Lent and the Seven Deadly Sins

Nobody likes to hear bad news. Bad news is a downer. Most of us especially don’t enjoy hearing bad news about ourselves. Bad news is delivered with unfortunate regularity, from the doctor, a lawyer, an accountant or elected official. There is a tendency to react to bad news without thinking, directing our frustration at the most convenient target, the messenger.

Christianity is often included in this collection of bad news deliverers. Part of this bad rap is warranted, as self-righteous judgment which has been hurled carelessly from certain quarters of the greater church. This type of bad news is destructive, ill-timed and misplaced.

Yet Jesus Christ, spent a great deal of time and energy conveying to his contemporaries news that many of his hearers understood to be bad, the notion of sin. Jesus spoke to the human condition, due to sin there is brokenness in our relationships with one another and with God. The root of the Greek word for sin, hamartia, the root of which relates to “missing the mark”. Jesus states clearly that all humans miss the mark, even those who strive for perfection in the eyes of God.

An obstacle to this process is the human propensity to avoid the negatives. We want to distance ourselves from such unpleasantness. We’re inclined to react by touting our positives and diminishing our failings.  It is tempting, if not convenient, to blame God for the messes we’re in. For those who are brave enough to look at what Jesus talked about, they will see the gaps, see where they’ve fallen short.

 Lent – The bad news and the Good News

God does not leave us alone with this condition. With Jesus, the bad news of our sinful selves leads to the Good News of the Gospel. God sent his son Jesus to save sinners. Jesus rescues us from sin by his grace, love, and forgiveness. New life comes from Christ, sin is defeated because we are “more than conquerors from him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).

Jesus said “the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). There is such a beautiful simplicity to this invitation to honesty. Instead of resisting the notion of sin, let’s acknowledge it.  No person is uniquely sin-free. We each have our issues. Coming to terms with this reality is easier when we know Jesus lov

Lent is the time for doing just that. This church season is a special period of time (40 Days) to reflect on the realities of sin head-on and our need for redemption. Lent has two services that function as “bookends”. Lent starts with Ash Wednesday where worshippers confess their sins and are confronted with their mortality. Lent ends with Good Friday where we observe the death of Jesus as the ransom for the sins of us all.

Sermon Series – The Seven Deadly Sins

The emphasis every Lent is on turning away from sin through repentance and self-denial. This year we will do so through the lens of a sermon series on the Seven Deadly Sins. The Seven Deadly Sins were compiled by the early church as a way for new Christian converts to learn about the faith and what behaviors to avoid and seek forgiveness for.

Since then the Seven Deadly Sins have often been a focus of Western art and literature. Works ranging from Dante’s highly influential “Divine Comedy” written in the 1300’s to the movie “Seven” starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, the Seven Deadly Sins have been a subject of curiosity and fascination.

Here are the Seven Deadly Sins:

1) Pride 2) Envy 3) Anger 4) Sloth 5) Greed 6) Gluttony 7) Lust

Each week we will focus on what the Bible has to say about one of these sins, hearing stories, wisdom and guidance from scripture about these sins and how they pollute our lives, revealing our need for Christ.  One minor obstacle: the series doesn’t fit perfectly into Lent. The series is seven weeks long and Lent has five Sundays plus Palm Sunday. So we’ll be getting a head start, hitting the ground running come the first Sunday in Lent.

Here’s the schedule:

Feb. 12 Pride

Feb. 19 Envy

Feb. 22 Ash Wednesday

Feb. 26 Gluttony

March 4 Sloth

March 11 Anger

March 18 Lust

March 25 Greed

The goal of this series isn’t to bum everybody out with bad news about how bad people are. Instead, the goal is to hear and learn how Christ works in our lives, saving us from our propensity to commit these sins, loving us into a new way of living.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free. Luke 4:18

See You in Worship,

Pastor Jason Talsness