The Way of Jesus

Ash Wednesday

Remember that I am made from dust.

Remember that I am remade in Jesus.

A Season of Repentance and Remembrance ~ Lent

My life does not come from what makes me comfortable.  

If it wasn't for the season of Lent, I could easily go an entire year without reflecting on this reality, or in fact go on living as if my life does come from my purchased props.  Lent for me is a big stop sign that keeps me from racing through another year.

Lent is a season of repentance.  I want to return to the person God sees me to be.  I want to return to who I was meant to be.  Repentance may have been hijacked by bass-drum-beating-bearded-men-on-street-corners, but I choose to reclaim the beauty and the necessity of a daily life of repentance.  I want my mind to be changed and lit up by God.   

Lent is a season of remembrance.  I am summoned to remember the self-denying life of Jesus and walk in his steps.

I have grown to love this season.  I love getting my mind, body and calendar together to worship in Spirit and in Truth.

Preparing for Lent 2011

We will have our Ash Wednesday service to begin the season of Lent at noon on March 9th.

Here is a helpful description of the why's and how's of observing the 40 days season of Lent.

On Keeping Holy Lent

Forgiveness and Suffering

Forgiveness and Suffering

(click the above link to listen or right click and select to download the mp3 file to your computer)

Forgiveness and Suffering is week 6 of 6 in our Lenten series.  I share four things forgiveness is not and five I believes about forgiveness.  But for me the most significant connection is that forgiveness is suffering.  It is a kind of death.

Forgiveness: Week 1 of 6

Forgiveness week 1

We begin the Lenten season with a series on forgiveness.  In this first week we raised questions.  

What are your questions surrounding forgiveness?

Lent Resources (February 17th-April 3rd 2010)

Here are some prayer resources during lent.

Consider praying with the church.  There are three sets of prayers, Psalms and scripture readings throughout the day.  Go to Divine Hours of Prayer

Lectio Divina is a traditional way of listening and praying through scripture.  There is a daily audio lectio divina that is nice if you have itunes.  Subscribe to the Pray as You Go Podcast.

Preparing for Lent - From Scot Mcknight at Jesus Creed

Preparing for Lent

Wednesday January 27, 2010

Categories: Fasting, Lent

Some (low church) folks roll their eyes when they see that word "Lent" in the title of this post, and other (often high church) folks said, "Ah, yes, something for all of us." The Church calendar is designed to embody the gospel itself on an annual basis: we begin the birth of the Messiah and then through a season called Epiphany and then we move into Lent and Holy Week with focus on Good Friday and Easter, and then we head for Pentecost and the rest of the year is called Ordinary Time. Ordinary Time is designed to focus on various elements of the Christian faith and mission.

How do you prepare for Lent? Or how will you prepare for Lent? Or, from another angle, why do you not prepare for Lent?

Well, some will say, the NT doesn't teach a church calendar and so there's no need for it. To which I (really not "I" but the Church) say, "Hold on, dear friend." God so ordained Israel's life so that it would re-live and embody the great saving events in God's relationship with Israel. So, let's begin right there: God evidently really does care to institutionalize saving events into a calendrical form. The Christians, from very, very early, wisely restructured the calendar to be shaped by the saving events in the life of Jesus. (And I don't say this to snub my messianic friends who are Jewish. I see no reason why we can't combine the Christian calendar with Israel's calendar.)

via blog.beliefnet.com

The season of Lent begins February 17th.