"What does God expect of us?" That is the opening question in the book The Hole in our Gospel by Richard Stearns. How would you answer such a question?

"What is the Christian faith about? Going to church every Sunday, saying grace before meals, and avoiding the most serious sins--or does God expect more?"

Beginning February 21, I am going to attempt to answer some of these questions.

February 17 marks the beginning of the Lenten season in the life of the church. A season when we strive to become deliberate in our reflection on what God expects of us. It is a 40 day season of repentance and renewal in preparation for the celebration of the Ressurrection of Jesus Christ on April 4--Easter Sunday. Over the years many Christians have thought of Lent as a time to "give up" something. I prefer to consider Lent as a time to "take up" something--particularly to take up our cross and meditate, pray, and seek a fuller, deeper understanding of Christ's sacrifice and what that means in our lives.

Therefore, I want to invite you to join me in a Lenten journey to discover what God expects of us. I want to encourage you to:

• read Stearns' book The Hole in our Gospel,
• sign up to be in one of the "Lent in the Living Room" small groups that is being offered,
• strive to do all of the "40 Days of Mission" opportunities (which can be found on this website or at MMPC), and finally to
• join us in worship as I preach a series focussing on what is truly required of a follower of Jesus Christ.

What a wonderful time of year--one I pray will "revive us again" to be the people God has called us to be.

"What if each of us decided with renewed commitment to truly embrace the good news, the whole gospel, and demonstrate it though our lives--not even in big ways, but in small ones?"

What if?

See you back at the ranch!