WHAT IS IT AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?
There are several significant seasons in the life of the Church. The 40 days of Lent (beginning with Ash Wednesday, February 18, and ending with Easter Sunday, April 5), commemorates Jesus’ time of fasting in the wilderness in preparation for His earthly ministry (Matthew 4:1-11). For Christians, Lent is a time of preparation, sober reflection and repentance, and self-denial (often in the form of fasting or another spiritual discipline), in preparation for Easter. It is about slowing down, introspection, and renewal, as we are shaped by the gospel looking to the Cross. When we use Lent to prepare for Easter, we are reminding ourselves, not just intellectually but holistically (heart, mind, soul & strength), that Easter should dramatically influence and change how we live.
The reality is, the Cross came before the empty tomb. There would be no resurrection without death. Good Friday is only good because of Sunday. In the season of Lent we maintain a heart posture of repentance towards God as we reflect on our own fragility, in light of the Cross. While this posture is meant to be consistently evident in our lives, the season of Lent provides an annual context during which we intentionally and corporately pursue repentant lives with not only our hearts, but also our bodies. It is a season to consider our dependence on God and a renewed pursuit of repentance and practice of the spiritual disciplines. To learn more about Repentance, click here.
The reality is, the Cross came before the empty tomb. There would be no resurrection without death. Good Friday is only good because of Sunday. In the season of Lent we maintain a heart posture of repentance towards God as we reflect on our own fragility, in light of the Cross. While this posture is meant to be consistently evident in our lives, the season of Lent provides an annual context during which we intentionally and corporately pursue repentant lives with not only our hearts, but also our bodies. It is a season to consider our dependence on God and a renewed pursuit of repentance and practice of the spiritual disciplines. To learn more about Repentance, click here.
Lent originally served as a period for baptismal instruction of new believers, to be baptized on Easter Sunday. Over time, the entire church began to engage the Lenten season by exploring and deepening a focus on repentance from sin and our union with Christ. For the past 1700 years, Christians worldwide have recognized Lent through fasting and repentance, considering our mortality and preparing our hearts to wonder at the beauty of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
In the fourth century, the church decided to correlate Lent with Jesus’ forty-day fast in the wilderness (Matthew 4:2). This forty-day period begins on Ash Wednesday and continues through Holy Week, not counting Sundays (which serve as “mini-Easters” leading up to Easter Sunday). The purpose of Ash Wednesday is to consider our mortality, sinfulness, and need for a Savior, to renew our commitment to a lifestyle of repentance, and to remember with gratitude the reality that Jesus has conquered sin and death on our behalf. The ashes serve as a reminder of our frailty (Genesis 18:27), God’s judgment (Lamentations 3:16), and the mourning that drives us to hope in God’s salvation (Esther 4:3).
In the fourth century, the church decided to correlate Lent with Jesus’ forty-day fast in the wilderness (Matthew 4:2). This forty-day period begins on Ash Wednesday and continues through Holy Week, not counting Sundays (which serve as “mini-Easters” leading up to Easter Sunday). The purpose of Ash Wednesday is to consider our mortality, sinfulness, and need for a Savior, to renew our commitment to a lifestyle of repentance, and to remember with gratitude the reality that Jesus has conquered sin and death on our behalf. The ashes serve as a reminder of our frailty (Genesis 18:27), God’s judgment (Lamentations 3:16), and the mourning that drives us to hope in God’s salvation (Esther 4:3).
WHAT SHOULD WE DO?
As a church, consider observing Lent with your family or Small Group. At its heart, Lent turns our gaze on Jesus’s sacrifice for us. We strongly encourage not just "giving something up for Lent," but saturating in prayer and Scripture. We will begin the season of Lent on Ash Wednesday, February 18th.
Lent leads us first to Palm Sunday, where we remember Christs’ triumphal entry. During Holy Week (the final week leading up to Easter), we also encourage our Small Groups to gather to celebrate the night that Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, gave final instructions, and washed his disciples’ feet, by taking communion together.
We will also have Good Friday services in which we will allow the Scriptures to take us to the scene of our Lord’s betrayal, arrest, trial, crucifixion, and burial. On Saturday, we sit in the reality of Christ’s death, setting us up for a deep celebration of Jesus' resurrection on Easter Sunday.
As individuals, families, and groups, we encourage you to put some thought into how you might observe Lent through fasting and a spiritual discipline. To learn more about Fasting, click here.
Since every Sunday in Lent is a “mini-Easter”, you might suspend your discipline on Sundays. The point is to cultivate a hunger for God by practicing loving God and neighbor as we watch God satisfy our souls deeply. For families and groups, this can lead to great conversations as the season progresses about how we are each experiencing a spiritual discipline and how God is working in each of us.
You might also consider engaging in a particular discipline as a group to cultivate affections for and obedience to God. To dive deeper into this season a few recommended books are: A Hunger for God by John Piper, Scandalous by D.A. Carson, or The Final Days of Jesus by Andreas Köstenberger and Justin Taylor, or The Common Rule by Justin Earley.
Whatever ways you choose to observe the season of Lent, let’s aim together to cultivate deeper affections for the triune God and to practice our faith in such a way that God gets great glory and the gospel is permeated in and through us within NWA.
Each Sunday we will release a devotional for the week along with a recommended spiritual practice to observe.
Lent leads us first to Palm Sunday, where we remember Christs’ triumphal entry. During Holy Week (the final week leading up to Easter), we also encourage our Small Groups to gather to celebrate the night that Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, gave final instructions, and washed his disciples’ feet, by taking communion together.
We will also have Good Friday services in which we will allow the Scriptures to take us to the scene of our Lord’s betrayal, arrest, trial, crucifixion, and burial. On Saturday, we sit in the reality of Christ’s death, setting us up for a deep celebration of Jesus' resurrection on Easter Sunday.
As individuals, families, and groups, we encourage you to put some thought into how you might observe Lent through fasting and a spiritual discipline. To learn more about Fasting, click here.
Since every Sunday in Lent is a “mini-Easter”, you might suspend your discipline on Sundays. The point is to cultivate a hunger for God by practicing loving God and neighbor as we watch God satisfy our souls deeply. For families and groups, this can lead to great conversations as the season progresses about how we are each experiencing a spiritual discipline and how God is working in each of us.
You might also consider engaging in a particular discipline as a group to cultivate affections for and obedience to God. To dive deeper into this season a few recommended books are: A Hunger for God by John Piper, Scandalous by D.A. Carson, or The Final Days of Jesus by Andreas Köstenberger and Justin Taylor, or The Common Rule by Justin Earley.
Whatever ways you choose to observe the season of Lent, let’s aim together to cultivate deeper affections for the triune God and to practice our faith in such a way that God gets great glory and the gospel is permeated in and through us within NWA.
Each Sunday we will release a devotional for the week along with a recommended spiritual practice to observe.