Lent is a the season of time to prepare for Easter. Growing up in a Southern Baptist Church, I don't remember there being any focus on Lent. When I went to New Orleans to teach school, I learned that Lent followed Mardi Gras. In fact, Mardi Gras was a wild celebration that happened before Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the somber time leading up to Good Friday. The people of New Orleans partied first and then focused on the serious business of Christ's journey to the cross.

We are in the middle of a series of Wednesday night Lenten services here at First Baptist. We meet in the small chapel in the east wing of the church. We sing hymns and listen to a speaker talk about Jesus' life and ministry. Then we reflect on what is said and discuss it. We ponder how to apply Christ's teachings to our own lives. It is a special time for those of us who attend.

Perhaps one of the hardest parts of Lent is preparing our own heart to remember Christ's death on the cross for our sins. It calls for us to repent of our sins. We don't like to think about that. At our first service, Pastor Jon talked about how hard the concept of repentance is for us. He said that when we are feeling good and happy and strong, we don't want to focus on those things that we have done that are wrong. We see ourselves as pretty good people. We like being "up" and don't want to admit that we have sinned before a righteous God.

On the other hand, when we are feeling "down" we don't like to think that our own sinfulness is what made it necessary for Christ to have to die on the cross. We don't like feeling guilty. It's not a comfortable place to be. However, unless we accept the fact that we are all sinners, we can't truly understand the cost of the forgiveness of sin. The Bible tells us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

As we confess our sins, we realize the great gift that God gave to us when he sent Jesus to die in our place. Then we can truly look forward to Easter when we celebrate Christ's victory over sin and death. We can join with him and become free. Hallelujah!