We are a gathering of believers in Jesus Christ ignited by the Holy Spirit to be ministers and missionaries. Individually, we are candles. Together, God is transforming us into a torch that enlightens the world to
God's call.
From Pastor Clay's Heart ...
We had a blizzard last week. A small concern of the blizzard was that the church was not able to initiate the season of Lent with Ash Wednesday. Almost every year, I have multiple conversations about why 'do Lent.' It is always good to ask questions! I always welcome them!
It is true that Jesus or even any book we find in the New Testament commands us to 'do Lent.' But, there are a lot of good things I do that Jesus and the Bible don't tell me. We also know that from multiple early documents, that some of the earliest Christians practiced a community-wide fast. Some of these early documents might have even been written before some of the books of the Bible! Just because the early church did it, is not the only reason I think it's a good idea to practice Lent.
Over and over in the Bible, I see examples of God's people fasting together. I also see God asking people to fast, as a group, many times. That is why we 'do Lent.' The Bible is clear; one way the people of God recognize God's love as the community is to 'fast' together.
For many protestants, Methodists, nondenominational fasting for Lent isn't just food. Our pastor has decided that a lesson we feel God wants us to learn is unity. You will see this reflected in Sunday Sermons. If you are willing to set aside something in this time with other Christians worldwide, consider setting aside something that prevents unity. If the high stakes bunco game causes division in your neighborhood, or the feelings about the Saturday basketball game affect Sunday School, or maybe a mobile application makes it hard to see a church member as brother and sister; perhaps for a few weeks in preparation for Easter, we should set them aside and ask God to help us be unified.
Blessings,
Pastor Clay