As Christians and the Church, we will soon begin our walk with Jesus through Lent, Holy Week, and Easter. The whole church descends to the depths with Jesus Christ. With the Gospel readings as our mirror, we tell each other the truth again—about God, the brokenness of the world, and ourselves. Of course, the cross isn’t the end of the story, but Lent acknowledges the reality of Jesus’ sacrifice for us and our own good—and hard—lives. Jesus knew pain and grief and despair, and so do we.
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February 14th and marks the forty days leading up to Jesus’ death on a cross and his surprising return to life three days later. The season begins with ashes on our forehead to remind us of our mortality, our limitations, that we are going to die. “From dust we were made, to dust we shall return.”
From that first day of Lent, we walk through Scripture Sunday after Sunday, showing us the world as it is; showing us as we really are. We will hear about Jesus’ beginnings, his baptism and, right away, his temptations in the wilderness.
From there we follow Jesus as he makes his way toward Jerusalem. As he does, Jesus tells his disciples for the first time what is to come and we hear Peter’s response to the news of the cross out ahead.
We will hear then the story of Jesus in the Temple; his real anger at those who would use religion to benefit only themselves. Also from Jerusalem, we’ll hear the story of the nighttime encounter of Jesus and Nicodemus and those well-known words, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son…”
As we near his last week, we’ll hear Jesus’ strange words about his death: “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.’”
Entering Holy Week, we’ll see Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem for the last time to celebrate the Passover festival, where Jesus’ words about seeds planted in the ground will soon take on new meaning for us all.
And then; then Easter! Jesus’ resurrection and our own! A preview of the power of Christ’s resurrection in our lives, a glimpse of God’s kingdom that comes in Jesus Christ our Lord.
I invite you to join in for these holy days.
A blessed Lent, Holy Week, and Easter to us all!
—Pastor Mark Nelson
Daily Devotional Booklet
Our Lenten walk begins on Ash Wednesday, February 14th. The good news? We don’t walk Lent alone. Your fellow walkers in faith here at Peace have, with Bible in one hand and their own lives in another, described our walk with Jesus in our congregation’s annual Lenten Daily Devotional Booklet.
Ash Wednesday Worship
Wednesday, February 14 at 6:30pm
On Ash Wednesday we begin our forty-day journey toward Easter with day of fasting and repentance.
Ash Wednesday is a solemn day of prayer. On this day we confess our sin in a litany of repentance. We also receive the sign of ashes. This ancient symbol of repentance reminds us of our mortality. Returning to God’s mercy and grace, marked with the cross of Christ, we make our way through Lent, longing for the baptismal waters of Easter, our spiritual rebirth.
(Please note, Lenten suppers will begin on Wednesday, February 21.)
Lenten Wednesday Worship
All of us know something about pain and suffering. Anyone who has suffered through even one night of deep hurt knows what it is like to pray for relief. Sometimes the prayer is answered and sometimes it is not. Still, as Christians in those times, we trust that Jesus Christ is present in our suffering.
On these Wednesday evenings, we will look at the pain Jesus suffered during Holy Week and Good Friday and what God might be showing us in our pain and suffering.
Join us on Wednesday nights, 6:30-7:15pm on February 21, 28, March 6, 13, and 20. Our evening worship will use the Holden Evening Prayer setting.
A Lenten supper will precede midweek worship and will be served from 5:30-6:15pm. $5/person or $15/family.
- February 21: John 13:21-35
- February 28: John 19:8-11a
- March 6: John 19:1-6
- March 13: John 19:16b-28
- March 20: John 19:31-37
Holy Week Worship
- Palm Sunday, March 24: 9:30am
- Maundy Thursday, March 28: 7pm
- Good Friday, March 29: 7pm
Easter Sunday
Easter worship services will be held at 9:30am and 11:15am