The First Baptist Church of Redlands
TA PE S T RY
Woven Together In Love: Colossians 2:2
FEBRUARY 2018
Experiencing It seems like we just finished with Christmas and already we are thinking about Lent…well, maybe you aren’t, but the staff and other leaders are! Lent is that season in the Church year in which we look to the Cross. It begins with the story of Jesus confronting temptation and ends with Holy Week, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and, ultimately, Easter. In many ways, the reflection that we do in our lives during the season of Lent is preparing us for the ramifications of the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus on our lives today. One of the ways that many experience Lent is to give something up. Often it is something that we really enjoy, like chocolate or soda. Maybe it is an activity, like watching TV or spending time on Facebook. Sometimes people decide to “add” something to their lives, like daily Bible or devotional reading or a new form of prayer, such as centering prayer. Whatever one decides to do, it is meant to move us into habits that make an impact on our lives and spirits. Often pushing us beyond our comfort zones.
ISSUE No. 2
A MESSAGE FROM PASTOR SHAWN
Lent
During this season of Lent, we will be providing an opportunity to add something to your life that may move you out of your comfort zone, but will no doubt be a meaningful experience. During our Bible study time on Thursday nights we will be exploring the road to the cross that Jesus took from the events beginning with the upper room and the Last Supper to the Tomb. We will do this through Bible study and involvement in the creation of artistic projects that will tell the story of Jesus on the way to the cross. Even the person who doesn’t think that they are artistic at all will be able to participate in these projects. In the end we will create pieces that will be used in our Holy Week activities. But I anticipate and hope that the experience will touch us in a new and different way during this Lenten season—that we will discover new things about ourselves and our relationship with God. We will begin this season with a Mardi Gras celebration on Thursday, February 8. It will be an evening of fun foods and table games as a last “hurrah” before Lent begins. The following Thursday, February 15, we will have as our guest the Rev. Joel Fairley, Pastor of First Baptist
Church, Claremont. He is an artist who will introduce the Lenten experience and help us get started. The weeks after that, we will explore the “Road to the Cross” through the eyes of those who encountered Jesus along the way. We will also design and create our projects, with time to work on them each week. In the meantime, I invite you to begin praying that God will prepare your heart for this experience so that ultimately your relationship with God will be enhanced and deepened in new ways. We will be sharing more information in the next couple of weeks. I am excited to see what will happen! Grace and peace, Pastor Shawn
PS- Do you have any old windows or glass French doors that you would like to get rid of? Glass needs to be intact. Please contact Pastor Shawn if you do.