Today in the Spirit: Lent 4B (Laetare Sunday)

Posted on March 3, 2024
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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

Posted on February 27, 2024
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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

Posted on February 25, 2024
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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

Posted on February 20, 2024
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The theme of the Lent collects is human sinfulness and our need for God. We โ€œacknowledge our wretchedness.โ€ We are โ€œtempted,โ€ and our resistance is โ€œweak.โ€ We have โ€œno power in ourselves to help ourselves.โ€ We have โ€œdisordered affectionsโ€ and โ€œunruly wills.โ€ And so, what we need above all is โ€œnew and contrite hearts,โ€ for…

Today in the Spirit: Lent 2B

Posted on February 18, 2024
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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, โ€œEven unto Death.โ€ The theme of death and dying appears in every selection….

Jump Back, Satan: The Spiritual Tune-Up of Lent

Posted on February 13, 2024
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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 โ€œauto examinaciรณn,โ€ (โ€œautoโ€ referring to the self) or โ€œself-examination,โ€ and signals the forty days of Lent….

GR8R LUV: When Valentine’s Day is Ash Wednesday

Posted on February 12, 2024
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This year, we have the peculiar concurrence of Valentineโ€™s Day and Ash Wednesday, which resulted in a repartee between my wife and me. โ€œValentineโ€™s 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

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The following is adapted from Ashley Tumlin Wallaceโ€™s 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

Posted on February 11, 2024
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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

Posted on February 7, 2024
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In David Roseberryโ€™s 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…