Dear Friends and Family of RRUMC,
I know that it seems like we just came out of the season of Christmas, but Lent is now upon us.
Ash Wednesday is on February 26 and we will once again take the journey from repenting in the dust and ashes of Ash Wednesday all the way to the empty tomb of Easter Sunday morning.
This year, the guide for our journey will be Steve Furtick’s book entitled, “Seven-Mile Miracle: Experience the Last Words of Christ as Never Before.” Furtick describes his book this way: “It’s Good Friday morning. The Son of God is giving up his life. What does he want to say to us in his final hours? What does he tell the people standing at the foot of the cross, to pass down through the ages? He speaks only seven short statements. Words of forgiveness, salvation, relationship, abandonment, distress, triumph, and reunion. Seven statements that mean everything.”
The question for you and for me is what will they mean to us this year? How will we hear them differently than we have ever heard them before?
Furtick says that the seven last statements can be mile markers in our relationship with God. The most important thing that he says about the journey is that Jesus Christ is both our guide and our destination as we take the journey of Lent and receive those seven statements.
We have many Lenten study groups that will be starting soon, if they have not already started. Please contact the church to find a time and day that works best for you. It is not too late, even if the classes have already started.
Pastor Paul and I will also be preaching from Furtick’s book and the Scriptures he uses to navigate that “Seven-Mile” journey. The sermon series will walk hand in hand with the book and the classes that so many people will be a part of this Lent.
My prayer is that you will take that seven mile journey with us this Lenten season. Let this Lent be different for you than years past. Start the journey. Mark each of the mile markers along the way.
What will those seven statements mean to you this year and how will they change you for the rest of your journey in life?
Remember that you can stream our services if you are unable to attend worship on any given Sunday. Just go to our website and click on, “Stream the service.”
Have a great Lent. I look forward to seeing you in the dust and ashes, the empty tomb, and all the stops along the way.
Peace and Blessings,
Rev. Daniel F. Bogre