Last Sunday of Lent

We were struck by lightning on Thursday afternoon! As a result, our internet is fried and we will have to record worship on Sunday and upload it later that day from home. You will have to join us in person or watch on Sunday evening. We are so sorry for this inconvenience. This week will be our last regular Sunday in our Lenten series “Wandering Heart.” We will be considering the text where Jesus proclaims to Peter that we should forgive seventy seven times. I don’t think Jesus meant that exact number. I believe he was making the point that we should forgive more times than we can count. This type of forgiveness is hard to imagine and even harder to put into practice.

We find it difficult because we want people to learn a lesson or recognize that they have hurt us. We yearn for them to change their behavior or act in the manner that we see fitting. We want to be forgiven every time we blunder but we are not so easy to extend that forgiveness to others. Can you imagine trying to keep track of 77 times that a person has needed our forgiveness? I have found that holding on to my anger often hurts me more than the person that has wronged me. If they remember at all. But when I allow my disappointment or anger to fester, my soul, gets more and more infected with resentment. One year I said that I was going to give up sugar and bitterness for Lent, and a colleague asked how that was going when just saying it out loud indicated that the bitterness hadn’t gone anywhere. Years later, I no longer hold that bitterness anymore but it took a long time for me to forgive those that had put me in that loosing situation. It is one more layer in the complexity of life that has shaped who I am today. And I know that it has helped me serve as your pastor to have traveled on that heart breaking journey.

So let’s try harder to consider how bathing ourselves in the river of grace allows us to make room for forgiveness that overflows.

The following Sunday is March 24th and it is jam packed with wonderful as we kick off Holy Week! This Palm Sunday, Linda, Annabelle and Tricia will be leading our children for both services as they sing for us in worship. We will have the Palm processional during the first hymn. Our wonderful Easter egg hunt is that afternoon and we encourage you to bring your loved ones to participate.

Then on Monday and Tuesday, you can go through the “Stations of Peter” in the sanctuary. Please reserve a time slot between 3-7 pm. On Wednesday of Holy Week, we will not have any Kid’s or Youth ministry but we will have rehearsals and Disciple Bible Study. On Thursday we invite you to serve with us at Night Light Tulsa downtown. If you want to reserve a seat on the van, you must be at the church by 5:30. There will also be a local mission project at the church Thursday night. We will be packing Blessing Bags and setting up for Sunday’s all church breakfast.

On Friday at 7 pm, we will gather for the Good Friday service. This is a very moving and meaningful service and we hope you will invite others to join. Everyone on staff has been working very hard on all of these Holy Week experiences and we look forward to celebrating together.

Forgiven,