A right time for birth and another for death,
A right time to plant and another to reap,
A right time to kill and another to heal,
A right time to destroy and another to construct,
A right time to cry and another to laugh,
A right time to lament and another to cheer,
A right time to make love and another to abstain,
A right time to embrace and another to part,
A right time to search and another to count your losses,
A right time to hold on and another to let go,
A right time to rip out and another to mend,
A right time to shut up and another to speak up,
A right time to love and another to hate,
A right time to wage war and another to make peace.
In this past season of Lent, we’ve been talking about how to return back to God. And while there are many good disciplines and practices we can participate in, there are some seasons of our life where it’s simply just enough to recognize that God is there, even when it doesn’t feel like it. Even if the situation hasn’t changed or we don’t see evidence of God’s goodness.
Sometimes, returning to God just looks like standing still long enough to recognize our own grief. And sometimes, we can stand still long enough for Spring to come.
Week 5 | In These Wordless Seasons
April 4, 2022
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7
What do we do in seasons that are so painful and heavy, that it’s wordless? The valleys in our lives when we are wrapped with grief and we have no strength to muster.
This week, Heidi Min shares with us a candid and vulnerable snapshot on what she does in seasons when she finds herself without words and without strength. How do we bring ourselves before God, if that’s the last thing we want to do?
Week 4 | To the One Who Anticipates Us
March 28, 2022
Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”
The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young. Let him sit alone in silence, for the Lord has laid it on him. For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. (Lamentations 3)
Our return, our love, is not with should be’s, want-to-be’s, or have-to-be’s. But it is simply “to be”. Because our return is based on who God is.
Week 3 | All You Want is All I Have
March 21, 2022
"Now while Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment, and she poured it on his head as he sat at the table. But when the disciples saw it, they were angry and said, “Why this waste? For this ointment could have been sold for a large sum, and the money given to the poor.” But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, 'Why do you trouble the woman? She has performed a good service for me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. By pouring this ointment on my body she has prepared me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.'" (Matthew 26:6-13)
"And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, 'Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.'" (Mark 12:41-44)
God is deserving of our very best, but in His mercy and love, all he wants is all we have. Love looks like giving your all at all times. In the good and the bad, and it starts by remembering God is moved by even your weak love.
Week 2 | Being Honest before God
March 14, 2022
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior." (Isaiah 4: 1-3)
Lent is a season of reflection and repentance. It’s taking time to deliberately pause and notice how far and how often we stray from God’s good intention for our lives. But we find how gracious and how close God is when we return. So we come, not in shame, but in hopeful anticipation of His grace.
Do you find yourself distant from God? When was the last time you were honest with God?
Week 1 | Back to the Basics
March 7, 2022
"God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world, we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us." (1 John 4:16-19)
Lent is a season of repentance, of turning back and returning to our first love in God. Whether you’ve been a follower of Christ for years or a brand new believer, Lent is an opportunity to come before God with your whole self - your tears, your trumpets, and your ashes, knowing that God cares for you.
Hear how Caroline Pae goes back to the basics to return to her first love in God.
1. Reflect on the Beginning
2. Lean on Worship
3. Re-Engage with the Body through Service
