I’ve come to realize that many evangelicals, especially those that have recently come into the faith the last ten years, have never heard of various Christian traditions. I’ve also recognized that in the geographical area God has called me to, which is still one of the most difficult places to have a successful ministry, there is an almost “zero” understanding of Christian history and tradition.
Traditions are good. They are designed to help us remember and honor. We all should have our own personal and family traditions.
Unfortunately, traditions have become dangerous throughout history when their observance trumped the Word of God. When we fall prey to that concept, we lose touch with the purpose of the tradition therefore legalizing ourselves to the observance rather than the remembrance. We must be careful with them, but not ignore them either. We must leverage their purpose.
This Sunday, I will introduce our church to the tradition of LENT. In a very small nutshell, Lent is a 40-day penitential preparation for the Christian believer, which is done through prayer, penance, repentance, giving, and self-denial. The “40 days” is taken from the preparatory days of fasting that Jesus did in the desert, after His baptism, before commencing His ministry.
The 40 days of Lent are designed to bring us to focus so we can understand the meaning of the resurrection of Christ. Its intention is to mature the believer in areas of character, hope and faith. When observed passionately and correctly it brings us to a place of power and faith that comes from the resurrection power of Christ.
Since Lent can be observed in many ways, we are going to observe it in a different way this year. We usually receive an Easter Resurrection offering every Easter Sunday morning. This year, I want to incorporate Lent with that offering. In these 40 days of Lent, we are asking for everyone to sacrificially put away $2.50 per day per family member. This is to be observed as a sacrifice and a financially seed of faith for Easter.
I’ll speak more on this topic this Sunday….
Lent began yesterday, please consider doing this fast of obedience with me.
