LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison shares Lenten blessings through a video message to the church where he encourages believers to use Martin Luther’s method of praying: instruction, thanksgiving, confession and prayer, or “ITCP.”
He encourages church members to lift up their pastors and ministers during their daily Lenten prayers.
“Dear friends, it is a difficult day and age,” Harrison says in the new video. “All the poll numbers tell us that interest in religion or organized religion is waning. Young people are leaving the church. We have many challenges, and this is true of the religious scene in general in America. Our pastors need our prayer and support more than ever right now.”
Lent is a season of preparation for Holy Week and Easter. During Lent, the church’s worship assumes a more penitential character, as the faithful meditate on the suffering that Christ endured on their behalf and reflect upon their own Baptism and what it means to live as a child of God.
To watch the video or read a transcript of Harrison’s message, click here.
Posted Feb. 24, 2012
