IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY

Starting with our Ash Wednesday observance on February 13th, we will be spending the next season of our congregation's life together journeying through the 40 days of Lent. During Lent, Christians from around the world prepare for Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday through prayer, fasting, and self-examination.

However, just because Lent is a somber time of prayer and reflection doesn't mean that there is no hope or grace involved.  Indeed, dear friends, Lent is a time where we can be about the business of letting go of those things that we allow to hold us back from fully realizing the joy of our loving God. It is for this reason, in fact, that you see our graphic for this season consists of a broken chain, for that is what Easter is all about - freedom from bondage to sin and death to a grace-filled life of hopeful expectation and joy.

We will be doing this as a congregation in two specific ways. First, our worship each week will focus on various aspects of life that affect so many of us, and how, by God's grace shown to us through Jesus Christ, we can be free to be people of joy and peace. Topics we will be addressing include:

  • Temptation 

    (It is possible, by God's help, to resist temptation)

  • Fear 

    (There is no reason, by God's grace, to live in fear)

  • The Past 

    (Your past doesn't, by God's power, have to define your future)

  • Forgiveness 

    (Is it possible, by God's love, to experience forgiveness)

  • Hopelessness 

    (Hope is a gift from God, not a pipe dream)

  • Oppression 

    (In the end, by God's will, all will submit to the power of God)

The second way we will be observing Lent as a congregation is through a common prayer & study guide that will be made available each week during worship, and posted daily on our Facebook page. Each day of the week will have a scripture reading, a question of reflection for meditation, and a brief prayer. Especially for those who do not yet have a daily ritual of prayer and study, this rather simple exercise is a great way to start what could be a truly transformational daily habit.

In a season where 'what we are giving up' is so beaten into the ground, may it be said of the people of North Cross are embracing the joy of hope found in the resurrected Christ through a season of 'giving up' those things that are keeping us from embracing a life of grace and peace.

To help start this process, I invite you to hear these words from one of my favorite hymns, one that Erin and I sang with our friends and family during our wedding, Charles Wesley's And Can It Be?:

Long my imprisoned spirit lay, fast bound in sin and nature's night; 
thine eye diffused a quickening ray; I woke, the dungeon flamed with light; 
my chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed thee.

Yes, indeed, dear friends, it is time for our chains to fall off, our hearts to be free, and by God's grace may we move towards this during this upcoming Lenten season.

Lamar C. Oliver