Lenten Worship -  Sundays, February 21 – March 28, 9:30a

Lent is a season of soul-searching and repentance – for reflection and taking stock. Our Sunday worship hours will help to provide this kind of focus. Our reflection will center on the cross – our need for redemption, and the price that was paid to give us life. A bit more prayer, a bit more silence, a bit more sobriety – Lent calls for all for this. This will be a rich journey for us as a church family, and a great opportunity for you to disciple your children through the truths of the gospel.

Lenten Teaching Series -  Sundays, February 21 – March 28, 11:00a

With Lent being a season of discipleship, we thought it would be good for us to sit under the teaching of a New Testament epistle, and specifically one that gives direct guidance to a newly formed church. Beginning on February 28^th, we will start a new series entitled “Household”, based on the book of 1 Timothy.

Lenten Fasting -  It is traditional to “give something up for Lent” – that is, engage in the practice of fasting. The Elders of Christchurch have agreed to make Fridays during Lent a day of fasting (skipping breakfast and lunch). You are encouraged to join us, and to pray steadfastly on those days for the ministry of Christchurch.

The Christian calendar season of Lent originated in the very earliest days of the Church. The ancient church that wrote, collected and canonized the New Testament also observed Lent, actually believing it to be a commandment from the apostles. The season has traditionally served as a preparatory time for Easter, when the faithful rededicated themselves and when converts were instructed in the faith and prepared for baptism. Therefore, Lent has always been a season of soul-searching and repentance – for reflection and taking stock.

All churches that have a continuous history extending before AD 1500 observe Lent. Many Reformation branches of Christianity abandoned the celebration of Lent, considering it too legalistic, too “popish”, or simply not explicitly Biblical.

By observing the forty days of Lent, the individual Christian reenacts and re-members  Jesus’ withdrawal into the wilderness for forty days of fasting and temptation. Because Sunday is the day of the Resurrection, we skip over Sundays when we calculate the length of Lent. Therefore, in the Western Church, Lent always begins on Ash Wednesday, the seventh Wednesday before Easter.

You may have heard the phrase “giving it up for Lent.” This is because it has been customary to fast during Lent, like Jesus did in the wilderness. Many traditions encourage abstaining from meat during Lent, (which is why some people call the festival Carnival, which is Latin for “farewell to meat”). Some give up sweets, others caffeine, while others pick selected days for complete fasts from all foods. There is no “right” prescription, and can be left up to each individual.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten season. The name dies cinerum (day of ashes) is found in the earliest existing copies of the Gregorian Sacramentary and probably dates from at least the eighth century. Historically, the church gathers on this day for a solemn service. Coming to the altar, worshipers meet their church leaders, who dip their thumbs into ashes, then make a mark on the congregant’s forehead in the shape of a cross, saying “Remember man that you are dust, and to dust you will return.”

Why will we return to the ground? Because we will die. Why will we die? Because we have sinned. Ash Wednesday, then, it a moment of clarity, reminding us of the gravity of sin, and the desperate need we have for a savior. As we look our mortality in the eye, we understand anew that the battle between sin/death and righteousness/life goes on every moment of every day, until Jesus returns to restore all things. We need to be spiritually centered and prepared for this battle. Ash Wednesday is the launch day for a season of sober preparedness (Lent).