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Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples,
which are not written in this book.
But these are written so that
you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah,
 the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
-John 20:30-31

Dear Friends of the Crucified Messiah,

LENT!  What comes to mind for you from that one word?  Lent is a powerful season, a contemplative season, and a season whose very name reminds us that the days are lengthening; nights receding.  The Light of the World, whose birth we celebrated just over a month ago, came to earth on a mission to save us from sin, death, and every force of darkness.

LENT BUILDS TO THE PASSION, Jesus’ final suffering and death, but remember Lent is above all preparation for celebrating Jesus’ resurrection.  Since the name “Lent” is a reminder of the growing light, this year the theme of our mid-week services of worship will be…

NEW LIFE COMING TO LIGHT, SEVEN SIGNS OF THE SAVIOR.  The Gospel of John will be our guide as we consider the seven signs Jesus performed which shed light on His identity and His saving mission for sinners like us.  Here is our schedule:

Lenten Worship Services are at 12:00 noon and 7:00 p.m. This includes services on Maundy Thursday & Good Friday.

FEBRUARY:
14:  Ash Wednesday: 1st Sign: Jesus turns water to wine
21:  2nd Sign: Healing of the Royal Official’s Son
28:  3rd Sign: Healing of the Paralytic at the Pool of Bethesda

MARCH:
7:    4th Sign: Feeding of the 5,000
14:  5th Sign: Jesus Walks on Water
21:  6th Sign: Healing of the Man Born Blind
29:  Maundy Thursday: Raising of Lazarus
30:  Good Friday: The Cross in the Gospel of John

JESUS’ SIGNS were recorded and explained by gospel writer John so we “may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing we may have life in his name.”  We will walk through these wondrous acts of our Lord to learn and grow in life-giving faith.  (The Seven Signs will also be the theme our June 4-8 Music Camp musical Light of Life: Signs of the Savior.)

PART OF THE POWER OF LENT is that, regardless of what has changed in the last year, our greatest needs and strongest hopes are still with us.  Thankfully, our Heavenly Father’s eternal plans for His children stand firm.  How fitting that…

LENT BEGINS THIS YEAR ON ST. VALENTINE’S DAY.  Our Lord is the Source of all human love.  Let’s use this season to express our thanks and praise for our Savior Jesus.  See you in church.

Lenten hope,

Pastor Scott Peterson