A March Message from Pastor JohnThe Heart of Christ I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you. Ezekiel 36:24-26a We are now in the season of Lent. Lent is a penitential season of the church. This means it is time for inward reflection and recognition of our sin not so that we are miserable, but so that we might look toward Christ as our true and only hope even more than we already do. As we enter the season of Lent, you will notice a common theme that keeps coming up – the human heart. Our heart is an interesting thing. I am not talking about the physical organ which pumps blood throughout the body, but the spiritual organ that pumps our desires and longings throughout our soul. The spiritual heart is fascinating; it has the capacity to be rock hard or it can be compassionate. Our spiritual heart can be unmoving or it can be gracious. Our spiritual heart can be unforgiving or it can be merciful. By ourselves, by our own powers, our hearts would never change. They would remain hard, unmoving, and unforgiving our whole lives. But this is NOT your heart. The scripture passage above says that God will “give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.” This is a divine prophecy fulfilled when God switched out your hard heart and has given you Christ’s compassionate heart. God has switched out your unmoving heart and has given you Christ’s gracious heart. God has switched out your unforgiving heart and has given you Christ’s merciful heart. God has truly made you a new person. God is not talking metaphorically above, or symbolically above or using some flowery language from a poem. In Christ, you really ARE a new people with new hearts – Christ’s heart. As we travel through this season of Lent, I pray that it will be a time for our congregation to look honestly into the depths of our hearts and yearn more and more, every day, to be transformed by Christ’s compassion, graciousness and mercy toward ourselves and others. Amen. Blessings for Our Journey Together, Pastor John |
Worship Schedule for March March 17 - 9:30 a.m. Worship/Hymn Sing March 24 - 9:30 a.m. Worship/PALM SUNDAY Potluck Brunch March 25 - 27 - 7 p.m. Weekly Reading March 28 - 7 p.m. Maundy Thursday Service March 29 - 7 p.m. Tenebrae Service March 31 - EASTER SUNDAY 6:15 a.m. Sunrise Service at Central Moravian 9:30 a.m. Easter Service |
Serve, grow, and embrace love through Christ!
The Advent Moravian community is a group of individuals from diverse backgrounds and faith experiences who together seek to serve, grow, and embrace love through the teachings and ministry of Jesus Christ.