• 303-791-2143
  • hello@myconnections.church
Directions
Opener
Close
  • New Here
  • About Us
    • Our Mission
    • Our Team
    • Job Opportunities
    • Contact Us
  • What’s Happening
    • Sunday Service
    • Events
    • Volunteer
    • Community Garden
  • Ministries
    • Adult Ministry
    • Family Ministry
    • Outreach
    • Prayer and Care
  • Messages
    • Sermons
    • Blog
  • Give

Category: Lent

Lent 2022

Posted on February 21, 2022February 21, 2022 by George Saylor

IMAGES OF LENT #IMAGESOFLENT22

What is Lent?

Lent is the 40 day period (not including Sundays) between Ash Wednesday and the Saturday before Easter Sunday. The earliest practices of Lent started following the Council of Nicea, around 325 AD as a time of fasting in remembrance of Jesus’ death. Lent is often thought of as a time to “give up” something, for example chocolate or alcohol, but in the midst of the giving up we sometimes forget that the intention of the fast is for repentance, remembrance, and a time to reflect on salvation through Jesus Christ. Lent is a gift, forty days to reflect, repent, and remember as we approach Easter.

Lent 2022

March 2 – April 16

Easter Sunday

April 17

What is the word of the day project?

This year, as a tool for reflection, repentance, and remembrance we are using the scripture readings from the Revised Common Lectionary to provide you with five scripture readings and one prayer for each week of Lent. The challenge is to read the scripture, reflect on the word, and create an image that represents the word and the scripture.

One scripture One word One image

You can respond creatively in a way that you choose: art journaling, poetry, photography, calligraphy, collage, etc. You choose! The word prompts are designed to get you into the Bible each day with words that are significant to this season of repentance, remembrance, and reflection, and to help promote creativity as a spiritual discipline to draw close to God and participate in the season.

If you choose, you can share your images on Instagram with the hashtag:

#IMAGESOFLENT22

Follow the hashtag on Instagram (as you would follow a person or group) and the images that

others create should pop up on your social media feed.

Feel free to invite your friends and family to join us on this journey.

And remember, just because you can’t do everyday doesn’t mean you can’t do some of the days; and just because you don’t start at the beginning doesn’t mean you have to wait until

next year, start any time!

Posted in LentLeave a Comment on Lent 2022

A Day Like No Other

Posted on April 4, 2021April 4, 2021 by George Saylor
A Day Like No Other

EASTER SUNDAY, APRIL 4 | JOHN 20:1-10

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb. John 20:1

Perhaps in church this morning you will greet one another with these words: “Christ is risen!” And the response might be “He is risen indeed!” We join centuries of Christians in marking this day as the day that changed everything. We celebrate the amazing truth that although Jesus was dead, he’s now alive forevermore. Christ Jesus rose victorious over death. He is risen!

It’s interesting to notice how John, the gospel writer, anchors
the resurrection event to a day, a time, and a witness. On a particular day in history, early in the morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene saw that the stone had been moved away from Jesus’ tomb. John wants to be clear. The resurrection of Jesus happened on earth’s soil, in our time, for the benefit of us humans whom God created and loves. Because Jesus arose, life for us is forever anchored in good news.

Christ’s resurrection gloriously demonstrates that God’s sovereign love has the last word. As a glorious hymn puts it, “No power of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from his hand.” We now live in the joyful assurance that because Christ lives, we too will live for all eternity.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Hallelujah! Rejoice in Easter hope today!

PRAYER:

Living God, my heart is lifted to you in praise and thanks that the grave could not hold my Lord Jesus. He is risen! Help me to live joyfully, hopefully, and boldly in the power of his resurrection. Amen.

—WRITTEN BY RUTH BOVEN

Posted in LentLeave a Comment on A Day Like No Other

Hope In The Garden

Posted on April 3, 2021 by George Saylor
Hope In The Garden

DARK SATURDAY, APRIL 3 | JOHN 19:38-42

At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden. John 19:41

Today is sometimes called Dark Saturday. It’s the day Jesus’ body lay lifeless, breathless, in a dark garden tomb. It’s a strange in-between kind of day. Perhaps our hearts still mourn the stinging reality that Jesus’ death was about our sin and about our wandering away from a loving God.

But perhaps our hearts are also beginning to thrill at the hope of what tomorrow will bring. When you think about it, that’s where we live our lives. We live between what’s been already accomplished for us in Christ, and the hope of what is yet to come.

The truth is that while Jesus’ body lay in the grave, the world still turned, children played, families sat down to eat, and life, for many, went on as usual. The same is probably true for us, even as we take note of this day and week, in the twenty-first century.

How will you live this day? Likely you will eat and laugh and
perhaps enjoy some leisure time. Will you also spend some time
in expectant hope? Consider that in a garden tomb lay the hope
of the entire world. Give thanks that the One who gave his life, out of love for us, has won the victory over death and hell. Let your heart anticipate tomorrow, a day of wonder. There’s resurrection hope in that garden!

PRAYER:

God of wonder, my heart both grieves and hopes. Forgive my ways of wandering from you. Help me to celebrate with joy the resurrection hope that is mine through Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen.

—WRITTEN BY RUTH BOVEN

Posted in LentLeave a Comment on Hope In The Garden

It Is Finished

Posted on April 2, 2021 by George Saylor
It Is Finished

GOOD FRIDAY, APRIL 2 | JOHN 19:28-37

When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” John 19:30

“Are you finished with your chores yet?” a mother asks her teenager. Parents know their children are pulled in many directions by their friends, jobs, sports, and other activities. But following through on chores while we’re young can help us learn to meet goals and complete important tasks in life.

Often as adults, however, we may find that we have regrets. Middle-aged parents may wish they’d spent more time with their children. People who become crippled by disease may wish they’d spent less time building a career and more time traveling with friends and building relationships. Some difficulties can’t

be avoided. Life has struggles and setbacks. Still, we do well to make the most of the opportunities we have each day.

Jesus, the Son of God, died one day long ago with the
satisfaction of having completed his life’s purpose. He came to
seek and save the lost, and he accomplished everything needed
for our redemption. Jesus meant it when he said, “It is finished.”
He made forgiveness and eternal life a reality for all who trust in
him. “There is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). That’s why today is Good Friday.

As you look to the cross today, be sure to give thanks that Jesus completed his work and fulfilled God’s mission.

PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, thank you for this Good Friday, for making my salvation possible. Thank you for loving me. Hallelujah! Amen.

—WRITTEN BY JOHN VAN SCHEPEN

Posted in LentLeave a Comment on It Is Finished

Good Friday 2021

Posted on April 1, 2021April 1, 2021 by George Saylor
Good Friday 2021

The following the manuscript of the message preached for Good Friday 2021. You can watch the video on our website or on YouTube, or you can listen to the podcast version on Spotify and iTunes.

You are encourage to read the Gospel of John chapters 18 and 19 as part of your worship prior to reading, watching or listening to this message. Have a very good Friday as you witness the cross of Jesus.

__________

2020 did not go as planned.

2021, I have to say, is not going as I had planned.

You know, the older I get, and the more I think about it, my life hasn’t gone as planned.

In 2008 we planted a church in London Ontario. There had been group of churches praying and planning and dreaming of a church. That must have planted the seeds and prepared the soil because it took off. By 2010 we were planning our first build. In 2011 we had renovated a warehouse to use as our ministry center. And the weekend of our grand opening an adjacent warehouse caught fire, and it all burned to the ground.  Things were no longer going according to plan.

In 2018 I was on the ground in Littleton, going about our business. Then I got a call.  And almost before I knew it I was moving my mission focus to Highlands Ranch and standing again on the shoulders of people and prayers and hopes and dreams that went before me, Connections was launched. God changed my plans, again.

At the start of 2020 we were working on our next steps.  The 2020 vision like every church in the world.  And then the rumors of a virus and talk of a pandemic and soon, plans were not just changing. Plans stopped.  The plan was no plan at all.  Nobody really knew what to do or what was going to happen.

To be honest it can be discouraging. It can be a bit exhausting. One step forward, two steps back. A break through here… and then a break down there.

On the day I am recording this, Tuesday, March 23, News is breaking of yet another mass shooting here in Colorado. 10 people were killed yesterday at a King Soopers in Boulder. We know one of the victims, the first police office to arrive on the scene, shot and killed. The names of the other nine have yet to be released. But already we know that a nation is reading the headlines. A state is in shock. A community in the midst of tragedy. And we know that with ten victims that hundreds, hundreds of people will be affected.  Hundreds of lives are forever changed and it hasn’t even really sunk in yet. There will be tears, and weeping. Investigations and trials. The impact of this vicious, violent and evil act will send ripples out for years and years to come.

And this just as there is all the talk of the mass vaccinations, herd immunity, a flattened curve, kids going back to school, business opening, churches worshipping…

It doesn’t feel like a setback.

It feels like the bottom has fallen out.

And for those closest to the victims, it has.

When we come to Good Friday it can all seem a giant set back. In fact it seems like the bottom has fallen out and it’s all been, and it’s all been shot to hell.  

Literally, shot to hell.

  • Jesus is betrayed.
  • Arrested.
  • Put on trial.
  • Condemned.
  • Beaten.
  • Marched through the streets of Jerusalem to a hill called Golgotha.
  • And there he is nailed to a cross.
  • And there he dies.
  • He is taken down and laid in a tomb just before the sun sets.

It doesn’t feel like a step back. Not even a few steps back. It it seems like the whole thing blowing to pieces! It feels like Lemony Snickers a series of unfortunate events, but worse. If you’ve read any of the series, or seen the show, it is exactly what the title points towards, a series of tragic and unfortunate events that seems never ending. The cross can hit is like a series of tragic events that lead to the most criminal death of the most holy man to ever live.

Except that is not Good Friday at all!

Good Friday is not a series of unfortunate events.

Good Friday is not a step back from the plan of God and the trajectory of Jesus’ life.

Every step and stage of Good Friday is a step forward in the fulfillment of God’s glorious plan.

Every step closer to the cross is s step for our salvation.

Every step forward is a station that fulfill a prophesy in the foreshadowed and predefined purpose of God!

That’s why it’s called GOOD FRIDAY. Good Friday!!! It sounds ignorant at best.  Insensitive is more like it.  But down right offensive! Good Friday?! The day that Jesus is crucified is GOOD FRIDAY!

Yes.  The shocking answer is yes, it is GOOD FRIDAY. It’s Good Friday because it’s all part of the good and glorious plan of Salvation! It’s good Friday because the old covenant is being fulfilled and the new covenant breaking forth. It’s good Friday because the sins of the world are being atoned for. It’s good Friday because your sins, and my sins, are being washed away. It’s good Friday because the death you and I deserved is itself dying on the cross.

It’s good Friday because, In the now immortal words of Shadrach Meshach Lockridge,

It’s Friday, but Sundays Coming!

It’s Friday, the day of the cross, but Sunday, the day of resurrection, is coming!

Read back over John 18-19 on you own and take note that nothing is a shock or surprise or a set back for Jesus.  Take note how each and every step is ordained by God and fulfilled by Jesus:

  • Jesus leads them to the Garden.
  • Soldiers come and Jesus announces his name.
  • Peter intervenes and Jesus stays his sword.
  • Jesus stands before the religious leaders and declares that he is a king.
  • Pilate declares he has the power to kill, or save Jesus. 
  • Jesus declares he has no power except that which God gave him.
  • As he is hanging on the cross he calls upon John to care for his mother.
  • From the cross forgiving those who crucified him.
  • And declaring, “It is finished” with his final breath.

This is anything but a series of unfortunate events.

This is the very wisdom and power of GOD.

This is the plan of salvation!

As Good Friday is a day for somber reflection on the cross of Jesus, I want to finish with a brief walk through the stations of the cross. Followers of Christ have found great meaning and great insight by walking with Jesus from the Garden of Gethsemane where he prayed, to the tomb where he is laid. It has evolved over time. What I find most instructive was a revision of the stations made in the 1990’s called the “scriptural stations.”

1st Station of the Cross: Jesus on the Mount of Olives (Luke 22:39-46).

Jesus prayed on the Mount of Olives for His Father to take the cup from His hand that meant His death on the cross; it demonstrated the humanity of Jesus (Luke 22:39-46).

2nd Station of the Cross: Jesus is betrayed by Judas and arrested (Luke 22:47-48).

Judas not only became one of the most despised characters in history when he betrayed Jesus; he also became a haunting reminder to every Christian that there have been times they have fallen to temptation to sin.

3rd Station of the Cross: Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin (Luke 22:66-71).

The Sanhedrin council, made up of seventy priests and scribes and one high priest, demanded that Pilate execute Jesus. This incident serves as a warning for all Christians to be careful not to exalt ourselves by self-righteously judging others.

4th Station of the Cross: Peter denies Jesus (Luke 22:54-62).

When Jesus was arrested, a number of those present at the time accused Peter of being one of Jesus’ followers (Luke 22:54-62). As previously predicted by Jesus, Peter denied knowing Jesus three times.

5th Station of the Cross: Jesus is judged by Pontius Pilate (Luke 23:13-25).

Even today, the message of salvation by the power and choice of God, not by our own efforts, is unpopular. Human beings in their fallen nature always want to achieve their own salvation, or at least have a part in it, so we can claim at least a part of the glory. But salvation is of the Lord, who shares His glory with no one (Isaiah 42:8).

6th Station of the Cross: Jesus is scourged and crowned with thorns (Luke 22:63-65).

Over five hundred years before Mary gave birth to Jesus, Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would be wounded for our transgressions (Isaiah 53:3-6) and bruised for our inequities and that by His stripes we would be healed.

7th Station of the Cross: Jesus takes up His cross (John 19:17).

When Jesus took up His cross, He was carrying more than wood. Unknown to the many spectators that day, Jesus was carrying the sins of mankind, facing the punishment those sins deserved, which He was about to suffer on man’s behalf. Jesus exhorts us in Matthew 16:24, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

8th Station of the Cross: Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry His cross (Luke 23:26).

Simon of Cyrene might be considered a victim of circumstance. He had most likely come to Jerusalem for the Passover festivities and probably knew little about the proceedings at hand.

9th Station of the Cross: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem (Luke 23:27-31).

Even while suffering great pain and personal humiliation, Jesus’ concern was not for Himself, but for the lives and souls of those who faced the danger of eternal damnation because of the sin in their lives.

10th Station of the Cross: Jesus is crucified (Luke 23:33-47).

It is difficult, over two thousand years after the fact, to imagine the horror of the moment as those closest to Jesus were forced to helplessly stand by as the spikes were driven through His hands and feet into the timber on which He would take His last breath in human form (Luke 23:44-46).

11th Station of the Cross: Jesus promises His kingdom to the believing thief (Luke 23:43).

It is possible that the thief being crucified next to Jesus was able to grasp the concept that life was not ending for Jesus, but that He was transcending the physical world into eternal promise from which He came to provide for humanity.

12th Station of the Cross: Jesus on the cross speaks with His mother and disciples (John 19:26-27).

Jesus, in His dying moment, was still putting the needs of others before His own as He selflessly committed the care of His mother to His beloved disciple John (John 19:27).

13th Station of the Cross: Jesus dies on the cross (Luke 23:44-46).

At the moment of Jesus’ death, the curtain in the Temple, which separated men from the holy of holies, tore from top to bottom. This was terrifying for all the Jews who witnessed the event, who did not realize it signified the end to the Old Covenant and the beginning of the New Covenant.

14th Station of the Cross: Jesus is laid in the tomb (Luke 23:50-54).

After Jesus died and was taken down from the cross, He was laid to rest in a tomb provided by a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea (Luke 23:50-54). Joseph happened to also be a member of the Sanhedrin, but was opposed to the trial and crucifixion of Jesus.

Jesus’ great sacrifice not only became the atonement for man’s sins, 

but it also became the victory that would defeat and overcome death and the curse of sin.

Posted in LentLeave a Comment on Good Friday 2021

Jesus’ New Command

Posted on April 1, 2021April 1, 2021 by George Saylor
Jesus’ New Command

MAUNDY THURSDAY, APRIL 1 | JOHN 13:31-35

“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35

Let’s take a moment to review the story of Jesus and his disciples in the upper room. They were eating the Passover meal: lamb, bitter herbs, and unleavened bread. As they shared this time together, only Jesus knew this would be his last night with his followers. Only he knew he would soon be arrested and killed.

Suddenly Jesus got up, wrapped a towel around his waist, poured water into a basin, and began washing his disciples’ feet: their rough heels, hammertoes, bunions, and blisters. We read only of Peter’s stuttering objections, but no doubt all the disciples were confused as Jesus performed this servant work.

Setting aside the basin of dirty water, Jesus returned to his place at the table. Then he explained, “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.” Later he added, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

Today is Maundy Thursday. The name comes from the Latin word “mandatum,” meaning “command.” On this night Jesus gave his disciples the “new command.” They were to love one another as servants.

Like servants? That is a difficult command. But Jesus said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Loving others by humbly committing yourself to their service is no easy task. It is certainly not inherent to our human nature. But by the example of Jesus and with the power of the Holy Spirit, God assures us that we are able.

PRAYER:

Dear Teacher, thank you that you came to earth and became an example for me. Grant me the wisdom to be who you call me to be. Amen.

—WRITTEN BY JOHN VAN SCHEPEN

Posted in LentLeave a Comment on Jesus’ New Command

Posts navigation

Older posts
This is Demo Content. Can be managed from widget. Salt Water Grille About content here!

Recent Posts

  • Lent 2022
  • Connection Group Questions
  • There you are!
  • Remember… But now… So then…
  • Why you shouldn’t ask Jesus into your heart

Saltwater Grille

Content Here
Contact Us
EMAIL NEWS SIGN-UP
Stay connected with our weekly email newsletter!

 

Sign Up

CONNECT WITH US

2121 Dad Clark Dr
Highlands Ranch, CO 80126

(303) 791-2143

hello@myconnections.church

2022 © Connections Church. All Rights Reserved

FLT image