We are about to move into the season of Lent, a period of preparation for Holy Week and Easter which echoes Jesus' time in the wilderness at the start of his ministry.
Its traditional to give something up at Lent. To fast from something you enjoy like chocolate, alcohol, or social media! This isn't just a legal exercise, but rather it's a spiritual discipline that can lead us into God's presence, to pray, perhaps, for those who are hungry, or to reflect on Christ's own suffering for our sake.
But it is equally appropriate to take something up in Lent. In the past I've decided to study a less familiar book of the Bible or - as last year - to get up extra early to pray - that was really hard for me I can tell you!!
Our Lent course this year is aimed to equip us to take something up that few of us are good at, but all of us should be doing: sharing our faith with others.
I love the analogy of Christians being the people in a world of beggars who have alone discovered the source of food. How could we keep that to ourselves whilst others are starving?
Well, we have something better even than food: faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who loves us, forgives us, and promises us life in all its fullness. And the rest of the world is spiritually starving. I sense that in the UK today, there is a real appetite for finding God. Are we ready to show people the way?
Faith Pictures is a six-week Church Army course that we will be offering on Tuesday afternoons and Wednesday
evenings at Church. Life groups will be suspended during Lent as we learn together how to share our story and share God's story.
Evangelism (the technical term for sharing our faith) does take courage; but it is far more terrifying, I think, to imagine our friends, neighbours, and colleagues hungry for Jesus but having no one to introduce them.
Giving up cake may be a good thing to do - especially if it leads us into prayer and contemplation; but taking up evangelism... well, what a difference that could make!
So come along to one of our Faith Pictures courses. I am confident you will not regret it. Ian