“Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord;
may your love and faithfulness always protect me.”

Psalm 40:11

 

Dear HBIC Family,

For many of us, the season of Lent is one primarily about sacrifice. We focus on taking something away in hopes of being drawn closer to God, being more reliant on the Spirit, or perhaps focusing more deeply on who Jesus is and what Jesus has done. The danger here is when we believe that Lent is only about our sacrifice. In this season, we remember Jesus’ time in the wilderness and march towards Calvary’s tree. We do so while also holding on to the essence of prayer, living by the Spirit, repentance, and reconciliation…all made possible through the sacrifice of Jesus, our Lord.

As we journey along this season of Lent, we as a church have been called to the Psalms. These ancient songs of gospel, praise, and blues bring us fully and vulnerably before God. In these ancient hymns are our comprehensive thoughts and feelings. In the Psalms, we join with saints of yesterday, believers today, and sisters and brothers of faith to come. We join in song, prayer, and faith that our God sees us, hears us, and will carry us through.

This week we are going to continue our current sermon series on Lenten Psalms. Our first two services in this series, focused on the importance of prayer and living by the Spirit, especially in this season of Lent. This week, our focus will be on self-denial and sacrifice. To prepare for this week’s services, I would like to invite you to read and reflect on Psalm 40:1-11. As you reflect, I would like to ask you to focus on the following questions:

 

How is God calling you to wait during this season of Lent?

What has God placed on your heart to sacrifice in order to draw closer to God?

What does God desire from your life today?

How is God’s mercy and faithfulness protecting you now?

I’m afraid that sacrifice is not a word that we tend to focus on enough in our faith. We are comfortable talking about the sacrifice of God to save us. We give thanks for Christ coming to show us how to live and love to please God, and for his death and resurrection. We delight that the Holy Spirit now dwells inside us as we go into our world to make disciples. But we must never forget the call to take up our cross in following our Christ.

Sisters and brothers, I pray that this week finds you holding on to our God as our God holds on tightly to you as well. I hope that your waiting is answered by our God’s presence and direction. And I trust that our God’s love and faithfulness will continue to always protect you.

Love in Christ,

Pastor Hank (Psalm 40:11)