This past Wednesday began the season of Lent, a season in the church we acknowledge our humanity and need for a Savior as we return to the Lord. This season begins a somber reminder of our own morality, but ultimately leads to the joyful celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection on Easter Sunday. Lent has always been one of my favorite times in the Christian year.
At the Ash Wednesday service this week, I shared with many of you about our need to “return to the Lord,” as the prophet Joel states: “[Return] to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning…Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing,” (Joel 2:12-13). One of the best ways we do this is through the various spiritual disciplines. Dr. Winfield Bevins, a professor at Asbury Theological Seminary, recently shared a video where he describes these disciplines as “holy habits.” (Click here to watch Dr. Bevins’ video) During this season of Lent, I will be using these e-mails to share with you about some of the different disciplines and practical ways you can practice these disciplines in your own faith journey.
I also want to invite you to participate with the community of faith as we journey together in our practice of these holy habits. Here are five ways you are invited to practice these habits:
1) Weekly Communion on Sunday morning at 8:15 AM in the Sanctuary.
2) Weekly prayer meetings at 5:00 PM in the Sanctuary.
3) Reading the Gospel of Luke throughout Lent (I can provide you with a reading plan if you’d like.)
4) Praying the Lord’s Prayer daily at 11:00 AM
5) Participating in our Lent Study Series on Wednesday evenings from 6:30-8:00 PM. You can discover more about this study below or online at roystonfirstumc.org/study.
Finally, I hope you will plan to be with us in worship this Sunday as we begin a new series called The Lord’s Prayer: Praying Like Jesus. In this series, we will look at the Lord’s Prayer as a tool for teaching us how to pray. My prayer for you is that you may grow in your relationship with God as you grow in the discipline of prayer.
Have a great weekend and I look forward to being with you in worship on Sunday at 8:45 and 11:00!
Praying for you,
Matt
P.S. Don’t forget to adjust your clocks forward one hour this weekend for Daylight Savings Time.
Royston First United Methodist Church 