February, 2012

Vol. 38, Issue 2

North Benton Presbyterian Church

Web Site: www.northbentonchurch.org

 North      Benton      Church

Richly, Pastor Herb

Mid-winter greetings to all,

           Here we are in the midst of winter 2011-2012 in North-east Ohio.  Daylight is a little longer each day and there is a promise of spring.  With Spring, comes the times of the church liturgical calendar of Transfiguration Sunday, Ash Wednesday, the period of Lent, all getting ready for Holy Week and Good Friday and the day of all days RESURRECTION OF THE LORD!  There will be more about the sermons for the month of February in this newsletter so I am going to use this space for some information on this time of year.

           First, Transfiguration Sunday is the Sunday before Ash Wednesday.  It was the time when Jesus and three of His disciples climbed a mountain in Israel and Jesus was Transfigured before them.  Jesus shown like the brightest of bright lights, and was whiter than snow.  This is a special time in that this is THE MIRACLE in which the action takes place on Jesus.  He meets with Elijah and Moses.  This is very important.

           Ash Wednesday is the first day in Lent.  Lent comes from the word Springtime.  It sure is the beginning of the spring of our lives.  Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days before His ministry began.  It was a time of testing.  To Christians, Lent is the 40 weekdays before RESURRECTION OF THE LORD DAY!  When a runner begins a race, the runner will strip down to just the essentials.  The need for speed is very important.  So, the runner does not want to carry any more weight than is necessary.  Lent to a Christian is getting down to the essentials.  It is a time of prayer, a mental and spiritual preparation time.  It is a time of repentance, getting rid of the sin that binds us and holds us back from being the people God created us to be.  And it is a time of self-denial, giving up the lesser so that you can grasp the greatest. The whole purpose of Lent is to get us ready for all that God has in store for us.

           This season of Lent, the sermons will be based on the SEVEN LASTing WORDS OF

JESUS while He was on the cross.  Since there are 7 words from the cross and there are six Sundays in Lent, we will be starting on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, February 19.  The sermon on February 19th will be about Jesus’ first words from the cross: “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”  I have discovered something about that saying that will forever change the way you look at the cross.  I REALLY encourage you to make a special effort to be here on that Sunday.  I look forward to sharing it with you.

           May God, as always, continue to bless you and yours.

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