Our church’s Maundy Thursday Service dominated my soul. Last week was a particularly full week of conversations with a particular theme, namely the reality that the work of Christ is BIG enough to cover our sins, even our darkest ones. I have fought for and with people to help them see that the LIFE, DEATH, & RESURRECTION [...]
Archive for the ‘Lent’ Category
communion confrontation
Posted in church, Lent on April 2, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Posted in Jesus, Lent on April 2, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
This is a painting by Rembrandt called “The Raising of the Cross”. If you are familiar with some of Rembrandt’s self-portraits, you will notice that he has painted himself in this painting as well. He is one of the soldiers helping to lift the cross. This was not just a historical painting, or a religious [...]
Isaiah 58- “Fasting that pleases the Lord”
Posted in Lent, missional church on March 8, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Sunday we looked at Luke 5:27-6:5, where the Pharisees confront Jesus about the company he keeps, why His disciples don’t fast, and how He observed the Sabbath. One of the things we see in Jesus’ answers is that the Pharisees had become so consumed with keeping the Law that they had lost the spirit of [...]
Lenten silence
Posted in China, Lent, Uncategorized on February 26, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Five years ago I went with a short term mission team to northeastern China. One of the nights we were blessed to have the opportunity to worship with a small deaf-mute congregation. We “listened” to the sermon as it was translated from sign language to Korean to Chinese to English. At one point, the pastor directed his [...]
A lenten prayer to form your soul:
Posted in Lent, Prayer on February 24, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
In view of God’s mercy may this prayer flow from our hearts. Thank you, puritan fathers: Lord Jesus, I sin. Grant that I may never cease grieving because of it, never be content with myself, never think I can reach a point of perfection. Kill my envy, command my tongue, trample down self. Give me [...]
a lenten reflection- is joy in Jesus boring or does the church have it all wrong?
Posted in Jesus, Lent on February 23, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I had an amazing conversation yesterday where someone blessed me with his naked honesty (and who doesn’t mind me using his story for this post). This man articulated a hesitation to allow himself to find all his joy in Christ alone because, frankly, he does not think that Christ can bring the kind of joy [...]
Who said this in their Ash Wednesday sermon?
Posted in Lent on February 18, 2010 | 2 Comments »
Try and guess whose words these are from an extremely prominent ecclesiastical figure, spoken in their Ash Wednesday sermon yesterday. I think you will be surprised: “… conversion means changing the direction of the path of our lives. It is going against the current when the “current” is a superficial, incoherent, and illusory way of life that [...]
Lent, anyone?
Posted in Lent, tagged Easter, Lent, spiritual disciplines on February 16, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Everyone in the South knows about, and probably celebrates in some form or fashion, the Easter holiday. The Easter feast has always been the most celebrated day in the church calendar year and in the South in particular it has become a major part of our culture. When we look beyond putting on our finest and grabbing [...]
