“Intimate Season with God”
Join Us: ASH WEDNESDAY SERVICE FEBRUARY 14, 2024, 7:00 pm
“Take care not to practice your righteousness in the sight of people, to be noticed by them; otherwise, you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.”
“So, when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, so that they will be praised by people. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your charitable giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”
“And when you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they will be seen by people. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But as for you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”
“Now whenever you fast, do not make a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they distort their faces so that they will be noticed by people when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But as for you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that your fasting will not be noticed by people but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.” Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
As I was preparing to start my ministry at GMPC on March 1, 2023, I realized that I was coming during the Season of Lent. So, I asked if GMPC celebrated Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. And the response was, “What’s Ash Wednesday?” Right then, I knew that this was going to be on a journey of discovery with you.
On February 14, we will discover what Ash Wednesday is all about. We will celebrate by having a worship service in the sanctuary at 7:00 pm. During this service, people will be given the opportunity to have ashes placed on their foreheads as a sign that they are repenting of their sins.
Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the season of Lent. This is a 40-day season of preparation for the greatest holiday of all, Easter. For the next 40 days, we will have the opportunity to reflect on our need for God’s forgiveness which He pours out to us from the cross of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We will also have the opportunity to reflect on the new life that God gives us through the Resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
During Lent, some Christians practice spiritual disciplines of such as giving to the poor, prayer, and fasting. The purpose of these disciplines is to focus our attention on God, rather than on ourselves.
It’s not unusual to be tempted to focus our attention back on ourselves when we engage in spiritual disciplines like these. This is why one of the passages of Scripture that is traditionally read on Ash Wednesday is Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18. In this passage of Scripture, Jesus helps us to understand how we can focus our attention on God as we practice the spiritual disciplines of giving, prayer, and fasting during Lent.
Let us uphold one another in prayer during this intimate season with God. May our Lenten journeys of discovery be filled with God’s peace and joy.*
In Christ,
Pastor David
