Throughout the palm and passion narratives we see reflections of ourselves. More often than not, they point us to our need for a messiah, the lamb of God who takes away our sins.

Jesus is calling us to come out of the darkness and into the light. When we come out we can proclaim Jesus’ love like Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Martha proclaimed Jesus as Messiah through her words, Mary through her posture, and Lazarus by listening and being unbound.

This week, Rev. Chad Watkins spoke from Mark 1:9-13 and encourages us with some things we need for life.

God's love for us is so vast, that our own sin doesn't hold it back. We didn't have to clean ourselves up before coming to faith in Jesus. Jesus made a way for us while we were still sinners.

John 3:16 has become ingrained in our culture and can be easily overlooked or just acknowledged and we move on. But it’s an extremely radical idea - God really loves everyone. Period. We “know” this mentally, but do we really embrace it and put it into practice?

Lent is a season of dismantling the ego and reclaiming our "Belovedness."

Jesus was transfigured, or transformed, on the mountaintop in Matthew 12. In a similar way, those who believe in Christ are transformed internally. What are we transformed for? How should we be and act in our new spiritual state?

Worshipping God is more than just a prayer and a baptism, wearing a cross necklace or having a Jesus fish on your car. God is calling us to pay attention to the needs of the poor and the oppressed. That is the kind of fast God is asking us to take part in.