Join us during the Lenten Season
We are making our way towards Easter morning, March 30, 2013, and would like to welcome you to come and journey with us.
Lent? What’s that?
Well, quite literally, the word “lent” was originally a Teutonic (the Teutons were an early Germanic tribe, before there was even really an area referred to as Germany.) word that meant nothing more than the spring season. Lent has been used for centuries by Christians to describe the 40-day period of time that leads up to the Resurrection of Our Lord. But why do we recognize these 40 days and how do we do it?
We use the season of Lent, beginning on Ash Wednesday, as an opportunity to again especially consider the suffering and death of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As part of this pondering and consideration, we realize that it was our sin that put Jesus on the cross. The suffering that he suffered should be our suffering. The death he died should be our death. It’s a sobering reality, no doubt.
That’s why, although we talk about sin an awful lot throughout the year, we really emphasize it during Lent. Lent is a season of repentance that culminates in Christ’s death—the payment for those very same sins we’ve been pondering for the last 40 days.
So how do we commemorate it? Well, as a group, we do it solemnly. When we consider that Christ suffered and died in our place, there is nothing else we can do. So our worship becomes quieter, as we turn inward, while pondering Christ’s suffering and death.
As individuals, we use it as a period of time to re-focus ourselves on Christ and the cross. This may mean that we try to create or re-create good spiritual disciplines like prayer, devotion, or study of God’s Word. It may mean that we examine our giving practices and determine if are indeed giving cheerfully as a response to the gifts God has given us. It may mean that we fast.
OK, that one might have caught you off-guard. Fasting is something we just don’t talk about much, but it historically has been one of the identifiable marks of Lent. Fasting also at times has been erroneously viewed as some sort of payment for sins as if Christ, repayment weren’t sufficient. We are people of the Gospel who have been freed completely by Christ. We must never see such a thing as a requirement or a repayment for sins.
Rather, if you choose to fast, use it as a tool. It is a tool, just like any discipline used during Lent, to help you ponder anew Christ’s sacrifice. When you fast, you are kind of telling your stomach that it doesn’t rule your life. If you fast, hunger pains may call to mind the suffering that Christ endured (even though it was obviously much greater). If you fast the time you once used for eating might now be replaced with prayer and devotion.
May God richly bless you and your family during this Lenten season no matter how you choose to observe it!
Lent? What’s that?
Well, quite literally, the word “lent” was originally a Teutonic (the Teutons were an early Germanic tribe, before there was even really an area referred to as Germany.) word that meant nothing more than the spring season. Lent has been used for centuries by Christians to describe the 40-day period of time that leads up to the Resurrection of Our Lord. But why do we recognize these 40 days and how do we do it?
We use the season of Lent, beginning on Ash Wednesday, as an opportunity to again especially consider the suffering and death of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As part of this pondering and consideration, we realize that it was our sin that put Jesus on the cross. The suffering that he suffered should be our suffering. The death he died should be our death. It’s a sobering reality, no doubt.
That’s why, although we talk about sin an awful lot throughout the year, we really emphasize it during Lent. Lent is a season of repentance that culminates in Christ’s death—the payment for those very same sins we’ve been pondering for the last 40 days.
So how do we commemorate it? Well, as a group, we do it solemnly. When we consider that Christ suffered and died in our place, there is nothing else we can do. So our worship becomes quieter, as we turn inward, while pondering Christ’s suffering and death.
As individuals, we use it as a period of time to re-focus ourselves on Christ and the cross. This may mean that we try to create or re-create good spiritual disciplines like prayer, devotion, or study of God’s Word. It may mean that we examine our giving practices and determine if are indeed giving cheerfully as a response to the gifts God has given us. It may mean that we fast.
OK, that one might have caught you off-guard. Fasting is something we just don’t talk about much, but it historically has been one of the identifiable marks of Lent. Fasting also at times has been erroneously viewed as some sort of payment for sins as if Christ, repayment weren’t sufficient. We are people of the Gospel who have been freed completely by Christ. We must never see such a thing as a requirement or a repayment for sins.
Rather, if you choose to fast, use it as a tool. It is a tool, just like any discipline used during Lent, to help you ponder anew Christ’s sacrifice. When you fast, you are kind of telling your stomach that it doesn’t rule your life. If you fast, hunger pains may call to mind the suffering that Christ endured (even though it was obviously much greater). If you fast the time you once used for eating might now be replaced with prayer and devotion.
May God richly bless you and your family during this Lenten season no matter how you choose to observe it!
February 2013 Calendar
Hope to see you as we begin our journey towards Easter Morning. Lent begins February 13.
First Christian Church
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