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The “big events” of our lives are always worth preparing
for. In the same way that we get ready well in advance for a wedding or commencement,
Lent invites us to make our hearts ready for remembering Jesus’ passion
and celebrating his resurrection. The practice of a forty-day preparation
period began in the Christian church during the third and fourth centuries.
Forty is a number of significance throughout the scriptures. The rain fell
on the earth for forty days and nights, Israel wandered in the wilderness
of the Exodus for forty years, and Jesus spent forty days fasting in the wilderness
and facing temptation.
The forty days of Lent begin with Ash Wednesday and continues
through holy week (not counting Sundays—which are reserved for celebratory
worship). In practice, the forty days of Lent are to be oriented around the
themes of repentance and renewal.
The focus of this series of sermons has to do with standing
beneath the shadow of the cross. In our congregation we begin Ash Wednesday
by removing the pulpit and some of the platform furniture so that we can bring
in a large wooden cross that will be the center of all that we do at Lent.
We will literally walk together through Lent under the shadow of the cross.
What do we discover beneath the shadow of the cross? The letters
of Paul that serve as the Epistle texts for Lent in the lectionary point us
to two primary things we discover at Calvary: in the shadow of the cross we
discover the depth of human sin, but we also find the magnitude of God’s
overwhelming grace and mercy demonstrated in Christ Jesus. That is why Lent
is the holiest season of the Church Year. During these forty days we are visibly
reminded that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus
our Lord.
The sermons for February 13, 2005 through March 27 are presented
by Scott Daniels. Dr. Daniels is senior pastor of the Richardson, Texas Church
of the Nazarene.
The sermons for April 3, 2005 through May 8 are presented by Bryan Easley. Rev. Easley is a Nazarene elder and Associate Director of Online Education at Wesley Bible Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi.