Lent Resources
Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent. Christians have traditionally practiced self-denial and repentance during the forty days of Lent that lead up to Easter. This is a season to practice repentance of our sins and to grieve for the brokenness of the world in which we live.
These forty days of Lent represent the forty days that Jesus fasted in the wilderness before he began his public ministry.
In the past, Christians may have fasted from certain foods like chocolate, soda, or meat. More recently, many Christians chose to take a break from social media or television as they prepare for Easter. Soda and social media aren’t “bad”, but abstaining from them is a way for Christians to practice self-denial in this season to more fully appreciate the celebration of Easter.
The ashes of Ash Wednesday remind us of death, “You are dust” says Genesis 3, “and to dust you will return.” Ashes also symbolize repentance. In the Old Testament, we read about folks who put on sack cloth and ashes as a sign of their repentance before God.
Repentance of our sins, grieving the brokenness of the world around us, or abstaining from a favorite food doesn’t earn us any extra favor from God. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. As we practice repentance and self-denial through participating in Lent, we remember the sacrifice Jesus made for us.
Resources you may find helpful if you participate in Lent:
Click here to order Lent: The Season of Repentance and Renewal by Dr. Esau McCaulley. A brief history and reflection on the season of Lent by a Wheaton professor.
Click here to download The Lecteo 365 App. Use this app daily when you go for a walk, in the car, or before you go to bed at night. This app uses the Lecteo Divinia (Latin for divine reading) approach to scripture to engage your heart and mind. Download the app here:
Click here to subscribe to BIOLA University’s Lent project. Every day during the season of Lent, you’ll receive a scripture, devotional reflection, worship song, and piece of art to aid you in your Lenten reflections
Click here for daily Lent devotionals from Gospel in Life – this minsitry from the archives of Tim Keller will provide daily readings and prayer for the season of Lent.
Click here for a Lent playlist on Spotify and here for a Lent playlist on Apple Music
We’d love to hear about your Lenten practices. Please let us know how you are growing in the knowledge of the hope he has called you (Eph 1:18).