Blog:FOREST LAKE TALKS

As Holy Week draws near, I am struck by the power of the collective longing for God’s presence and rule. When we suffer, we want God nearby. When we are afraid, we seek God’s presence. And this has been true throughout human history. We are motivated to seek God and to know God when things are not right or good. As our B365 group has been reading through the Old Testament books of Joshua and Judges, the cycle is always the same. (1) Things go well and God’s people remember and worship God. (2) the people forget God and begin to worship other gods and to be disobedient. (3) Consequences and punishment follow the disobedience, and God reminds the people of God’s work of salvation throughout their history. (4) The people of God remember, repent, and begin again to live obedient and humble lives. It seems the cycle never ends.

We are called to remember. We remember that God has provided for us in the past. We remember that God causes the seasons to come and the sun to rise every day without any help or prompting from us. We remember that without God’s love and care we are without hope in the world. We remember that God is all-powerful and all-loving, and that we are neither. When we remember, it is much easier to live obedient faithful lives. And when we remember, we always return to worship God (as opposed to worshiping at the altars of money, beauty, power, sports, or any of our other addictions).

You are invited to organize your life around remembering the story of Holy Week and Easter. Come to worship on Palm Sunday (4/13) and remember how the crowds welcomed Jesus as King, against the wishes of the Jerusalem religious leaders. Come to church on Maundy Thursday (4/17) between 4 and 6pm to take communion in small groups. Come again on Good Friday (4/18) at 6pm to remember Jesus’ seven last words, spoken from the cross as he died. Then, come to worship on Easter morning (4/20) to remember that God’s plan for us is life, joy, wholeness and salvation.

When we remember, our whole lives can be grounded in the Gospel. That is a solid foundation on which we stand, so that when all around us is swirling and shifting and sliding, we will know the “peace that passes understanding.”

Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

Come to Forest Lake Presbyterian Church this Holy Week and REMEMBER.