Every Wednesday beginning March 1st through Lent there will be a prayer service in the Chapel at 11 am with a “Loaves & Soups” lunch to follow.
Tag: prayer
Pastor’s Notes: 2/22/2023
We are entering into the season of Lent. Lent is the 40 days, excluding Sundays, from Ash Wednesday to the Saturday before Easter. It is a time of preparation and an opportunity to deepen our relationship with God. It is a time for personal reflection that prepares people’s hearts and minds for Good Friday and Easter.
Three important areas of practice for Christians during Lent are prayer, fasting, and giving.
Prayer during Lent focuses on our need for God’s forgiveness. It’s also about repenting or doing our best to not repeat the same sins over and over. In return we accept God’s mercy and love, and are changed by it.
Fasting essentially means abstaining from the distractions and things that tend to distract our focus away from our relationship with God. Hence, many adopt a practice of giving up some regular practice in life in order to replace it with a practice that connects us with God more fully.
Giving money or doing something good for others is a way to respond to God’s grace, generosity and love. For example, some people spend time volunteering or donate money they would normally use to buy something, like their morning coffee.
Spending time during Lent praying, fasting and giving can make Jesus’ sacrifice and teachings that more meaningful to us as we approach Holy Week and Easter.
Pastor’s Notes: 2/3/2023
The Gospel of Matthew will be our guide for the next several weeks in our sermons. Last Sunday we began the first of three lessons to come out of Jesus’ sermon on the mount which spans the chapters of 5-7. Last Sunday we covered the beatitudes and what it means to be salt and light. We skip ahead this week and pick up Jesus’ instructions on how to pray, Matthew 6:5-21.
I would encourage you to sit down and read what Matthew includes between what we are addressing in worship. Matthew 5:17-6:4 which includes Matthew’s various perceptions on the theme of righteousness as well as his understanding of Jesus’ view concerning a multitude of topics on what it means to love and be in covenant with our God.
In preparation for Sunday’s message, we notice that Matthew is being very intentional in pulling together the teachings of Jesus, by placing at the heart of this sermon a section concerning prayer. Prayer is the greatest connection humanity has with God on an ongoing basis. How to pray and where we direct our focus matters so this will be the focus for our time together Sunday. I look forward to worshipping with you!
Brett