Dear First Pres,
This week Diane and I were able to enjoy a walk through our neighborhood together. One of the things we noticed was that some of the trees were beginning to bud. It’s a sign of the change of seasons that is coming soon. The same thing is happening in our church.
Starting on Wednesday, we enter the season of Lent. Lent is the season that leads us into Resurrection Sunday. It lasts 40 days but does not include Sundays because the Sundays are meant to be considered like little Easters. The focus of Lent is personal discipleship. It’s a time for us to examine our hearts before the Lord and, by His grace, work to root out our unbelief, our addictions, our idols, and our sin. It’s a season for fasting and taking on other spiritual disciplines that will help us to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles” as we “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2).
Our tradition is to launch the Lenten series with a wonderful and powerful Ash Wednesday service which reminds us of our frailty and absolute dependence on Jesus. I hope you will plan to come at 7:00pm next Wednesday, February 26.
We also encourage everyone to pray in unity with thousands of other Christians by using the Seek God for the City prayer guide. This guide is very helpful in shaping our prayers together for God’s redeeming transformation in our city and world. We will have the booklets available on Sunday morning or, if you prefer, you can download the Seek God for the City app wherever you purchase apps. Parents, you can also pick up a child-friendly version at our Children's Check-in Station. It is great for families to do together.
Lent can be a powerful season in our lives each year. May the Lord draw us close to Him as we seek His face together.
Blessings,
Jeremy
P.S. One of the very special things we’re doing during this Lenten season is putting on an important conference called Work Matters. Please take a moment to look at the details on the Work Matters website. I’m so grateful to the team of folks in our church who’ve been so diligently pulling this conference together. Let’s support them by showing up and inviting others.
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