Lent Guide

As early as the mid 2nd century the early church began reorienting their calendar around the saving events of the life of Jesus instead of the culture around them. The church calendar is about placing ourselves into the story of God through traditions of the church. The Christian Calendar—also called the Liturgical Year—seeks to redeem our time and space through the seasons of Advent, Epiphany, Lent, Easter and Pentecost. Through readings, prayers, songs, fasts and other practices, these seasons help to reorient our hearts and minds away from the false stories of the world and back toward the one true story of the Bible.

Lent is the 40 days leading up to Easter (not including Sundays), where we focus on the cross and journey with Jesus to his crucifixion and resurrection. During this time, as followers of Jesus, we give ourselves to:

Prayer

Fasting

Surrender

Self-examination

Repentance

Lent follows a biblical pattern throughout the Bible (Moses, Elijah, Jesus) of fasting for 40 days. Originally used as a time to prepare new followers of Jesus to be baptized on Easter, Lent was eventually observed by the entire church as a way of recognizing the need for God’s transforming work in us all through prayer, fasting, self-examination, repentance, and meditation on Scripture. Lent is a time to prepare our hearts and build anticipation for Holy Week and the resurrection of Easter. The goal of Lent is to let go of the things in our lives in

order to give our attention to Christ in a special way.

During this time, it is our prayer to:

Develop a deeper hunger for God

Experience breakthroughs in certain areas of our lives

Establish new patterns and rhythms

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent. On Ash Wednesday we stop to reflect on our mortality, our sinfulness, and the dying of self that comes with new life in Christ. It is a day of repentance, confession, and turning to God as we prepare ourselves to take up our cross and walk with Him. Traditionally, Christians attend liturgical gatherings & receive ashes on their foreheads in the form of a cross, as a sign of our sorrow and repentance for sin. With these ashes, we recall our origins from the earth, as well as how our bodies shall return one day to the same form. We spread ashes on our forehead as a visible reminder of our mortality.

3 Reasons:

To model the life of Jesus and His continual rhythm of prayer.

To usher in a move of the Spirit by making this house a house of prayer.

To create a corporate space where we seek the transforming presence of God in our lives and in our city.