Finish this sentence: Jesus became real to me when...
Many of us found a real relationship with Jesus when we finally reached the end of ourselves. That end might be the tragic death of a loved one, a debilitating illness, great financial loss, or the ending of a significant relationship. What happens to bring yourself to the end of you, will differ for each person, but we all have the same experience when we reach the end of me; complete dependence upon Christ.
Kyle Idleman in his book, "The End of Me" writes "even though most of us can point to a significant event like the ones above, getting to 'the end of me' is not just one moment in life. Reaching the end of me is a daily journey I must make because it's where Jesus shows up and my real life in him begins."
This journey is not easy, and is often counter-intuitive to the "me" inside us. But Jesus said in Luke 9 that whoever wants to hang on to their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life will find it. It's almost a "bizarro" world concept. Because Jesus is telling us that when "me" gets its way, we will miss out on the real life that we are meant to live; a life in which we love others and make a difference in each other's world.
Our Lenten worship and sermon series will take us on a journey to the end of me/us culminating in our Easter Service in April. We will launch the series with a special outdoor Ash Wednesday service on Feb 17 at 7 PM where we will gather again in the parking lot of the church for a symbolic ritual preparing us for the season of Lent. I hope you will join me in ending "you" as you know it, and finding real life in Jesus.
Pastor Brice
revbrice@gmail.com or 937.626.5134