join us for our free breakfast that goes from 9:15-10:15 Easter morning (4/5).

Our service will follow starting at 10:30am.