Do you ever feel like if you just make it over the next hurdle or reach your next goal that you will have finally arrived in life? Many people do, including our Biblical friends, but guess what? That’s called the arrival fallacy, and it can keep us feeling disappointed and unhappy when we get to the “next thing” and find we still haven’t arrived at our hoped-for destination. We are still unfailingly human, flawed, broken. This Lent, let us learn to savor our uniquely human journey without the pressure of arrival, as we reconnect with the God of Jesus Christ who leads us in the way, providing sustenance, meaning, and hope through all our ups and downs.

Ash Wednesday: The Classic Overreach | Week 1: Getting Free and Staying Free | Week 2: It’s Not the Destination, It’s the Journey | Week 3: Who’s Your Hope? | Week 4: No Going Back | Week 5: The Fake Out | Week 6: Staying Power | Holy/Maundy Thursday: Detour Ahead | Good Friday: Holding On When the Cross Feels Final | Easter Sunday: Setting Out Again

Just as Jesus wandered in the wilderness for forty days, so too can we feel like we are wandering in the wilderness, as we face hardships, grief, temptations, and injustices. This Lent, we will discover what it means to wander these parts of life in honesty with God through the practice of lament. We will learn how crying out to God in our need can help us to fully embrace what it means to be human beings held and loved by a God we can trust. We will learn that even through the darkest valleys, Jesus both goes ahead of us and walks with us.

Ash Wednesday: Lament and Repentance | Psalm 51:1-17
Week 1: Why Lament? | Psalm 13
Week 2: Lament and Honesty | Job 13:1-13
Week 3: Lament and Surrender | Matthew 26:36-46
Week 4: Lament and Community | Esther 4:1-5
Week 5: Lament and Hope | Lamentations 3:19-24
Week 6 (Palm/Passion Sunday): Lament and Action | Luke 19:41-48
Holy/Maundy Thursday: Lament and Love | John 13:1-17
Good Friday: Lament on Our Behalf | Matthew 27:45-51

Series for Lent and Easter

Who is God? Why do bad things happen to good people? How can I face the future? Asking questions is a normal part of human life. Having doubts is part of the human experience. We do not have to be ashamed of our doubts or hide our questions before God. In fact, God fully welcomes them and welcomes us. This Lent, we will practice bringing some of our biggest questions and doubts to God. We will practice embracing this deeply human part of ourselves as we move together toward the great and joyous mystery of Easter resurrection. Click here for sermon series.

Ash Wednesday: Living with Questions Doubts | Isaiah 6:1-8; Matthew 6:1-6
Week 1: Who is God? | 1 John 4:7-19
Week 2: Is the Bible Reliable? | Hebrews 4:12-14
Week 3: Why Should I Go to Church? | Psalm 100
Week 4: Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People? | Psalm 137
Week 5: How and Why Do I Forgive? | Matthew 6:9-15
Week 6 (Palm/Passion Sunday): Why is Jesus Special? | Mark 11:1-11
Maundy Thursday: Are You Scared of the Future? | John 13:1-7, 31b-35
Good Friday: Why Did Jesus Have to Die? | Colossians 2:13-14
Week 7 (Easter Sunday): Why Be a Christian? | Mark 16:1-8