Youth Go Missional

Some teenagers from Light of Christ recently went to a local mall with the hope of being a blessing to the people there.  The teens asked customers and employees if they could pray for them.  Several of those that were asked responded positively.  Here are some of their concerns:

financial help
to get a better job
help with spouse
new job
help with family issues
protection for the JC Penny cashiers and themselves
patience
prayer for a non-believer
security guard
wisdom for missions because a man and his wife had just been called into the International mission field
continued wisdom in faith walk
Michelle - her husband recently died
praise for God! life is good.
prayer for boyfriend and our relationship
for mother who is sick
for people in Japan
daughter
family
business
Susan who is sick with cancer
a friend coming to faith.

The youth found real people with real concerns in need of prayer.  How cool that these teens stepped out of their comfort zones to be a blessing to complete strangers in the name of Christ!

Lent

How is it with your soul?  Christians around the world will be challenged to wrestle with this question during the season of Lent. Lent, from the Anglo-Saxon word for spring, is the 40-day period (excluding Sundays) preceding Easter Sunday. It is a time of personal reflection and devotion, in which we examine our relationship with God as we anticipate the celebration of Christ’s resurrection from the dead.  In 2011, Lent will be March 9 – April 23.

Lent follows in the Jewish tradition of having a period of preparation before major religious observances. The 40 day length reflects the biblical examples of forty days of fasting from food that were a common part of close encounters with God in the Bible. Moses fasted for 40 days on Mount Sinai before receiving the Ten Commandments (Exodus 34:28). Elijah fasted for 40 days on the journey to Horeb (1 Kings 19:8). Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, fasted for 40 days before being tempted by the devil in the wilderness and then starting His public ministry (Matthew 4:2).

Many Christians choose to abstain from certain activities during Lent, specifically something that will be a sacrifice for them. While not always true biblical fasting from food, it is a reminder of the 40 day fasts of Moses, Elijah, and Jesus who lived on a reduced diet during their period of personal reflection and devotion. In our abstinence, we are to spend our freed up time with God. When we crave what we gave up, we can remember what Jesus gave up for us.  We also are to examine the barriers that come between us, and how we might permanently get rid of them with help from the Holy Spirit. Part of the Lenten tradition is to be more intentional in one or more spiritual practices such as reading the Bible, praying, doing mission work, et cetera.

Some key days in the early part of the Lenten season include:

Shrove Tuesday: The day before the beginning of Lent is called Shrove Tuesday (3/8/11), which comes from the old custom of confessing one’s sins (being shriven) prior to the season of fasting and prayer.  The day is often marked with a celebration called “Mardi Gras,” a French term meaning “fat Tuesday.”  The term reflects the custom of parading a fat ox through the streets of Paris on Shrove Tuesday.  The Mardi Gras is not a Church celebration in the strictest sense.  It was an outgrowth of an ancient Roman custom of extensive merrymaking before any period of fast. 

Ash Wednesday: The first day of Lent (3/9/11). Pastors burn the palm leaves from the previous year’s Palm Sunday, bless the ashes, and use them to mark a cross on the foreheads of worshippers stating the words from Genesis 3:19, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” The ashes are worn throughout the day as a symbol of sorrow for sins. In biblical times sprinkling oneself with ashes was a sign of repentance, i.e. turning away from our sin. Lent begins with our humility before God with the mark of ashes.

How is it with your soul?

New Worship Series

We were not created to have miserable, joyless relationships.  Yet, our complex lives make relationships challenging.  Are you ready to create and to keep healthy relastionships?  Join us at Light of Christ in March for the worship series, Simple Life: Relationships.  It is time to be a better parent, spouse, daughter, boyfriend, sister, father-in-law, friend, classmate, colleague...you name it. 

Click here for info on visiting Light of Christ or for listening online.