Lent is a forty day period beginning with Ash Wednesday and ending with Holy Saturday, the day before Easter. Lent has been observed by the church for hundreds of years as a time of recognizing Christ's suffering and death on the cross for the sins of mankind. It is named for the Old English word for "Spring." Lent is observed in Spring, you know. Why forty days? It is a Biblical number associated with devotion and meditation. Today, people sometimes recognize a forty day period of fasting or prayer before Easter but not recognize the church season of Lent. The liturgical church, however, calls its people to remember Jesus and remember God's intervention in human affairs through God the Son. God's purpose was salvation, the saving of people from sin, death, and the devil.
Keeping with Lutheran tradition, Zion Lutheran Church invites members and friends to a Lenten light "soup and sandwich supper" at 6 PM each Wednesday through March 24 (and Thursday, April 1) followed by a service of "vespers," a time of meditation and prayer. The theme for worship this Lenten season relates to questions related to Jesus Christ and His days preceding His crucifixion, death, and resurrection.
On Good Friday, April 2, the congregation will worship in a solemn Tenebrae service at 6 PM. Tenebrae is a service of shadow and darkness, a time for remembering the suffering and death of Christ and His three days spent in the grave before His resurrection on Easter.
Here’s a brief outline of our Wednesday night Lenten lessons.
- Ash Wednesday, February 17
- Soup and Sandwich Supper 6:00 PM
- Lenten Meditation 7:00 PM ~ Mark 14:1-11
The question - "Why This Waste?"
- Wednesday, February 24
- Soup and Sandwich Supper 6:00 PM
- Lenten Meditation 7:00 PM ~ Matthew 26:17-30
The question - "Surely Not I, Lord?"
- Wednesday, March 3
- Soup and Sandwich Supper 6:00 PM
- Lenten Meditation 7:00 PM ~ Mark 14:32-42
The question - "Are You Asleep?"
- Wednesday, March 10
- Soup and Sandwich Supper 6:00 PM
- Lenten Meditation 7:00 PM ~ Matthew 27:11-26
The question - "What Shall I Do With Jesus?"
- Wednesday, March 17
- Soup and Sandwich Supper 6:00 PM
- Lenten Meditation 7:00 PM ~ John 18:28-40
The question - "What Is Truth?"
- Wednesday, March 24
- Soup and Sandwich Supper 6:00 PM
- Lenten Meditation 7:00 PM ~ Matthew 21:1-11
The question - "Who Is This?"
- Maundy Thursday, April 1
- Meditation 7:00 PM ~ Matthew 27:45-50
The question - "Why Have You Forsaken Me?"
- Good Friday, April 6
Each mid-week, members and friends of Zion Lutheran Church are cordially invited to share a comlimentary light supper at 6:00 PM and a brief Vespers Service at 7:00 PM. Zion Lutheran Church is located a block off State Highway 104 at 15875 4th Avenue at 7th Street in beautiful Silverhill. Information about Mid-Week Services and other Lenten Activities at Zion Lutheran Church's can be obtained by calling (251) 945-5209.
