Today is all about “good news.” It is the good news proclaimed by the angels at the empty tomb. He is not here; he has risen! (Matthew 28) This is such good news that it has its own word. The word the Church has used through the ages for this good news is “gospel.” “Gospel” comes from the Old English “good spell” which means “good news.”
The Service of Darkness centers on a series of lessons, psalms, and liturgical texts that reflect on the Lord’s crucifixion and our repentance. As the service progresses, the candles of a sevenfold candelabrum are extinguished until only one remains. This candle is not extinguished but is removed from the chancel, leaving the church in darkness. The service is closed by a loud noise (known as the strepitus) that foreshadows the rending of Jesus’ tomb on Easter. After the strepitus, the last candle, still burning, is returned to the chancel. It thus anticipates the light of the paschal candle. The service ends without a benediction. We exit in silence to reassemble on the Festival.
It would be impossible to know for certain how many times the Passover was celebrated before Jesus came. We know it was first observed on the eve the Israelites left Egypt a free people under the leadership of Moses. We could give ourselves the year 1500 B.C. for this. We know that the Passover was to be an annual festival for the Jews, so every Jewish household was supposed to observe this festival for the 1500 years leading up to the time of Jesus!
It happens all the time. There is excitement. There is commotion. Just yonder, something is going on. A crowd gathers. It seems all the commotion is over some person. And the question buzzes through the crowd, “What’s going on? Who’s over there?”
For our final Lent Worship this season, Pastor Joel Jenswold is leading our services.
As the apostle Paul neared the end of his letter to the Philippians, he wrote, And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7) Have you ever paused to consider Paul’s description of the peace of God? He says this peace “transcends all understanding.” He is saying that the peace of God is something that defies logic. It cannot be reduced to simple syllogisms. It cannot be explained by way of deductive or inductive reasoning.
For today’s Lent worship, Pastor Jacob Scott from Zion Lutheran – Leeds/Lodi is leading our services today.
The physics of light and dark can be kind of fascinating. We may not spend much time thinking about it, but there are some interesting facts about light and dark. Did you know light is actually a “thing”? Light is electromagnetic radiation. It is kinetic. It moves. And it moves fast! The speed of light is 671 million miles-per-hour! Darkness, on the other hand, is nothing. It is defined as the absence of all light waves.
This Wednesday Pastor Peter Schlicht from Eastside Lutheran in Madison, is leading our Lent worship services.
We’re kind of spoiled when it comes to water. We have it in abundance. If you want a drink of water, you have choices. You can have tap water, or bottled water, or spring water, or purified water, or flavored water. Did you know that the Village of DeForest has four groundwater wells that supply our water? Between 400 and 700 deep, these wells keep us well supplied.
