Renew: A Sermon Series on Rehabilitating our Lives

The Lenten season is a journey towards the new life that God has in store for us in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is a time of spiritual discipline, prayer, fasting and, ultimately, confession, all in hopes that through our practice God would renew us. Attempting to realign our lives and discipline ourselves in hopes of renewal is not exclusive to the Lenten season, we go through many processes of renewal in our life. We often call the process of renewal “rehabilitation”. From wildlife rehab, to drug rehab, to physical rehab or even home improvements, the word rehabilitate means to restore and renew—to bring something back to working condition, to restore good health, allow us to work again, or restore a person’s reputation.

On Each Sunday of this journey, the scriptures will guide us in our journey. Lent 1, we acknowledge that any process of renewal, or rehabilitation, begins in the wilderness, the recognition of an uncharted, and perhaps uncomfortable, territory for us. Lent 2, we become aware of the degree which we need intervention, or help, beyond ourselves. We identify how we can access help and starting moving towards renewal. Lent 3, we encounter the specific plan, or program, that can keep up on track and moving towards a ‘new normal’ of renewal. Lent 4, we will address the sense of progress (or lack thereof) that comes with the journey, a journey of recovery, from the wilderness we once found ourselves in. Lent 5, the final Sunday of Lent, we will remember that at the end of all journey’s towards renewal and rehabilitation is the promise of hope, healing and wholeness that awaits us as God continues to transform us.

Day 1: February 14 Ash Wednesday Psalm 51:1-17 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10 Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21	Week 3: March 4 Exodus 20:1-17
Week 1: February 18 Mark 1:9-15	Week 4: March 11 John 3:14-18
Week 2: February 25 Mark 8:31-38	Week 5: March 18 Jeremiah 31:31-34