Emmaus Lutheran Church - LCMS

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Excerpt from Latest Newsletter

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus,

At the time of my writing this article, we have closed out the season of Epiphany (a revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ) and are preparing to move into the season of Lent, with Ash Wednesday this week. While our Ash Wednesday service is in the evening, and those who have ashes imposed upon their forehead probably go right home and wash them off, I remember, in my youth, a time when we would have them placed upon our forehead in worship first thing in the morning. At the moment, while the ashes were fresh upon our forehead, we were able to refrain from wiping them off. But sooner or later, we would forget that they were there, and we would with the brush of fingers, or the rubbing of the sleeve of our forearm cause them to disappear from our faces. The telltale sign of the cross would remain visibly with us, until we got home and applied a bar of soap or laundry detergent to the problem.

Strangely, we aren't so annoyed by the stain of our sin that the ashes represent. We sin daily in thought, word and deed, rarely conscience of their presence on us until we are reminded by the Holy Spirit in the Law. It is during Lent, that we are made ever more mindful by the Law of our sin, which in turn tells us the need of a Savior willing to carry our sin to the cross. God the Father sent His own Son, to be our Savior in the flesh, to be our Savior and rescuing us from our sins. St. Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians say, "He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21). The marks of the nails and spear, and the stain from the shedding of His own blood were not the worst of that which He wore on the cross. It was the black marks of the sin of the whole world that covered Him.

We give thanks to God, through His Son, Jesus Christ, that He willingly carried our sins with Him as He slowly makes His way to the cross during this season of the cross. Come join us as we hear the message of "The Crucified King" in our midweek services, during the week of the Passion, and ultimately coming to celebrate His resurrection on Easter Sunday. Services during Lent will be at 7:00 p.m. each Wednesday evening and on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, ultimately culminating with Easter sunrise service at 6:30 a.m. and Easter day service at 10:30 on Sunday, April 12, 2020.

In His grace,

Pastor Kern

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