February 19, 2026

Dear Central Church,

Over the past few days, I’ve been watching the Olympics. One night brought a heartwarming victory story. Another brought heartbreak — years of preparation judged in a single four-minute performance. It made me wonder: what if our entire lives were judged by the worst four minutes we’ve ever lived?

Our world often works that way. We highlight scandals. We rehearse failures. We define people by their worst moments. Humans can be unforgiving.

Ash Wednesday invites us to face a hard truth: sin is real. It mars the image of God within us and fractures our relationships. The picture of humanity isn’t always pretty. But we are not gathered at the start of Lent to be defined by our worst four minutes. We gather to confess them — and to discover they do not have the final word.

The psalmist gives us a courageous prayer:
“Search me, God, and know my heart…See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23–24)

Lent begins with awareness — asking God to reveal what is broken in us. It continues with acknowledgement — agreeing with what the Spirit shows us. And it leads us to acceptance — receiving what God has done for us in Christ.

Paul reminds us that though we were once “foolish, disobedient… enslaved,” yet “when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us… because of his mercy” (Titus 3:3–7).

These forty days are a journey — toward the cross, where our worst moments are carried by Jesus, and toward the empty tomb, where mercy and new life rise victorious. Let us begin this holy road with humility, repentance, and hope.

We’ll begin a new sermon series this Sunday entitled, “Your Kingdom Come,” that focuses on the Lord’s Prayer. This prayer serves as a pattern for how we are to pray, and it teaches us how to bring our will into alignment with God’s will. Of all the things I hope to learn during this Lenten season, this is what I want more than anything: “Lord, bring my will into alignment with yours, so that your kingdom may come!” 

Until He's Finished,
Pastor Mark