A Lenten Journey

Lent is the springtime of our souls! From an Old English word for lengthen, designating spring (when the light lengthens), Lent shines on us with the light of this Word: Christ bore the cross for you! His suffering has pierced the darkness of our sin and grave with His mercy and resurrection.

Three devotional practices accompany Lent:

intensified prayer,

fasting,

and almsgiving (giving to the poor)

Through these practices, we reconnect with our own emptiness and need, as well as the need of the world, which in turn helps us direct our devotion to God’s gracious provision in Christ.

How might these devotional practices renew your life?

Ash Wednesday begins the 40-day fast of Lent. The number 40 has a rich Biblical history, usually connected to times of judgment and repentance. When God flooded the world, it began with 40 days and 40 nights of rain. The people of Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. Jesus fasted and faced Satan for 40 days in the desert.

Because Jesus conquered that old enemy and died for our sin, the number 40 now carries promise for us. God will bring us, like Noah, through the flood; He will lead us, like Israel, to the promised land; and He will keep us with Jesus for victory and life. To keep a 40-day fast is to confess: we belong with Jesus, who kept 40 days for us, and through Him we also will conquer. Mark your calendar for the start of this holy time!

Maundy Thursday Men’s Breakfast

What Happened to His Body?
A lecture and discussion on the resurrection of Jesus

April 17 + 6:30 AM
Full Cooked Breakfast Provided by The Mint Café
Cost: $10

Men, please invite your friends, and get your tickets in the church office!

About the Speaker:

The Rev. David Thompson, a former agnostic and now a Lutheran pastor, directs and speaks for the Center for Apologetics and Worldviews, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod based in Mankato, Minnesota (please visit  www.apologeticscenter.org)

Presenting Evidence
Critiquing Worldviews
Fortifying Believers
Engaging Unbelievers

Lenten Services:  Buried with Him

When: Every Wednesday, March 5 — April 9
What: Holy Communion, 12:00 PM
Vespers, 6:30 PM
Soup suppers planned before Vespers.

What do Holy Baptism, funerals, and the Passion narrative of Christ have in common? They proclaim our union with Him, a union that Scripture roots in Holy Baptism (Romans 6:5), the Church preaches at funerals, and Lent renews for us year after year. Come to this Wednesday sermon series to learn more about the blessing of Baptism, the purpose of funerals, and the mercy of our suffering Lord.

March 5     A Terminal Case. “To dust you shall return.” As ashes mark our brows, so do those words mark our hearts,  reminding us that we are all terminal cases.

March 12  Commendation of the Dying. “Go in peace.” Those words are spoken by the pastor as part of the prayers offered at a Christian’s deathbed. They promise that the believer does not cease to exist, but goes, and goes in the peace of Baptism.

March 19  Entrance of the Body. At the beginning of a funeral, the Church places a white pall (large cloth) over the body of the loved one, reminding us that death does not remove the clothing Baptism gives.

March 26  Proclaiming the Word. What are funerals for? They’re for preaching the Word of God that comforts souls and helps us see the dead loved one in the light of Christ.

April 2        Final Commendation. “Into Your hands, O merciful Savior.” There is where Baptism puts our loved ones, and thus the funeral service concludes with that prayer.

April 9        Graveside. “Bless this grave.” Baptized people bless what the world curses, because they see in the grave the gate of eternal life.

Lenten Sunday Study
Booked: The Privilege of Holy Scripture

When: Sundays, March 9—April 13
Time: between the 9:00 am and 11:00 am divine services

God has booked His Word, inscribing it in the Bible (which means “book”!). For two millennia it has served as the norm and author of both faith and life for believers? Why? What is the nature of the Bible, that it should have such privilege? Is it reliable? Inspired? Free of errors? Understanding what the Church confesses about
Scripture and why helps us understand more than the Bible. It unveils the logic and spirit of the Church’s life!

Why is the Bible the Book? The Bible is …

March 2:     . . . Inspired
March 9:     . . . Infallible
March 16:   . . . Inerrant
March 23:  . . . Consistent
March 30    . . . Sufficient
April 6:       . . . Christocentric
April 13:      . . . Sanctifying