Taking a deep dive into your primary relationships _

Ash Wednesday is set for March 6. That marks the beginning of Lent: A time of repentance and fasting. These actions are in preparation for Easter and allow us to go through some self-examination and reflection.

"In the early church, Lent was a time to prepare new converts for baptism. Today, Christians focus their relationships on God, often choosing to give up something or to volunteer and give of themselves to others," Pastor Dan Clemens writes in the Courier, a newsletter of First Baptist Church Hamilton.

Throughout Lenten, Sunday morning worship service sermons will focus on "God's Plan for the Family." On March 3, the lesson is called "Modern Family: How the Cross Reshapes the Home." It will be followed by:
March 10: 1st Lent: Family is not First
March 17: 2nd Lent: Man and Woman at the Cross
March 24: 3rd Lent: Reclaiming Sexuality
March 31: 4th Lent: The Road to and from Divorce
April 7: 5th Lent: Parenting with the End in View
April 14: Palm Sunday: Family Tensions and Traumas
April 21: Easter: Free to Be Family

Pastor Dan writes: "May we commit this time to prepare for Easter, may our fast be to selfishness and giving more of ourselves to our primary relationships."

Read February's full "Daniel's Den" article here.