So, there is this new game called Wordle. It started in November of 2021 with 90 users with over 4 million players today.
The point of the game is to guess a five-letter word in six tries or less. As you guess the word, correct letters are highlighted, allowing you to have a better chance on your next guess.
But get this. It is the same word for everyone across the world every single day. And you can only play once per day.
It has gotten so big that social media platforms have blocked users from posting spoilers of the word of the day. Meaning if I posted that today’s word was “panic,” the social media titans would remove my post and give me a warning against posting similar spoilers in the future.
Spoilers and boasts about getting the word right have apparently caused some major drama among groups of friends and families. And some people have become so addicted to the game that they are forcing themselves to delete the app from their phone and ask their friends not to talk to them about it.
Wordle will eventually join the likes of Words with Friends, Candy Crush, Angry Birds, Sudoku, Solitaire, and the daily crossword puzzle, in simple games that ignite the part of our brain that controls addiction.
Sometimes do you wish you could just be done with something?
A season in the Christian calendar recognizes the importance of being done with some things. We are in the season of Lent. Not to be confused with the stuff you can find in your belly button or your dryer, the season of Lent commemorates the 40-day journey of Jesus to Jerusalem and his subsequent arrest, torture, and execution.
Lent is a time of fasting, reflection, and repentance. Modeled after Jesus’ 40-days of fasting in the wilderness, Christians are invited to intensely fast, depending more on prayer. However, in more modern times, many choose to give up something for 40-days as a simple sacrifice in honor of Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice.
While giving up things for short periods can be meaningful for our spiritual formation, what’s fascinating is that Jesus’ invitation is much more radical. Jesus has a phrase that appears throughout the Gospel in which he says that to follow him is to give up our life to save it. But what does that mean? What does Jesus mean that we should give up our lives to save them?
We are entering into a new sermon series, “Done: Why Giving Up Our Life Saves It.” We will examine some of the critical teachings of Jesus to understand better what exactly Jesus is calling us to be done with to save our lives.
Join us on Sundays at 10:30 am or catch up with the sermon podcast, starting on Mondays.