Have you ever reached a point when the only words you could say were, “I
give up”? Most of us know that feeling. Life becomes complicated, relationships
become strained, faith becomes confusing, and we feel worn out trying to manage
everything. Lent invites us to a different kind of surrender. This season is
not about quitting life or giving up hope. It is about releasing the habits,
fears, and assumptions that quietly stand between us and the grace of God.
Our Lenten series this year is called “I Give Up, I Quit”. Each
week we will name something we cling to and learn how faith invites us to let
it go. We begin with our need to be in control as Jesus refuses shortcuts in
the wilderness while Adam and Eve grasp for certainty. We move to our need to
understand everything as Abram walks without a map and Nicodemus learns faith
is entered, not mastered. We confront comparison through the Samaritan woman
who receives dignity instead of judgment. We release grudges as Jesus weeps
over a city rather than condemning it. We let go of living only for ourselves
as dry bones live and Lazarus walks out of the tomb. On Palm Sunday we
surrender the need for approval, and at Easter we finally surrender despair
itself as resurrection declares that hope has the last word.
Lent gradually strips away what we rely on so that trust can grow. I hope
you will join us each Sunday as we discover that giving up, in faith, is not
loss but freedom.
Pastor
Paul
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