A reading from the Gospel of Matthew 12:39-41 39 But he answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth. 41 The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here!

The journey through Lent is upon us. We will follow Christ from his temptations in the dessert to the cross in Jerusalem, and finally to joyous celebration of His resurrection.  The prophet Jonah is an unexpected focus during this journey, but Christ's words from Matthew's Gospel, and its parallel in Luke, point to an obvious connection.  Being eaten by a large fish is the probably the most remembered part of Jonah's story, but this year in Lent we will journey through the entire career of the Prophet Jonah. We will see how the prophet's struggle with God lead to an amazing adventure, while we once again join the people of God in pilgrimage along with Christ Jesus.

We will once again gather with our brothers and sisters in Christ at Concord Presbyterian for our Lenten worship. We will observe Ash Wednesday at Concord on February 17th. The five Wednesday Lenten services that follow Ash Wednesday will be preceded by a meager meal.  I look forward to gathering each week for fellowship and worship Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings.

This will be a time of increased activity in the congregation, a time of year when many of us may begin to feel as if we live at the church building. As we journey to Easter there will be much more going on in addition to mid-week worship. We are still moving forward on our building project, and we are already beginning to think of how we will do ministry in our renewed space. Right now we are making physical improvements to our building, while working to improve our ministry to the people of God. Let us join together to ensure that in both pursuits Rehoboth will be build on a strong foundation. And this work begins by coming to worship and eating soup together, Hallelujah! 

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Eric