Little  Britain  Presbyterian  Church

Pastor Tom's Bi-Monthly Message

March & April,  2010

0 Worship the King!  All Glorious Above!

We are in the church season of Lent.  Lent is a time for the church to prepare for the celebration of Holy Week and Easter.  During Holy Week we remember the events that led to Christ's Crucifixion, on Friday, and then we joyously celebrate his resurrection on Sunday.  Since the 4th century the 40 days before Easter have been used by the church as a time of spiritual discipline to work on our hearts as we focus on the centerpiece of our faith, Christ's death and resurrection.  This preparation begins with Ash Wednesday, when we put ashes on the forehead to humble us and remind us that the wages of sin is death.

Lent is a time of introspection and of prayer and preparation.  It is appropriate this time of year to consider the sin in our own lives, and to repent or turn from sin and turn to Christ.  Lent is also a time for us to grow in spiritual maturity.  Many take up a spiritual discipline during the 40 days of Lent.  The most popular practice is fasting during Lent, either not eating for one day out of the week, or giving up meats or sweets or the like.  The purpose of spiritual disciplines is to open ourselves up to the Spirit's work in us.

One discipline that is appropriate is worship and adoration.  Worship is a spiritual discipline as is prayer.  As we in worship look to Jesus and bow down in his kingly presence, we are humbling ourselves and directing our hearts to the Holy One.  As we do this we allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us, and to shape us into his image.

"Being God's Child by the Work of the Holy Spirit," will be the theme for the sermons in April and May as we explore Romans 8.  Paul writes about the new position that we have being redeemed by Jesus.  The way we see our Great Savior and ourselves will not be the same after taking a long look at the wonderful implications of being a follower of Christ.

This year I have been thinking about how we can exalt Christ as King. As we lift up our eyes to Jesus we will worship.  We will naturally be drawn to praise him and accordingly be humbled in his presence.

Looking to Jesus,

Pastor Tom