From Pastor Greg: Lutherans aren’t big on giving up things for Lent. It’s probably a reaction to medieval church practices that focused on good works as our pathway to get right with God, instead of through Christ alone. Just look at the dessert table at a Wednesday Lent meal, and you’ll see that giving up pleasures like sweets or chocolates is not high on the Lutheran agenda.
Being saved by grace alone has its benefits! And yet, there are things God would like us to give up in order to show that He comes first.
This season our Sunday series will be What Does God Want Me to Give Up for Lent? I doubt chocolate will even be mentioned. Instead, we will focus on our hurts, habits, hang-ups, and other junk we carry with us that God would love to see gone from our lives.
February 14: Ash Wednesday: Giving Up Control
Sunday, February 18: Giving Up My False Ideas about God
Sunday, February 25: Giving Up My False Image and Coming Clean
Sunday, March 3: Giving Up My Hurts, Habits, and Hangups
Sunday, March 10: Giving Up Resentments: Asking for and Receiving Forgiveness
Sunday, March 17: Giving Up the Cycle: Continuing to to Grow and Sharing with Others