In my memory, most Lenten periods were in the end of winter. But, this year we experience this solemn time at the beginning of spring. We need to remind ourselves of the meaning of Jesus' sacrifice and set our minds away from earthly desire as we fill our hearts with spiritual hunger.
However, even in Lent we still celebrate God’s great love for us through our Sunday services. This is why the 40 days of Lent following Ash Wednesday excludes the Sundays. I am happy that it falls into the spring of this year.
The Master Facility Planning Task Force Team and the church staff had a joint meeting in March to launch a long-time project in earnest this year. The main body of this project is a new choir room with ideal space and equipment for the rehearsal of our choirs. We also hope that this project will help our other education programs with improved classroom sizes and locations. Since this plan is for the future decades of our church's education and music ministries, we should try our best to initiate it with full consideration.
We need to pray for the future of our ministries while praising our God for His blessings and guidance. God loves it when we thank him for blessings and praise Him joyfully - regardless of our current situation. This is possible for us only when we trust God fully and submit ourselves to His guidance. God loves our obedience more than any other sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22).
During this Lenten Season - and finally Easter - we can praise God with our voices and instruments more than ever before because we have a dream for our future, we are searching for a pastor, and - more than any other reason - because we believe that our God will be always with us.
Let us praise God with joyful hearts and minds.