Marking Time: Forming Spirituality through the Christian Year

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Mark i ng T ime : Formi ng Sp i r i tua l i t y through the Chr i s t i an Year

7. The Church Year observance is an act of Christian freedom that deliberately connects us with the ancient Church’s obsession with the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, especially his resurrection from the dead!

D. It “keeps the main thing the main thing”: It protects us from wandering, idiosyncratic, and odd-ball emphases and spiritual themes.

1. Many independent, evangelical churches follow the cultural secular calendar in their worship cycle: Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, Father’s Day, Graduation Sunday, Independence Day , and sometimes even days such as Boy Scout Sunday or Valentine’s Day , along with other secular days.

2. The reasoning behind this form of cultural calendar observance is evangelistic: recognition of cultural days will create a point of contact with the unchurched .

3. Much sermonizing and many sermon series may generally serve as the basis for organizing the Church’s themes and emphases, in place of the cultural secular calendar.

a. Series on household formation: Family Life Series

b. Topical or expository series: Stewardship and Giving

4. Often, whether the focus is the cultural secular calendar or the sermon series, a comprehensive covering of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth is absent or eclipsed .

5. Most evangelical churches dedicate a week both to Christmas and/or Easter. But immediately following these