Do you need some Lent ideas? Do you have any plans for the Lenten season?
Lent is a season that covers the six weeks between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. We’re not sure if you’ve given much consideration to Lent, but we’d like to offer some resources to help you as you ponder your observation of the season.
For starters, some may be slightly unsure as to what Lent even is, so you may not have any Lent ideas yet. Not all churches celebrate the season or discuss it. But maybe you’ve heard friends talking about it and you’re curious. Just because your church doesn’t ordain an “official commencement of the Lenten Season” doesn’t mean that you can’t observe it on your own.
For those wanting to learn more about Lent itself, Margaret Feinberg has a great explanation on her site. It’s a few years old, but it’s still helpful. Lent is timeless, after all. She also has a free download available: #LentChallenge, a 40-day Bible reading plan to read through the Gospels for the Lenten season.
Another option is to follow along with the Lent study on the She Reads Truth or the He Reads Truth website. They have an iOS and Android app, too, but the study will cost you $1.99 to download on the app.
If you’re looking for Lent devotionals to be emailed to you, Bible Gateway can help you out with that. Just sign-up for the one(s) you want. They have 5 different devotionals available from such authors as Max Lucado and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. If you’re a Kindle user and prefer an eBook devotional, check out Matt Tullos’ 39 Words: A Contemplative Journey to the Cross.
If you’d rather have a book in your hands, consider using the 40 days of this season to go through Mark Batterson’s Draw the Circle: The 40 Day Prayer Challenge. Or, for something a little different, consider Russ Ramsey’s new book, Behold the King of Glory: A Narrative on the Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Ramsey labels it as creative non-fiction, but there’s also a study guide available to go along with it.
Bonus: We highly recommend getting a group of people together like your small group or some of your family and friends and host a Secret Church simulcast in your home on Good Friday, April 24, 2015. David Platt teaches for 6 packed hours on “Christ, Culture, and a Call to Action,” and you also spend time praying for the persecuted church. It is a powerful experience.
Regardless of whether you employ any of these plans or you come up with your own Lent ideas, the season is about so much more than giving something up. Sometimes, it can be about taking something on. But every time it’s about intentionally spending the days leading up to Easter to dwell deeply in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ and the atonement that it provided for our sin.
Do you observe Lent? Share your Lent ideas and experiences.
Photo credit: akahodag
