Lenten-Meditations-2015-w
Lenten-Meditations-2015-w
Lenten-Meditations-2015-w
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Message From Pastor Wesley<br />
Grace and peace to you from our Father who calls us, His Son in Whose name we<br />
minister, and His Spirit who empowers us for His glory.<br />
This year we pause to say thank you to the Rev. Dr. Faye S. Gunn, who served as the<br />
Director of Christian Education. Her service to the Alfred Street Baptist Church and<br />
the Board of Christian Education was no less than excellent. Dr. Gunn’s leadership in<br />
Christian Education led the congregation in spiritual growth and a closer walk with<br />
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We pray God’s continuous blessings upon her and<br />
the Gunn family.<br />
Here we stand, as we do every year, at the beginning of one of the most sacred and<br />
special seasons of the Christian year—Lent. Just as the season of Advent takes us on<br />
a journey to reflect upon the beauty of the incarnate God born in a manger, so now<br />
does Lent takes us on a journey of reflection and repentance as we view the horror<br />
and the glory of the cross and our crucified Savior.<br />
This <strong>Lenten</strong> journey is one that calls and causes us to appreciate the eternal and<br />
priceless value of our salvation and the forgiveness of our sins. It is a 40-day journey<br />
that helps us find the balance between sacrifice and celebration, repentance and<br />
rejoicing, so that we may learn to yield our lives as a living sacrifice that is holy and<br />
acceptable to God.<br />
During these 40 days, I invite and encourage you to center your daily thoughts and<br />
devotions on the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ and how His death draws us into<br />
the very loving presence of a forgiving God. My prayer is that these daily devotions,<br />
penned from the heart of Christian Education board members and Alfred Street<br />
ministers, will help you draw nearer to the Lord. As the songwriter said, “Draw me<br />
nearer, nearer precious Lord, to the cross where thou hast died.” Collectively as a<br />
church family, through these devotions, we will meditate and pray together so that<br />
when Resurrection Sunday comes, like Christ, we will come out of this season with<br />
a new glory, a deeper commitment, and a hunger to daily dwell in the presence of<br />
God.<br />
When the women came to the tomb to anoint what they thought would be the<br />
dead body of Jesus, their lives were forever changed by the invitation of the angel<br />
to “come see the place where the Lord lay” (Matthew 28:6). My prayer is that these<br />
devotions will also fill you with an awe and appreciation for Christ’s death, and give<br />
you the same excitement and energy of those women to go and share with the<br />
world the good news of our Savior’s death and resurrection as together we draw<br />
nearer to the Lord. Amen.<br />
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