The season of Lent is the 40 days (excluding Sunday’s) from Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday. The word comes from an old English word that means “lengthen.” It refers to the lengthening of the days that takes place in Springtime. For followers of Jesus it is a journey to the Cross. It’s a time of reflection upon Jesus Christ, his sacrifice and death for our sake. It is also an intentional time when we take seriously our call to grow and mature as followers of Jesus. Often marked by the disciplines of our faith—prayer; fasting; scripture reading; acts of service. Lent is our training ground. It’s the gym for our faith and the field house for our preparation as followers of Christ. Here, and by God’s grace in the Holy Spirit, we grow and develop the muscles of our faith.
This year, for Prince of Peace, we also step into a new season. Pastor Kollmeyer officially steps down as Pastor and slides into the role of pastor emeritus. As such, it makes sense for our congregation to wrestle further with this understanding of the journey that we are on together. The invitation is simple—will you join us on this journey?
A ship has been a metaphor for the church since the days of Noah. The architecture of many sanctuaries mimic and reflect the inverted hull of a ship. Like Noah’s ark, the church is the vessel that delivers God’s people through the rough seas of life. What does it mean to see Prince of Peace as a ship? I believe this metaphor will help us as the Word of God comes to us on Sunday Mornings. Ships are intended to be moving vessels that are headed in a direction. Certainly we continue to celebrate where we have been and God’s faithfulness to us through the years. Now is the time to look to the horizon ahead and set our course for the direction we are being called to follow.
Leaning into the Word of God, we trust that His Word is still speaking to us. He is still directing our sails. Lent 2020 will be an opportunity to allow the Word to speak over us and direct us forward. The Word will provide us answers to the question that is inevitable after such a significant transition: Where do we go from here?
Charting our Course, Lent 2020 will seek to speak to this question and hoist our sails to catch the movement of the Holy Spirit. As we journey together, the hope is that the whole crew (membership) will gain a better understanding of God’s calling upon our community of faith.
The Sundays in Lent will take us on this journey through themes regarding a voyage together. We will establish our course and heading. Remember that we have gotten off course from God’s plan. Discuss the power of course correction and the power of little changes. Celebrate the community of faith that works together. Learn to read the map together. And reflect on what is at stake if we miss. Each week we will tackle a different portion of God’s Word as he unveils again the beauty of His work throughout history for our salvation.
Wednesdays in Lent will go back to the journalistic basics of the Questions words of: Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How. Each week we will answer these questions as it relates to the over arching work of God in our lives. I am especially excited that each week the youth will be participating in the worship service through sharing a creative element. Each week they are given an assignment of artistically portraying the theme verse through a picture they take with their phone. Each week this image will become a lens through which the Word is unpacked during the sermon. You don’t want to miss it!
Let’s join together and chart our course ahead! Join us throughout Lent as we grow deeper as disciples of Jesus Christ. And as we are led towards the Cross of Christ together.
