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Please, Lord, please save us. Please, Lord, please give us success.
Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
We bless you from the house of the Lord.
Psalm 118:25-26
Lent is often overlooked by evangelical churches that eschew the liturgical calendar in favor of following their own themes for sermons and activities. And evangelical churches that do follow liturgy sometimes give short shrift to Lent. Still, many evangelicals do observe Lent, and often do so in ways that they find lead to significant spiritual growth.
Kathleen grew up observing Lent in traditional ways through her Catholic church - such as fasting and attending worship services filled with solemn ritual. Everywhere in church, she was surrounded by reminders of the 40-day season of reflection and penitence leading up to Easter. Yet now that she's a member of an evangelical church that barely mentions Lent at all, Kathleen's Lenten seasons have actually become more meaningful for her.
"Even though it's not called Lent in my church and there are no special rituals, it's a very special reflective time," she said. "Reading the Gospels and concentrating on Jesus' life - how He was both the son of God and the son of man - really puts the heart of my faith before me as I get ready to celebrate Easter and the salvation He gave us."
Every year, members of a church in Virginia, produce an approximately 60-page Lenten devotional filled with their original essays, poems and drawings. Each church member - from children through seniors - is invited to participate. Then a copy is mailed to every household within a five-mile radius of the church - about 28,000 homes.
"The effort has proven fruitful for community and church members alike," said the church's pastor. "In sharing it with the community, it helps us express our faith in a way that genuinely moves other people. And in our own congregation among those who have contributed, I've seen a greater willingness to talk about faith with other people."
Investing the time to observe Lent is spiritually worthwhile. Time is a very scarce resource for many people today due to the frantic pace of life and all the distractions. Lent gives us a way of setting apart time to focus on the cross, and the cross goes to the heart of what our faith is all about. Reflecting on what Christ did on the cross, [reflecting] on our salvation - that's so important to take the time to do...
Lent is an important time for people to discover more about Christ and forge stronger relationships with Him, said one pastor. During Lent this year, his church will host an "Alpha" group for seekers to explore whatever questions they have about Christianity.
"I see Lent as a door - an entryway - for people to connect or reconnect with Jesus," he said. "Our culture is so focused on an event rather than a process. Even as evangelicals, I think we've been trapped by the idea that salvation is a one-time event, like a sale that we've got to close. But often, it's a process in which people ask questions again and again and again and approach God again and again and again to consider faith. We're hoping to use Lent as a way to help people consider Jesus and take the time they need to process all He's done for us, so they can discover a faith that's real."
Unlike the joyless deprivation some people think of when they think of Lent, the season can actually be a quite rewarding and exciting time. There's a sense of preparation, of anticipation, and a sense of savoring what Jesus did for us. The church calendar invites us to take our time and conform it to Jesus' time. We take a season like Lent and we enter into Jesus' life and all that He dealt with on Earth, and then we can better deal with everything in our own lives because we've connected with Him.
One church member advised that no matter how we observe the Lenten season, we should strive to live with attitudes of humility, repentance and thankfulness all year long. "I try not to get hung up on certain seasons," she said. "It's important to remember the cost of Easter, and I try to do that during Lent, but also every day of the year."
Prayer:
Lord,
Help me to dive into this season of Lent with intentionality and purpose. I want to know You better, love You more fully, and accept Your grace more readily. Draw me closer to You, day by day. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen
Psalm 118:25-26
Lent is often overlooked by evangelical churches that eschew the liturgical calendar in favor of following their own themes for sermons and activities. And evangelical churches that do follow liturgy sometimes give short shrift to Lent. Still, many evangelicals do observe Lent, and often do so in ways that they find lead to significant spiritual growth.
Kathleen grew up observing Lent in traditional ways through her Catholic church - such as fasting and attending worship services filled with solemn ritual. Everywhere in church, she was surrounded by reminders of the 40-day season of reflection and penitence leading up to Easter. Yet now that she's a member of an evangelical church that barely mentions Lent at all, Kathleen's Lenten seasons have actually become more meaningful for her.
"Even though it's not called Lent in my church and there are no special rituals, it's a very special reflective time," she said. "Reading the Gospels and concentrating on Jesus' life - how He was both the son of God and the son of man - really puts the heart of my faith before me as I get ready to celebrate Easter and the salvation He gave us."
Every year, members of a church in Virginia, produce an approximately 60-page Lenten devotional filled with their original essays, poems and drawings. Each church member - from children through seniors - is invited to participate. Then a copy is mailed to every household within a five-mile radius of the church - about 28,000 homes.
"The effort has proven fruitful for community and church members alike," said the church's pastor. "In sharing it with the community, it helps us express our faith in a way that genuinely moves other people. And in our own congregation among those who have contributed, I've seen a greater willingness to talk about faith with other people."
Investing the time to observe Lent is spiritually worthwhile. Time is a very scarce resource for many people today due to the frantic pace of life and all the distractions. Lent gives us a way of setting apart time to focus on the cross, and the cross goes to the heart of what our faith is all about. Reflecting on what Christ did on the cross, [reflecting] on our salvation - that's so important to take the time to do...
Lent is an important time for people to discover more about Christ and forge stronger relationships with Him, said one pastor. During Lent this year, his church will host an "Alpha" group for seekers to explore whatever questions they have about Christianity.
"I see Lent as a door - an entryway - for people to connect or reconnect with Jesus," he said. "Our culture is so focused on an event rather than a process. Even as evangelicals, I think we've been trapped by the idea that salvation is a one-time event, like a sale that we've got to close. But often, it's a process in which people ask questions again and again and again and approach God again and again and again to consider faith. We're hoping to use Lent as a way to help people consider Jesus and take the time they need to process all He's done for us, so they can discover a faith that's real."
Unlike the joyless deprivation some people think of when they think of Lent, the season can actually be a quite rewarding and exciting time. There's a sense of preparation, of anticipation, and a sense of savoring what Jesus did for us. The church calendar invites us to take our time and conform it to Jesus' time. We take a season like Lent and we enter into Jesus' life and all that He dealt with on Earth, and then we can better deal with everything in our own lives because we've connected with Him.
One church member advised that no matter how we observe the Lenten season, we should strive to live with attitudes of humility, repentance and thankfulness all year long. "I try not to get hung up on certain seasons," she said. "It's important to remember the cost of Easter, and I try to do that during Lent, but also every day of the year."
Prayer:
Lord,
Help me to dive into this season of Lent with intentionality and purpose. I want to know You better, love You more fully, and accept Your grace more readily. Draw me closer to You, day by day. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen
