Introduction

Introduction to Lent

INTRODUCTION TO LENT…

From the earliest days of the Church, Christians have held with great reverence the 40 days of Lent. An annual invitation to a time of reflection, Lent is a season for self-examination and penitence. It is a season of honest evaluation as we confess who we are and who we are yet to be. These 40 days ask us to go on a journey; they invite us to travel through the darkness of Calvary’s pain that we might celebrate the joy and love of Easter morning in new light and in new life.

To do this, though, we must prepare ourselves. Lent, then, is a time for prayer and fasting. It is a time for silence and for the studying of God’s Holy Word. It is, truly, a time when we are asked to take seriously the call of the spiritual disciplines. More though, it is a time for us to be mindful, a time for us to be soulful… a time for us to be honest about what keeps us from following the way of Jesus Christ.

INTRODUCTION TO THIS YEAR’S SERIES...

A life of faith is not made. It’s grown. Such is the goal of Lent: to meditate on what God is doing in, to and for us; to be aware of how we nurture, water, feed, and prune the holy seeds planted within us by our good confession of the faith; and to allow God’s light to shine brightly upon the fertile fields of our souls. But as God grows a deeper faith within us, there comes a moment when we must harvest and put into practice the faith we believe, for fruit left growing on the vine quickly rots in the sweltering heat of life.

Found within Paul’s letter to the Galatians, we read of the beautiful fruit God desires to grow in our lives: the Fruit of the Spirit. Each week, we will focus on one of these virtues by examining the danger that comes when we allow that gracious fruit to rot.

As always, our purpose is simple: to elicit a response. It is for us to be inspired, to be challenged and to be changed. Our purpose, hope and prayer is that all our hearts will be “strangely warmed” as we reflect upon the Bible’s promises and that we will allow the fruit God is growing in us to feed and nourish others.

Dr. John McKellar Dr. Todd Renner 2020

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.”

– Galatians 5:22-23 –

WEEK ONE: Apathy – The Rot of Love & Joy –

“And he said, ‘Go and say to this people: “Keep listening, but do not comprehend; keep looking, but do not understand.” Make the mind of this people dull, and stop their ears, and shut their eyes, so that they may not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and comprehend with their minds, and turn and be healed.’” – Isaiah 6:9-10 –