Lenten resources

Beginning Wednesday, February 21, and ending on Good Friday (April 6), Lent is an opportunity to focus on the suffering of Christ leading up to Easter. Below are a variety of rich resources to use as an individual, a family, or as a church during this season.

Online Resources

• 2004-2006 Lenten Resources from Leader Magazine. A wealth of resources for Lenten services or home devotionals from Leader Magazine, part of the Mennonite Publishing Network. The resources include Lenten songs for worship services, prayers, and dramas. There is also an at-home devotional guide consisting of litanies, scripture reading, discussion questions, prayers, songs and more. The devotional guide can be easily modified to fit personal preferences. Guides from the years 2004, 2005, and 2006 are available online and may be adapted for use in the current year.

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• 40 Days of Prayer. As you count down the days to Easter, consider making Lent a time of fervent prayer. The Brethren in Christ page on “40 Days of Prayer” features links to resources for a church-wide 40-day prayer focus, and gives a biblical basis for a “40 Days of Prayer” initiative.
• Lenten Study Series, compiled by a Presbyterian church in California, can be used either by a small group, or a family with teenagers. There are five study series, one for each year from 2003. It’s a weekly study that could be done any year (you’d just have to adjust the dates). The themes are: Jeremiah: A Parable of Jesus, Followers of the Lamb, Matthew’s Passion of Christ, Table Grace and The Empty Tomb, and a Meaningful Life. The studies involve a weekly Scripture reading relevant to the theme, and several questions for discussion/reflection.Each series can be downloaded in PDF format
• Making Connections: Christian Paradoxes is a weekly Lenten study series offered by the British Broadcasting Company. Each themed week looks at a few Bible verses, and offers several discussion/reflection questions based around those verses. It also closes each week with a prayer. Each study is available in PDF form.
• Christianity Today. With thoughtful articles on Lent, audio messages, and suggestions for how to observe this meditative season, Christianity Today provides both context and resources for the Lenten period.

Print Resources

• Bread for the World Lenten Table Tent. A nondenominational organization focused on providing food to the world’s poor. In 2007, Bread for the World is offering Lenten table tents, which can be ordered free for the company or downloaded in PDF format from their website. Each table tent corresponds to a week of Lent, focused on the actions of Jesus leading up to Holy Week. The tents provide Scripture, prayers, and actions to go with each theme, and can be obtained from Bread for the World

• Forward to Freedom. A Lenten devotional booklet by David Adam, published by the Upper Room. It follows a study inspired by the story of Moses. For a full description and ordering information, see the publisher’s website.

Lenten Scriptures

For those who are hoping to spend this season deep in the Word of God, the Scripture passages below are weekly suggestions to guide churches, individuals, small groups, and families through a series of Biblical themes leading up to Christ’s death and resurrection.