Get ready for Lent.  No, not laundry lint! Lent! During the season of Lent, the church prepares us for Jesus’ crucifixion.  This year we will primarily focus on the gospel accounts of Jesus as he moves from the Mount of Transfiguration to Jerusalem for the Passover that will mark His death.  The sermon series will be called “On the Road to Jerusalem.”  We will start this Sunday, a few days before Lent begins with Ash Wednesday next week.  We will have two Ash Wednesday services, one at 12 Noon and the other at 6:30 in the evening.  The Noon service will allow those who would rather come out before dark to participate.  The Noon service also will enable others to see us marked with the ashes of the palm branches from our past Palm Sundays. 

When others see the black marks on our foreheads, they will know that we are Christians and follow Jesus. Some who do not know about Ash Wednesday will inquire or warn us that we have something on our forehead, allowing us to witness our faith in Christ.   Traditionally, Ash Wednesday is a day of repentance.  The altar is draped in sackcloth or burlap, and the ashes remind us of how the ancient people marked their sorrow and repentance before God.  There are several references to people wearing sackcloth as they turned from their wickedness back to God.  I hope you will come to one of the services on Ash Wednesday. They will be short and focused on repentance and our mortality. 

As to the larger series “On the Road to Jerusalem,” Jesus was preparing His disciples for His death and resurrection.  From the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus travels a winding road down to Jerusalem.  We will travel it with Him and learn even as did the twelve from His teaching and His actions. 

Join us on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. as we, too, travel the Road to Jerusalem.   

Peace,

Burt