Hey Church!
This past week, we kicked off the season of Lent with our annual Ash Wednesday service. It was a beautiful time of worship and communion, and the “imposition of ashes” on our foreheads served as a sobering reminder that just as surely as we were created from the dust, to dust we will return. Lent is a 40-day season of self-denial that invites us to participate in Christ’s sufferings by focusing our time and energies more fervently on fasting and prayer.
We have a number of resources to help you participate in this season…
To learn more about Lent, including a short video overview, click here:
If you have any questions about fasting–how, why, when, or what to fast–please click the link below to read a helpful guide.
www.riovistachurch.com/fasting
And, lastly, if you missed our Ash Wednesday service, you can watch it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fob5EQhq_bc
Sam’s message that night was full of profound insights about the ashes we received. I highly recommend you give it a listen!
Sunday is a break from our fast (which is why they’re not included in the count of 40 days in Lent); every Lord’s Day is a celebration of resurrection! We participate in this season of Lent with sober mindfulness of our mortality. However, we do so with full-hearted assurance that Sunday is coming!
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
Your brother,
Ryan