Beloved in the Lord,

My daughter, Elizabeth, recently discovered the 1999 romantic comedy, Blast from the Past, starring Brendan Fraser and Alicia Silverstone.  As you would expect Fraser’s character (“Adam”) and Silverstone’s character (“Eve”) eventually fall in love.  Adam has been living underground with his family in a bomb shelter for 35 years, and so he’s sheltered and naïve, but also innocent and sincere.  His love for Eve is completely pure.  At one point he tells Eve, “I wish so many good things for you.”  He isn’t so much interested in his own happiness, he just wants Eve to have a good life. That phrase just struck me as a perfect example of unconditional love.

As your pastor, and as we approach Holy Week, I could also say, “I wish so many good things for you.” 

I wish for you to experience the excitement of Palm Sunday, as we join with the crowds in singing “Hosanna” to Jesus and greeting Him as our coming King.

I wish for you to experience the intimacy of Maundy Thursday, as Jesus gives you the precious gift of His body and blood, just before He is betrayed.

I wish for you to experience the drama of Good Friday afternoon, as God Himself dies in your place and sets you free from bondage to sin.

I wish for you to experience the solemn darkness of Good Friday evening, as we ponder that tremendous sacrifice and the cost Jesus was willing to bear for us.

I wish for you to experience the turning of the tide at the Easter Vigil, as we walk together from darkness to light and from death to life.

I wish for you to experience the joy and celebration of Easter Sunday, as we rejoice with Jesus’ victory over death and the grave and His gift of everlasting life.

There are lots of other good things you can experience in the next week: coloring eggs with the kids, brunch with the family, and so on, but I want the very best for you, and that would be to experience the love of Jesus in new and different ways in each and every service of the week.

In these services you have the opportunity to experience the pure, unconditional love that Jesus has for you.  He wants so many good things for you.  He was willing to suffer and die so that you would have all these good things.  And these are the times and places where He freely gives these good things to you.

I love this time of year, and I love the opportunity to serve as your pastor.  I can’t wait to experience the love of Jesus with you once more in this coming Holy Week.

In Jesus’ love,
Pr. Mark Birkholz

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

When anything electronic is acting up, what is the first thing you should always try?  Your best bet is usually to turn it off, unplug it, and start it back up again.  More often than not, that simple restart is all you need to do to get everything back up and running properly.

Do you ever wish that your life had a restart button?  That you could just shut everything down, unplug, and start again anew?

That sort of restart is exactly what Lent offers, the opportunity to shut down all the tabs, close all the pages, clear the error messages, and start over again fresh.

The great reboot starts on Ash Wednesday.  Right from the start you are marked with ashes.  You are marked for death with the sign of the cross.  The plug is pulled.

Throughout Lent, our focus is on the cross of Christ.  The cross is a symbol of death.  There at the cross Jesus was put to death along with all your sin, all your guilt, all your shame.

Jesus’ death sets you free from all of these so that you can start anew, start fresh again, putting to death your sin through confession.  Putting to death your greed through sacrificial giving.  Putting to death your self-reliance through prayer.  Putting to death your love of excess and indulgence through fasting. 

Jesus puts you to death so that He can raise you again to new life with Him.  He does not leave you unplugged and turned off, but plugs you into His life, His love, His grace as He forgives your sins and feeds you with His body and blood.

During this Holy Season of Lent, put to death anything that would distract you or keep you from following Jesus all the way to the cross and ultimately to the empty tomb and paradise restored.

It’s time to pull the plug on your old life.  It’s time to start over new.  It’s time to die with Christ and rise to new life with Him.

You can’t do that on your own, so that’s why the Lord has given you a congregation, a church family. Be there for them and let them be there for you. 

Sundays are top priority each and every week to receive the body of Christ at the altar, making us the body of Christ as we are joined to Him and to each other.  In Lent you have the further opportunity for prayer, confession, and a simple fellowship meal on Wednesdays.  Use this time to unplug from the chaos and ugliness of the world, and to plug into the beauty and life of Christ.

Yes, you can have a restart in life.  That’s what Lent is for.

In Christ,
Pastor