From The Pastor

From Reverend Mark A. Bernthal...

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”   2 Chronicles 7:14

 God spoke these words to Solomon just after the completion and dedication of the great temple of Jerusalem .  God was pleased with the temple, but he was more interested in his people who would gather there in worship.  God had a message for his people.  He was calling them to turn toward him in a special way.

 What was true in Solomon’s time is just as true in our own day.  God loves his Church, but as the old Sunday School song goes, “The Church is not a building, the Church is not a steeple, the Church is not a resting place, the Church is a people.”  And God’s greatest desire is for his people, his Church, to turn toward him more and more.

 + Turn toward God’s glory… turning from self-promotion to God-promotion.

+ Turn toward God in prayer… moving from self-reliance to God-dependence.

+ Turn toward God’s word… shifting from self-direction to God-direction.

+ Turn toward God in repentance… not hiding from God but being honest to God.

 As you consider your own turning toward God, may I invite many of you to return to a wonderful Lenten discipline?  During the forty days of Lent, beginning Ash Wednesday, February 22, mid-week Lenten worship will find it’s focus at Lamb of God on “Turning Toward God.” Come as the Church gathers in repentance, learns from God’s word, joins in prayer, and celebrates the gracious glory of God through his Son Jesus Christ.