Pastor’s Message for March 2025

With what shall I come before the Lord
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offering,
with calves a year old?

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

-Micah 6:6-8

Greetings, Friends!

The popular question to ask this time of year is “What are you giving up for Lent?” Can I let you in on a secret? I have never given up anything for Lent. I certainly have never givenup eating meat on Fridays during Lent. In fact, I never went to an Ashe Wednesday service until the year before I went into ministry. And I only went to that one because I wanted to know what to do when I would have to lead the Ash Wednesday service.

In the community where I grew up, these types of religious practices were not common in Protestant churches. The only kids in my school who ate the fish sandwich on Fridays were the Roman Catholic kids. Our church had Lenten breakfasts on Saturdays, and we changed the colors in the church from green to purple, but it didn’t have the same significance to our church as Advent did. Advent had a special Hanging of the Greens service to decorate the church, special candles, special services, a church full of decorations. Lent was just… there.

Is there a purpose for doing religious things during important seasons of the liturgical calendar? Of course! They can have great merit. If religious practices are done with a thankful and contrite heart attuned to Christ’s redeeming grace, they can be powerful physical signs of a spiritual reality. But if they are simply done out of a sense of obligation or religious duty, they can also become empty ritualistic practices. Religion done for the sake of religion, which is really no religion at all. God has made it clear through the Scriptures and through the words and actions of Jesus that God is not impressed or pleased by empty religious displays. It’s up to each of us to examine our own hearts when we do these things. Who are we doing them for? Is it for our own self, or is it for God? And these questions should extend beyond our religious practices into all areas of our lives. Do our lives reflect the love of Christ, every day? Do our actions display qualities of love, justice, and mercy, toward all people? Do our inward thoughts display these qualities? Are we just putting on a religious show?

Compare the sacrifices of Cain and Abel. Abel’s sacrifice came a contrite and thankful heart. Cain’s offering came out of a sense of religious obligation. Which one pleased God, and which one did God reject? Lent is a wonderful time for self-reflection. May your Lenten journey lead you closer to the heart of God.

God loves you, and so do I,
Pastor Jim Sands