Cross Words - (Lent 2026)

February 22, 2026 – Cut It Out

God sees how easily our hearts turn away from Him. We chase other comforts, trust other voices, and drift from His Ways. Yet, His call is urgent and gracious: “Return to Me.” Lent begins with the invitation to repent and live as His children once more.

Malachi 3:6-7, 13-18

⁶“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. ⁷From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’

¹³“Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ ¹⁴You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? ¹⁵And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’” ¹⁶Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. ¹⁷“They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. ¹⁸Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.

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About the speaker

David Langewisch

First and foremost you need to know I am a sinner who has been cleansed by the blood of Jesus. I believe my life is fully in him. I feel good about my training to be a pastor. However, my heart's desire is to simply be a servant of Christ, used by him to help people experience fullness of life in him. Sometimes I think I’m smart. Sometimes I think I’m funny. But I count all of this as a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ and being found in him. My favorite book of the Bible is Romans, and if you have to pin me down, my favorite chapter is Romans 8. Personally, I think this matters more than knowing I’m from Minnesota, or that I was graduated from Lutheran schools starting with elementary school. Curiosity might lead you to ask about my wonderful wife, Lynn, and four children, but I would probably exaggerate about their greatness and how helpful would that be? If you really want to know other positions I’ve held, honors I’ve received, etc., you can ask and I will try to remember. But when you walk away from our conversation, this is what I want you to remember about me – I am a sinner who has been cleansed by the blood of Jesus and I believe my life is fully in him. And if, in my contact with you, some of this rubs off on you, and you share the same perspective with greater conviction, I will count it a blessing.