Tomorrow is the first Sunday of Lent. We begin our journey toward the Empty Tomb. But there is a long way to go before we get there. Sometimes Lent has a bad rap as a season that is dour and dreary, but I like to think of it as a time of pilgrimage – that is, spiritual journey. It is a time when we reflect on our need for a saviour – which means acknowledging our sin – but that is not a bad thing. We can only begin to prayerfully do better when we prayerfully know better. So I hope you will journey with me during this season, with a strong faith that the tomb IS empty, we ARE forgiven, and Jesus journeys with us at this time. Let’s gather some resources to prepare our hearts for worship!

This virtual anthem of “When Jesus the healer pass through Galilee”:

This prayer for the beginning of Lent found on the reWorship blog:

This colouring page from illustrated ministry of the following verses from Mark 1, which struck me as right in line with part of the sermon for tomorrow:

²¹ They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. ²² The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.

A couple of quotes about what Lent is all about, from a nun named Joan Chittister, which I found quite helpful:

And finally, since tomorrow’s sermon focusses on prayer, this lovely song by David Archuleta, entitled “My Little Prayer,” (at the end of the video he speaks about this as a holiday song, but I think it’s quite appropriate in this Lenten season!):

Until tomorrow, dear friends, may you continue to journey toward Jesus!