Sunday Worship, Special Lenten Sermon Series

The Gift of Uncertainty

13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. ² Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. ³ Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴ As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. ⁶ But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.  Matthew 13:1-8

When we allow ourselves to accept the journey within the Dark Woods, the Holy Spirit trends to shake things up a bit as we begin to awaken to nudgings toward a fuller life. But life is messy. Life is uncertain. Rather than a problem to be solved, what if we saw uncertainty as a gift helping us let go of all we cannot know so that we can live more wholeheartedly? We begin our Lent journey in the Dark Wood where rich discoveries can be made when we are willing to answer the question, “Do you want to be made well?” Can God plant God’s grace in you?

Special Lenten Sermon Series
Have you failed recently? Do you feel lost, or like the road ahead is unclear? Are you ever tempted? Do you find any part of your life exhausting? Do you feel out of place among your peers, or society at large? Based on themes explored in Eric Elne’s book, Gifts of the Dark Wood, our Lenten sermon series this year explores the proposition that our best help on life’s journey often comes from the most unlikely and misunderstood of places: a place known famously, or infamously, as the Dark Wood.

Join us for Sunday worship at 10:00 am! Stream us live at ucckeene.org/worship-care/live/.