What is “Lent” anyways?

Traditionally, Lent hasn’t really meant all that much to me. Each year everyone in our youth group back home would decide what we were going to “give up” or go without for the 40 days following Ash Wednesday up until Easter . Then i would subsequently make sure that all my friends knew that what i was giving up was far superior and better in God’s eyes than what they were giving up. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit has since convicted me of that pride and arrogance.

Nowadays, i’m fortunate to be part of a church family that celebrates Lent in a way that honors God and points His followers in to a season of intense focus, worship, and fasting as a means of drawing near to Him in preparation for Easter. Lace and I have been in Auburn, and at Cornerstone for this our 3rd Easter season…and i get excited, truly more each year, as it approaches. Afterall, this is the crux of our belief in God, and our Hope rests on the fact that not only did Christ die for our sins to accept the punishment deserved…but that He rose from that death and has reconciled us to the Father!

Part of what this season looks like for us what we call a Lenten Reader. A reader is a combination of a journal and a guided devotional through specific scripture. our Lenten Reader is obviously a daily reader during the season of Lent, which starts tomorrow, and gives you an opportunity to journal, pray, and read through during Lent.  The idea is for us as body of believers to set our hearts, collectively, on one thing together, in daily worship of Him who died for us (you can pick up a pack of 2 for $5 tomorrow night at the Ash Wednesday service). As A.W. Tozer put it, If a man doesn’t worship God seven days a week he won’t worship him one.

“I AM” -  Sermon Series

The “I AM” Sermon Series will start this coming Sunday and carry us through Lent all the way to Easter. I’m pretty pumped about this series for several reasons. The first being that i love the “I AM” sayings of Jesus: the True Vine, the Good Shepherd, the Gate, etc. i love stories, and Jesus is the Master Storyteller, both now and when he walked the hills of Israel.

Another reason i’m stoked is that i get to teach on Sunday 4/3 on “I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life” from John’s gospel.

I hope you’ll join us on Sundays, or track with us at http://www.cornerstonebuzz.org.

Our Ash Wednesday Service is tomorrow night at 6:30 here at the Church. you can check this out for more information on what tomorrow night will entail and watch a video introducing “I AM.”

FRIENDS BLOGS and their thoughts on this Season:

• Scott Fillmer – click here to read his thoughts on both Ash Wednesday and Lent
• Brian Johnson – his thoughts on growing up never celebrating Lent