Lent begins this coming Wednesday. And I invite you to receive all that Ash Wednesday and the days following offer for your life, for the life of this congregation, and, indeed, for the life of the world.

Now, we don’t start a journey—especially like the one through the days of Lent—without knowing where we are going. If we let them, the days of Lent will take us into a desert wilderness, lead through a land of soul-searching, and bring us to a place of betrayal and death. All the while, however, we do not lose sight of our real destination: resurrection, new life, vitality.

So, before we enter that season of repentance and renewal, before we enter a time of looking at our own fallible, finite, and frail lives close up, we are given a chance to lift our eyes and see the distant horizon.

The story from Matthew’s gospel that we will hear this morning is all about resurrection. So, we’ll want to look closely and listen carefully to get our bearings for the days ahead.

SCRIPTURE LESSONS: Exodus 24:12-18; Matthew 17:1-9

SERMON: “The Road Ahead”

The Rev. William Lovin preaching

ANTHEM:      “Alleluia”                    Michael Hadyn