The church takes us this week to another event of Jesusโ ministry in which he comes into conflict with unbelief in the world. In Lent, the church intends for us to meditate carefully on the challenges we face with unbelief in our daily lives, both our own and those we face from others. The assigned…
The Liturgical Home: Fasting as a Family
Lent is a pilgrimage of the soul, an opportunity to walk closely with the Lord in a path of repentance and renewal. From the ashes of Ash Wednesday to the glory of Easter Sunday, Lent is a beautiful narrative of redemption that echoes the enduring love of God and his unwavering desire to draw us…
Today in the Spirit: Lent 3B
As we walk in the lenten season with the Son of God incarnate, the church exposes us to instances in the Gospel narratives in which Jesus comes into conflict with the religious establishment of his day and the spiritual powers of darkness which have perverted the revelation of the law. On Sundays in Years A…
The History of the Lent Collects
The theme of the Lent collects is human sinfulness and our need for God. We โacknowledge our wretchedness.โ We are โtempted,โ and our resistance is โweak.โ We have โno power in ourselves to help ourselves.โ We have โdisordered affectionsโ and โunruly wills.โ And so, what we need above all is โnew and contrite hearts,โ for…
Today in the Spirit: Lent 2B
Lent is a season of self-examination and allowing God to speak honestly into our hearts about the quality of our discipleship, corporate and individual. With the readings assigned for this particular Sunday, Lent 2B, we could assign the title for the week, โEven unto Death.โ The theme of death and dying appears in every selection….
Jump Back, Satan: The Spiritual Tune-Up of Lent
Lent is Like a Necessary Tune-Up Lent gets my attention. It is kind of a tune-up, and just like my car, I require this kind of fine-tuning at least once a year. Spanish reveals the very worthwhile pun of โauto examinaciรณn,โ (โautoโ referring to the self) or โself-examination,โ and signals the forty days of Lent….
GR8R LUV: When Valentine’s Day is Ash Wednesday
This year, we have the peculiar concurrence of Valentineโs Day and Ash Wednesday, which resulted in a repartee between my wife and me. โValentineโs Day should trump Ash Wednesday,โ she declares and earnestly believes. She plans to prepare a festive dinner for the occasion in celebration of love. However, I will lead the 6:00 p.m….
The Liturgical Home: Ash Wednesday
The following is adapted from Ashley Tumlin Wallaceโs new book with Anglican Compass, The Liturgical Home: Lent, available in paperback and Kindle editions, exclusively through Amazon. As Christians, we believe that the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is the most important thing to ever happen to us (or to the world, for…
Today in the Spirit: Lent 1B
We transition now to a season of forty days (not including Sundays) of walking with Jesus through the trials of his earthly ministry right up to the cross. In Lent, we observe from the Gospels and other parts of Scripture what the Son of God in the flesh endures on our behalf, how he handles…
10 Ways to Preach on Ash Wednesday
In David Roseberryโs ongoing series of posts on 10 Ways to Preach Liturgical Events, we come to Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent. If a congregation gathers to observe Ash Wednesday, it will likely include these dramatic liturgical moments: It is a deep and profound service; as you can see, it can…