Articles for the Season of Lent
For those of us who grew up in the Churches of Christ (or any number of less liturgical churches) the season of Lent may feel foreign or even uncomfortable. Growing up, I was only vaguely aware of its existence and assumed it was only for my Catholic friends and family members. However, as I’ve learned more about this season and have experienced more of it through the years, I have found a sense of comfort and beauty in the centuries-old practices of Lent.
Whether you find yourself happily swimming in the deep end of the metaphorical pool that is Lent, dipping your toes tentatively into the shallow end, or barely even aware the pool exists, I invite you to explore this collection of Lenten articles and sermons from the Mosaic archives. In these pages may you find words that touch your heart and mind.
If we began our congregational ministry by assessing what we have to offer, we’d likely find it’s a lot.
Sheep respond to nurture, and we are sheep according to John’s Gospel. Thus, we know our master’s voice of grace, which causes us to turn our heads and assent to follow.
Let’s bravely take one another in and notice the reflection of Christ in the eyes we mirror each gift of a day, our motivation pure joy rather than any benefit bestowed.
Looking bidirectionally within history, to what people, ideas, and entities can we allow our questions to be vulnerable so they may be changed?
How might we feel sorry in ways that reveal the flood-to-cross character of God, and reflect this to the world around us?
It is a profound thought. The notion that our God is capable of creating a new world. Of calling into being things that were not.
I have been in an unexpected wilderness for the past four weeks, as my depression has stepped out of line for no apparent reason, and is upsetting my routine.
When I say we are under attack, I mean that we—the beloved and global people of God who long for restoration, who long to live in everlasting shalom—are up against the ropes.
When a stranger meets us on an airplane or in a grocery store, may they see in us love, joy, and peace. May they hear in our voices patience, kindness, and goodness.
May we recognize that our futures are in God’s hands, being reminded that God has been there in the past, is here now, and will be there in the future.
Lord, we want to hear: “Peace, prosperity, security.”
Standing in your spotlight: “Favored, chosen, beloved.”
As God breathed the breath of life into the man in Genesis 2, God puts the ruach into these lifeless human forms and they come to life.
We need to be a church that lives as if all people matter, because to Jesus they do.