If you were there, you know. Sure, every single time the “4Midland” churches come together in worship to our God, it is a special occasion. But there was something, um, different about last night’s combined Ash Wednesday service at First Presbyterian. Something, dare I say, transformational.

For starters, there were right at 800 followers of Jesus packed into the First Pres worship center, overflowing all the available seating in the balcony and spilling into both transepts. I joked with Steve Schorr afterwards that he needed a capital campaign to expand their sanctuary just for Ash Wednesday. They were still streaming in when I stood up to give the Welcome and the Call to Worship. So, there’s a certain energy that just comes from having lots of people in the same room. But there was also a holy expectation. Hard to describe, but you probably know what I’m talking about.

Almost all of us are stretched beyond our normal levels of church comfort in these “4Midland” services. Especially with something like Ash Wednesday, which is not practiced by most Baptists or Church of Christers. And for the high church Methodists and Presbyterians, they’re singing different songs, they’re listening to different ways of praying and reading Scripture. As we’ve been discussing at GCR now for the past five weeks, I believe our Lord Jesus wants to push us out of our comfort zones so we can experience his Spirit’s transformation in our lives. And that’s been happening with “4Midland.” But there was something different about last night. I felt like there were not as many GCR people as in the past events like this. But it may be that there were SO MANY other people, that maybe our normal turnout was diluted a bit. It did feel different. Powerful. So special. Tim Neale told me maybe it’s that the fourth time’s the charm. We all feel more comfortable now with the discomfort, we know what to expect, it’s not as disorienting, and we’re able to really lean in more and be open to what God is doing.

My soul is so blessed by God to see and hear Kristin Rampton reading the Gospel with her gifts of communication and passion for Scripture. To see out of the corner of my eye Ashlee Hill imposing ashes right next to me with her tender heart for God’s people and  relational ministry. God’s Spirit was working mightily through them last night. And it was a joy.

My heart soars straight to heaven when that combined “4Midland” choir leads us in song. I love picking out the GCR members and seeing their joy as they lift their souls to the Lord in song, side by side with people they barely know or have never met. Presbyterians and Baptists, Methodists and Church of Christers united in song and in their devotion to God, leading 800 of us who are doing the same thing.  That partnership between our four worship pastors is turning into a force, man.

Darin Wood led us in the traditional confession litany:

Holy and merciful God, we confess to you and to one another, and to the communion of saints in heaven and on earth, that we have sinned by our own fault in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone… Have mercy on us, O God.

And the assurance of forgiveness:

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Believe this Good News! In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven!

Steve Brooks then invited us to the Observance of Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the 40-day season of Lent. He cleverly worked U2 and Psalm 40 into an inspirational message about personal reflection and the transformational power of God to change us more into the image of Jesus during these six-and-a-half weeks. He gave us those words. Discontent. Self-concern. Patience. Gratitude. Thank you, Steve. Thank God.

And then the ashes. The reminder. The encouragement. The groaning and the glory.

From dust you were created and to dust you shall return. Repent and believe the Good News!

I don’t know where I’ve been when I’ve been exposed to “Holy Forever” in my recent past. Carrie-Anne tells me we’ve sung that Chris Tomlin song at Carley’s church in Flower Mound. Maybe. And maybe we’ve done it at GCR. But last night felt like the first time, and I’ll never forget it. The swell of the voices and the orchestra. Our song combining with the eternal song of praise in heaven and on earth, uniting with all of creation in proclaiming the holiness of our God. I’ll be asking that we make that our closing song for all “4Midland” events in the near future.

Not everybody gets to do stuff like this. It was glorious. God be praised, we are an extraordinarily blessed group of people. My heart is full of gratitude today for the partnership in the Gospel we share with these other three churches and for the supreme goodness of our God. And my prayer is that we do this more and more, and that more partnerships like this continue to break out around Midland and all over the world.

Peace,

Allan

Ash Wednesday begins the 40 day season of Lent, six-and-a-half weeks of prayer and fasting, self-examination and preparation, as we follow our Lord Jesus to the cross and out of the empty tomb. Christians all over the world are gathering today  to worship and pray, to confess and repent, in a tradition that dates back to the earliest days of our faith.

As has become our custom, the “4Midland” churches are worshiping together tonight and observing the Ash Wednesday traditions. It’s funny that for the past couple of months, the Baptists and the Church of Christers have been asking Darin and me, “When’s the Ash Wednesday service?” The Methodists and the Presbyterians have been asking Steve and Steve, “Can we sing more songs?” We are learning from each other. We are growing together.

All four of our churches have been telling us, “We don’t necessarily need a sermon.” That’s another thing we seem to have in common.

On Ash Wednesday, we are all like Isaiah. We see who we really are in light of God’s great holiness and majesty. We are mortal and frail; we are completely dependent. We examine ourselves. We allow God’s holy light to reveal our sin, which leads us to repent. We are in desperate need of his forgiveness and salvation. We see that today.

But we also see our God. We see very clearly that our God through Christ saves us from sin and death. We see that through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, we can live right now today and forever in the fullness of his eternal life.

First Presbyterian is hosting our “4Midland” service this evening. If you live anywhere in the Permian Basin, I invite you to join us at 6:30pm for singing with the combined choir, for the prayers and the readings, for confession and repentance, for receiving the ashes, and for clear-eyed assurance of the salvation we share together  in Jesus.

Peace,

Allan