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On August 28, 1866, twenty-six men of German descent met to form a German Protestant Church in Lawrenceburg . That day the congregation was officially organized, and a building committee was formed. A church building was erected and dedicated on August 22, 1869, at the corner of Main and Fourth Streets, in Lawrenceburg.
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Pastor's Blog |
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 SPRING
The entire month of March is Lent. The whole month is purple. The whole month is one man’s world without chocolate. For some it may be another item of sacrifice. There is a bright side. Lent is an old word meaning “spring.” March does contain the first day of spring. Whether or not the weather cooperates is another thing altogether.
This little piece I write every month in the newsletter is one of the ways I communicate the good news of Jesus. I preach. I teach. I write. I suppose the next thing is texting or whatever else the 21st century has in store for this old pastor.
The season of spring communicates to us humans that there is a change. The cold colors of winter give way to the bright hues of promise of better weather and more sunshine. The season of Lent in the church communicates the same thing. The cold darkness of our sins against God and our neighbor if not ourselves give way to the bright gold of Easter. We focus on turning back to God after living the lies of sins since last Lent.
We use these six weeks prior to Easter to make sacrifices in our lives not because we have to but because we can and want to. We have the choice of observing Lent in our lives or not. There is not a “Lent Police” checking up on us. It is something we do for God, our neighbor, and ourselves.
The church gives us this season to help the whole family of God to make the transition to Easter. It is time well spent in turning back to God by saying “I’m at fault, and I don’t have any excuses.” Instead of trying to get out of trouble, we admit our faults. We admit them without condition.
Where is the joy in all this talk? I know we have heard this all before time and time and time again. Well, it is not all that hard to find, really. We turn back to God (repent) knowing we are forgiven. If we think God is a terrible God or terrifying, we would not even bother, for we would know the answer from God: “No. You are not forgiven. You must be punished.”
Because we live under God’s grace and receive the gifts of that grace, we can come to our Lord with heads hanging down in shame with confidence that we will be forgiven. There will not be eternal punishment for our sins.
So you see, making the Lenten journey is a journey of confidence, faithfulness, and, yes, joy. Being a miserable sinner is not what God wants from us but an honest heart confident in God’s grace. The realization of our own faults in what we do and say is the first step and does bring misery. The second step is to turn to the loving God of mercy and understanding.
We are, therefore, not a people mired down in the depths of hopelessness but a people called together by the Holy Spirit. We are God’s children. Try as he might, the devil cannot take that away from us. No way.
Spring brings us the colors of better weather and the excitement of baseball and hot fudge sundaes. Lent leads us to the promise of salvation made on the cross and in the resurrection.
Peace, love, joy, be in your lives,
Pastor Jeremy G. Russell
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