The recording begins with Liturgist, JoAnne Reid, reading 2 Kings 5:1-19, followed by Rev. Well’s sermon.
To listen, right-click HERE and select the save link option and play the downloaded file with your computer’s media player. If you have a one-button mouse (on a Mac), press and hold the “Control” key and click the link and select the save link option.
The recording begins with Rev. Wells, reading Micah 6:6-8, followed by guest preacher, Rev. Harry Knox’s sermon, “It’s Time to Talk: About Sexuality Education, Contraception, and Abortion”
THIS MORNING: Gratitude is expressed to Rev. Harry Knox, the guest preacher this morning. Harry is a former member of LUCC and is currently serving as the President and CEO of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice located in Washington, D.C. Harry is in St. Petersburg for other work related functions and generously offered to preach at Lakewood. Welcome back, Harry!
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To listen, right-click HERE and select the save link option and play the downloaded file with your computer’s media player. If you have a one-button mouse (on a Mac), press and hold the “Control” key and click the link and select the save link option.
As Lent begins, the country is blanketed in cold. Record low temperatures and snowfalls top the news. Well, even here in Florida it has been cold, relatively speaking. At the outdoor Ash Wednesday service people came bundled up in coats, hoods, scarfs, hats, gloves, and blankets. In the dark with all of the cold weather gear, it was hard to tell who everyone was. Even people we knew well were hard to identify submerged beneath a hat and hood and muffler.
This image reminds us of what can happen to us as we make our way through life. We bundle up. We cover ourselves in ways that shield who we really are. We protect ourselves with images and facades. We become layered with the images others have of us. Our true self gets hidden not only from others but sometimes from ourselves.
Lent is a time to notice those layers and covers and shells. It is a time to cast off what no longer fits or is needed. It is a time to come clean. To unburden. To shed. It is a season to pare back, dig down, and rediscover who we really are finding that divine image that may be buried under the layers of our lives.
Lectionary Readings for the day:
Psalm 25:1-10
Psalm 32
Matthew 9:2-13
Prayer: May we rediscover who we really are this Lenten season. Amen.
On Wednesday night, the church had the annual Ash Wednesday service at the home of a parishioner, outside around a fire along the seawall. There was a chill in the windy air. The service ended with communion. The chalice filled with juice and a basket of bread was passed from person to person as people served communion to one another. The last people to be served were my husband and I sitting at the end of the row. Jeff held out the chalice and the basket of bread, saying “Taste the promises of God” as we had been instructed to do. I took a piece of bread and went to dip it in the juice as we had been instructed to do. But the piece of bread fell into the cup. How could that have happened? I giggled and probably rolled my eyes. My first thought was, “So, it’s come to that already.” I took another piece of bread, dipped it, and ate it.
Lent, this season of wilderness time, is a reminder of stark realities. We probably don’t have the grip on things that we think we do. Regardless of what we may want to believe, we are actually not in control. Lent is a time to let the weight of all those expectations be lifted and to be free.
Lectionary readings for the day:
Psalm 25:1-10
Daniel 9:15-25a
2 Timothy 4:1-5
[These daily readings are from the Consultation on Common Texts.]
Prayer: Let go and let God! Amen.
Lakewood United Church of Christ 