The Shoes of Faith

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Greetings in the Name of our Lord,

Sunday is the first Sunday of the season of Lent. For 40 days plus Sundays, we will be preparing our souls for the celebration of Easter. Consider this… the only way to experience the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus is to remove the things that separate us from our Lord. Let’s make the next seven weeks a time of renewing our faith in Christ. 

Consider the following:

Attend worship each Sunday – This Sunday we begin a six-week sermon series on The Message of Jesus. For these six weeks, we will do an overview of Jesus' message that changed the world.

Join a Study Group – chose one of the following options…

  • I am leading a study on The Message of Jesus. Wednesdays, February 25, March 4, 11 and 25, at 6:30 pm, we will be covering the scripture and theme for the following Sunday. Sign up here.

  • Pastor Jana is doing a study on the book An Unlikely Lent on these same Wednesday evenings. Step into the story of Easter to notice the unexpected – in the silence, the side characters, and the questions. The resurrection is not just a past event, but an invitation into something new. You can sign up by emailing Pastor Jana.

  • Dinner will be served each evening at 5:45 pm.

  • For a list of our other study groups go to our Adult Ministries page. 

Set a time to pray each day – Prayer is our connection to God. This practice will change your life.

Find a place to serve – Start by committing to an area of service for these six weeks. 

The story is told of a little boy who had trouble staying still in church. He wanted to move and play. His Sunday shoes were hurting his feet, so he removed them. The shoes sat empty on the floor – he had no use for them if he couldn’t move around. Resigned, he sat in agonizing silence.

Jesus longs for us to follow the ways of the Christian life. We are called to walk in the shoes of faith; to walk in Jesus' shoes. Yet, when life gets hard, when we are faced with unexpected change, or challenged to wait on the Lord, we rebel. We take off the shoes of faith. We want to walk on our own chosen path.

The challenge is that the shoes of faith do not always take us where we expect. At times they are tight, restrictive, and uncomfortable. It takes courage to put aside our agenda and follow the ways of Christ.

The shoes of faith are tight when we strive to follow Jesus. Restrictive. Demanding. But so worth the cost.

Join me this Lenten season by wearing the shoes of faith with confidence, hope, and expectation. One of my all-time favorite quotes goes like this, "There are times when we anxiously wait for God’s help, but rest assured, God is always right on time."

I am excited about Sunday’s sermon as we look at the shortest sermon from Jesus in Mark 1:14-15 on the Kingdom of God. 

See you on Sunday!

Pastor John Allen

We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)