“Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that He may live in us, and we in Him; who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen” (The 1979 Book of Common Prayer, 2005).
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“Almighty God, You know that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen” (The 1979 Book of Common Prayer, 2005).
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“O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from Your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of Your Word, Jesus Christ Your Son; who with You and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God for ever and ever. Amen” (The 1979 Book of Common Prayer, 2005).
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“Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as You know the weakness of each of us, let each one find You mighty to save; through Jesus Christ Thy Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen” (The 1979 Book of Common Prayer, 2005).
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The posture of repentance begun on Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent, forty days of preparation for Easter or Resurrection Sunday. Some church traditions, like our own, eschew the official liturgical calendar and its inherent risk of repetitive ritual divorced from its significance and power. Yet, the meaning of feast days and seasons, the deep truths to which they beckon our return, resonates across time, place, or even Christian denomination. Lent is a season of reflection, repentance, and renewal for all who are in Christ.
Esau McCauley writes, “We hope that as Christians we mature and grow and become more and more like Christ. But the church in its wisdom assumes we will fail, even after our baptism. The church presumes that life is long and zeal fades, not just for some of us but for all. So it has included within its life a season in which all of us can recapture our love for God and His kingdom and cast off those things that so easily entangle us” (2022). McCauley’s description reminds us that our own “low church” denomination certainly has its own liturgical calendar. We don’t formally celebrate Advent, Epiphany, Lent, Pentecost, and common time like our “high church” brothers and sisters, but there are spring and fall revivals, communion services, district and denominational camp meetings, and homecoming Sundays, all about the same times each year. And for the same reasons: because we are, as the hymn writer so aptly penned, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.”
Commemorating Lent for its intended purpose does not require bondage to tradition or coldness of faith. Rather, it is merely an honest recognition that until our sanctification here and now yields to our glorification in heaven, we contend with our flesh—that is the remaining human nature in us that apart from the keeping power of the Holy Spirit would surely rebel against God. James, a brother of Jesus, gives practical instruction in the matter:
“Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you” (James 4:7-10).
Drawing near to God, according to James, requires cleansing, purification, mourning, and humility. Why such a gloomy posture for a season of victory? Because there is no resurrection that is not preceded by death. There is no exaltation that is not preceded by humility. In that vein, there is no Easter that is not preceded by Lent.
Lenten observances vary widely, but have traditionally included:
Fasting: purposefully abstaining from something of importance, most often food, for the discipline of directing our longing for what has been set aside to the things of God. Every hunger pang becomes a call to prayer. Every altered meal becomes a reminder of the source of every good and perfect gift.
Focused study or Scripture reading. There is no merit in observances apart from their significance and their significance is only found in the Word of God. You absolutely can read the Bible. (No, really, hit that link, pick a resource, and just get started.)
Remembrance or renewal. In liturgical traditions, there are additional church services or activities compared to the rest of the calendar year. In traditions like our own, this might simply be a time to recommit to church attendance as a priority. Perhaps you’re faithful on Sunday mornings but have yet to support night or midweek gatherings of your local congregation. Try using this season to intentionally rework your calendar to gather with the family of God for encouragement, worship, and instruction.
Acts of charity or justice. The Word of God through the prophet Isaiah: “Isn’t this the fast I choose: To break the chains of wickedness, to untie the ropes of the yoke, to set the oppressed free, and to tear off every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your house, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to ignore your own flesh and blood?” (Isaiah 58:6-11). Lent may be the time to consider where works of our hands should further accompany our thoughts and prayers for others.
Confession. For many, confession evokes troubled images of booths and priests, part of the baggage and misunderstanding that discourages participation in celebrations of Lent. And yet we are instructed to “…confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed” (James 5:16). Do we notice the reason for confession? It’s not so we can feel wicked, but so we might be healed. The season when we remember the sin nature that required Jesus to become our propitiation at Calvary is ripe for learning the practice of confession.
There is no exhaustive list of disciplines to help believers grow in faith. Jude, another brother of Jesus, writing “to those who are the called, loved by God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ” (Jude 1) summed it all up nicely:
“But you, dear friends, as you build yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting expectantly for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life” (Jude 20-21).
Jude reminds that because Christians are the called, beloved, and kept, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to keep ourselves in the love of God through varied means of grace. As we prepare to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus in victory over death, hell, and the grave, let’s intentionally use the remainder of these 40 days in whatever manner the Spirit leads to truly remember our great need for a Savior, repent, and receive deep renewal in Christ Jesus.
Lent: The Season of Repentance and Renewal (Fullness of Time) by Esau McCauley (2022, IVP Formatio)
The 1979 Book of Common Prayer (2005, Oxford University Press)
Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing by Robert Robinson (1758).
This phrase will be spoken over many today who will kneel before an officiant in certain types of churches (quite different from ours) to be smeared with ashes in the shape of a cross on their foreheads. Young and old, healthy and suffering, rich and poor, all alike will be reminded of our mortality, the inevitability of death in the time preceding Christ’s return. Why mark the start of the Easter season—a time of celebration and triumph—with such a somber memento mori? Because there is no resurrection that is not preceded by death.
Death was not God’s original design for creation. We read in Genesis 2:17 that death was a consequence of human choice, not part of the “good” and “very good” (Gen. 1:31) fabric of creation. Lured by the serpent’s lie that “You will certainly not die,” (Gen. 3:4) Eve and Adam, “who was with her,” (Gen. 3:6) openly defied the explicit command of God, an act of spiritual treason. The consequences of sin were immediate and devastating, including the promise of eventual physical death as an outward display of the spiritual death that had already occurred.
…The ground is cursed because of you.
You will eat from it by means of painful labor
all the days of your life.
It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
You will eat bread by the sweat of your brow
until you return to the ground,
since you were taken from it.
For you are dust,
and you will return to dust.Genesis 3:17-19
The story of Scripture from the garden to this day is that we are still prone to spiritual treason. Faced with the reality of our inherited sin nature, we can pray no different from King David when confronted with his own deeply grievous sin: “Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5). Our story is not that of generally good people who are damaged by the difficulties of life. We are sinners from birth because we are children of Adam and Eve (Rom. 5:12), and “the wages (recompense) of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). Such is our helpless state unless we are spiritually born again—raised from death to life in Christ (Eph. 2:1-9).
Ash Wednesday is an annual reminder that apart from the regenerating work of Jesus, we would remain dead in our sins and trespasses, alienated from God. Apart from the keeping power of the Holy Spirit, we would return to our sins and trespasses. Despite the new life we have received in Christ, we contend with our flesh (Col. 3:5) and continually return to “The LORD—the LORD … a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin…” (Exodus 34:6-7).
On this Ash Wednesday, we return afresh to a spirit of repentance. We recognize the frailty of our flesh, our inability to keep to the things of God unless we are first kept by His Holy Spirit. Easter reminds us what it cost to put away our sins. We dare not neglect so great a salvation (Heb. 2:3), but instead pray with saints the world over this prayer of repentance:
Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Collect for Ash Wednesday (Contemporary), Book of Common Prayer, 1979
Lent: The Season of Repentance and Renewal (Fullness of Time) by Esau McCauley (2022, IVP Formatio)
The 1979 Book of Common Prayer (2005, Oxford University Press)
Compared to Good Friday and Easter Sunday, Ascension Day gets little notice—if any at—all in churches that do not follow a liturgical calendar. Yet, the ascension of Jesus Christ, His return to the glories of heaven to be seated at the right hand of the Father, is an essential and hopeful part of His redemptive work.
Matthew Burden’s 2022 article Why Christ’s Ascension is Essential is a helpful resource for understanding the significance of Jesus’ return to heaven. Through this link, the article has been unlocked for you, without a subscription.
Interested in learning even more? Consider the following resources, also unlocked for subscription-free access:
David Moffitt (May 21, 2020), What’s Up with the Ascension?
Malcolm Guite (2015), Ascension Day (a sonnet)
Robert H. Lauer (April 24, 1961), The Richness of the Ascension
Wendy Alsup (May 10, 2018), Carrying on After Jesus is ‘Gone’
“…Come and see the place where He lay” (Matthew 28:6). The angel’s invitation to the first eyewitnesses of the resurrection—the women who had looked after Jesus until the end (Matthew 27:55-56) and continued even into His burial (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1; Luke 23:55-24:1)—was a call not only to see, but to bear witness. “Then go quickly and tell His disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead…’” (Matthew 28:7). By virtue of their gender, these women were ineligible to testify in civil matters. By virtue of their faithfulness, they were commanded and commended to testify to the eternal resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The resurrection of Jesus is not the first Bible story of the dead coming back to life. In 2 Kings 4, we read the account of Elisha and the Shunamite woman’s son who was returned to her from death. In 2 Kings 13:20-21, a nameless man was raised from death to life simply because his dead body accidentally touched the buried bones of Elisha; “he revived and stood on his feet.” Jesus raised from death to life Jairus’s daughter from her sick bed (Matthew 9:18-26; Mark 5:22-43; Luke 8:41-56), the widow of Nain’s son from the bier carrying him to his grave (Luke 7:11-17), and Lazarus from the tomb he had occupied for four days; “Lord, by this time he stinketh,” Martha warned (John 11:1-57, KJV). If resurrection was nothing new, what makes the resurrection of Jesus worthy of annual commemoration? Why is this resurrection—one among many—perhaps the highest of all holy days?
“If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone. But as it is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man. For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:19-22).
The Shunamite’s son was raised, yet he died again. The man thrown into Elisha’s grave was raised, yet he died again. Jairus’s daughter, the widow of Nain’s son, and even Lazarus of Bethany were all raised, yet all died again. But not so for Jesus!
…we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will not die again. Death no longer rules over Him. For the death He died, He died to sin once for all time; but the life He lives, He lives to God” (Romans 6:9-10).
Jesus’ “resurrection marked the Father’s satisfaction with the Son’s completed work of salvation; nothing more remained to be accomplished” (Allison, 2018). The sinless Son of God lived a life of perfect obedience; He secured our blessing. The spotless Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, bearing the wrath our sins were due in our place at Calvary; He bore our curse. The Great High Priest who mediates a new covenant (Heb 9:11-28) in His blood; He became our propitiation (Romans 3:25; Hebrews 2:17; 1 John 2:2, 4:10). The risen King who defeats death, overcoming the grave; He secured our eternity. The ascended Savior now seated at the right hand of the Father in the position of universal authority; He intercedes for us (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25) and by virtue of our union with Him has seated us in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6-7).
Jesus’s death was vicarious in the sense that it was in our place, as our substitute. Jesus’s resurrection is vicarious in the sense that it foretells our own. “For if we have been united with Him in the likeness of His death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of His resurrection. …So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:5, 11). The Scriptures refer to Jesus as the firstfruits—the first of a larger harvest to come. Because He was resurrected to eternal life, those of us who are in Christ will follow in like manner. Because Jesus lives, we will live also with Him and can join this prayer with all the saints:
“Almighty God, who through Your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord’s resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by Your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever and ever. Amen” (The Book of Common Prayer, 1979).
Lent: The Season of Repentance and Renewal (Fullness of Time) by Esau McCauley (2022, IVP Formatio)
The 1979 Book of Common Prayer (2005, Oxford University Press)
50 Core Truths of the Christian Faith: A Guide to Understanding and Teaching Theology by Gregg R. Allison (2018, Baker Publishing Group)
Mark your calendars to join us for a free time of food, fun, & fellowship! All are warmly welcome.
What can I expect?
Lunch will be served (hot dogs, hamburgers, & fixings)
Easter egg hunt with areas divided by general age groups
Weather permitting, both inside & outside games for all ages (Bingo, Cake Walk, races, playground fun, Corn Hole, & more)
What should I bring?
The most important thing to bring is yourself & all the family & friends your vehicle will hold! Nothing else is required.
If you’d like, you’re welcome to contribute to the Easter eggs for the egg hunt, or bring a container to participate. We’ll have a few extra baskets on hand too.
More questions? Contact us.
“O God, Creator of heaven and earth: Grant that, as the crucified body of Your dear Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy Sabbath, so we may await with Him the coming of the third day, and rise with Him to newness of life; who now lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen” (The 1979 Book of Common Prayer, 2005).
