Freeing Jesus

A Message from Pastor Shawn

We have entered Lent as a season in our spiritual lives and in our church life. N.T. Wright said:

Lent is a time for discipline, for confession, for honesty, not because God is mean or fault-finding or finger-pointing but because he wants us to know the joy of being cleaned out, ready for all the good things he now has in store.

As we journey toward Easter, we allow ourselves to open ourselves up more and more so that when Easter gets here, we have made space for the impact of the Resurrection—our need for it, the power of it in our daily lives.

This season we are using as a template for drawing near to Jesus in this time, a book by Diana Butler Bass called, Freeing Jesus: Rediscovering Jesus as Friend, Teacher, Savior, Lord, Way, and Presence. Each week we will focus on one facet of our relationship with Jesus. We will do this in worship, in our gatherings on Wednesday nights and in daily meditations that will be available online and in print. In addition, we will have the opportunity to meet with Diana Butler Bass over Zoom when she will share with us more from “Freeing Jesus” and she will answer questions (Wednesday, March 29, 5:30 PM). We will also have a group that will discuss the book on four Monday nights on Zoom.

We will begin the season with an Ash Wednesday Service, at 5:30 PM on February 22, in the Chapel. We will be led by our young people in this time of reflection. The season will culminate with worship services during Holy Week on Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter.

As we explore these facets of our relationship with Jesus, in some ways we may be rediscovering or even reclaiming ways in which we connect with Jesus. We may discover a love for Jesus that we didn’t know, or that we forgot, we had. As each of us takes this time to get to know Jesus in a deeper way we will be strengthened, individually and corporately. We may even discover a new sense of vision or a fresh look at life.

May this be a time when each of us gains a new perspective on who Jesus is. May we draw closer to Jesus and get to know him better in fresh and powerful ways. May this time of reflection, rediscovery and reclaiming be one in which our church is empowered to do and be a community of followers of Jesus, making a difference in the world for Good.

Grace and Peace in Christ, Pastor Shawn

“ For God, who said, ‘Let there be light in the darkness,’ has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.”

2 Corinthians 4:6 NLT