Happy Lent

By Pastor Mark McAdow
We had a nice worship service last night singing the hymns of our faith and receiving the mark of the cross on our foreheads to mark Ash Wednesday. We discovered according to the scriptures we are but dust. Adam was created by the Lord according to Genesis 2:7, “The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Psalm 103:13-14 goes on to say, “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.”

Dust. I remember an old song by The group Kansas with one line, “All we are is dust in the wind.” I liked the song, but I never liked that line. It made me feel so meaningless and empty. I rejected that idea, believing instead we are all special – created in the incredible image of God! And we are, but we are also very fragile, because according to God’s Word we are dust. We all could be named “Dusty” because that is who we are,

Ash Wednesday reminds us of our mortality and welcomes us to repent of our sin, as we look to Jesus, who willingly died on Good Friday to pay it forward. “But God demonstrated his love for us in this, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” -Romans 5:8. He died with each of us in mind.

This Lenten season through Pentecost (March 5 through June 8), our trustees and your pastors are asking each of you to consider the depth of God’s love for you through Jesus’ sacrificial death. We’re asking each of us to pray and give a sacrificial gift to Jesus through Willow View Church. A project has been identified called “Pave it Forward!” by our trustees, and I wrote you a letter last week explaining the history, reasons and opportunities to give to this project. We would love to raise $100,000 in 100 days. This is a God-sized goal. It will take each of us giving a sacrificial gift this season to make it happen. We will need gifts of $200, $2,000, $5,000 and some $10,000 gifts to reach this goal. (You may want to make a gift over the next three months, or a one-time gift now, or use a tax refund, but please don’t wait.)

We will also tithe on all monies for the Pave it Forward project to global missions. I believe if we do something for ourselves locally, we should bless others, too. After all, we’re blessed to be a blessing. It will be exciting to see what God will do if we cooperate with Him.

Thanks in advance for your prayers and generous response. Our trustees chairperson, Lynn (Ballard) Merz, will mark the progress on the poster in our lobby every week. This will also be our special Easter offering this year.

God is at work. May we join Him in what He is doing!

Yours in Christ’s love,
Pastor Mark
 
Beginning this Sunday, we will offer Holy Communion in the sanctuary at the altar rail on the right side near the baptistry immediately following 9 a.m. worship. Blessings!