Lenten Series: Open Door Policies

Our services will focus on these themes during these weeks:

Ash Wednesday- Lowering Our Defenses

Ash Wednesday marks the begging of Lent, reminding us of our mortality and calling us to repent. The ancient practice of imposing ashes on the foreheads of the faithful is what gives Ash Wednesday its name. The church father Tertullian (c. A.D. 160-215) writes of the practice as a public expression of repentance and of our human frailty that stands in need of Christ. Ashes can remind us forcefully of our need for redeeming grace as they recall words from the rite of Christian burial—“earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust…”—words that will someday be spoken over us all.

First Sunday in Lent- One Stands; Everyone Else Sits

Second Sunday in Lent- No Detours Allowed

Third Sunday in Lent- Always Present, Always Patient

Fourth Sunday in Lent- Grace Instead of Condemnation

Fifth Sunday in Lent- Hiding Treasure in the Trash

On Wednesdays, SOTL will gather for review of the basic teachings of the Bible while we once again read through the Passion History of our Lord. During these evenings, we will walk with our Savior from the Upper Room, to Gethsemane, to Calvary, and to the tomb, recognizing that it is because of and for our sins that our Savior willingly endures all of it. Below is a summary of what we’ll be focusing on:

It is one of the most common prayers of God’s child. “Lord, have mercy!” Mercy is the withholding of punishment or negative consequences that a guilty person deserves. Thus, when we pray, “Lord, have mercy,” 1) we are acknowledging that we have lived in ways deserving of God’s condemnation and punishment, and 2) we are begging God to not condemn or punish us. How important is that prayer? If you cannot say it with sincerity, you cannot be saved. For if you cannot speak that prayer, you cannot possibly believe you need a Savior. Therefore, God gave us his law, in part, so that we would see our need for mercy. St. Paul writes, “I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law” (Romans 7:7). And God gave us the gospel that we might know he has shown us mercy. Thus, it is good and right that in this solemn season of Lent, we would review God’s law as revealed in the Ten Commandments and connect it with Christ’s passion. We will how we have shattered all the Commandments and are deserving of punishment. However, will we also see how Jesus took the suffering we deserved upon himself. Seeing both, may the Spirit empower us to pray, “Lord, have mercy!” and confidently believe that in Christ, we have God’s mercy in inexhaustible abundance. Our worship follows this pattern.

Midweek One- For Our Incessant Idolatry

Midweek Two- For Demonstrating Irreverence and Despising Your Rest

Midweek Three- For Treating Others Like Trash, Not Treasure

Midweek Four- For Failing to Live With Integrity

Midweek Five- For Abusing Your Commandments

Information on Holy Week services coming soon!