Lent is an important season in the church calendar when we prepare to hear anew the good news of Easter. This Lent (6th March – 16th April) we are invited to reflect and renew, to refocus our lives on the things that will help us to reconnect with Jesus. The good news of Easter is more than just the death and resurrection of Jesus, and this Easter we are going to explore some other aspects of Easter to see what they reveal. It will be a time for refraining, reaching out, reflection , remembrance and rejoicing as we embrace Easter’s power to redeem and to resurrect! Are you ready for this?
This page contains the resources that our church is using during Lent 2019 to re-imagine Lent and Easter.
As we begin this journey through Lent, let us take some time to think about our own journey with Jesus. What does it mean to follow Jesus? What does it mean to be real? Are we willing to take up our own cross and follow Jesus?
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Lent is traditionally a time when people “give up” something in order to make room for God? How can this traditional spiritual practice help us to prepare for Easter?
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Much of the Easter story is about Jesus reaching out to others. Why has Evangelism become such as hard thing to do in today’s world? Why is it important for us to share Jesus with others?
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In the lead up to Easter, Jesus is accused of being a revolutionary … actually you could argue that it was his pushing against the status quo and questioning of unjust power structures that led to his crucifixion. If this revolution aspect of Easter is such a dominating theme in Luke … what does that mean for our Easter experience today?
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A good chunk of the pre-Holy Week readings in Luke are all about Jesus’ judgement and the fact that our actions will one day be called to account … that there is a reckoning. Because we so strongly preach that we are saved by Grace and not by works, we can be fooled into thinking that actions are irrelevant. But Luke is clear, there will be a reckoning where our actions will be brought into the spotlight – and this is a scary thought, which is probably why we just don’t talk about it. But we are this week! Jesus clearly says that what we do in secret will be brought into the light … but this is mixed with statements of grace and love.
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Luke’s Easter Narrative is full of stories of people encountering Jesus and being challenged to reconsider their assumptions about life and faith. eg Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10) reconsidering his business practices; Martha (Luke 10:38-42) reconsidering her priorities; and the Rich Young Ruler (Luke 18:18-25) had to reconsider his wealth. What is it about Jesus and his presence that often brings people to a place of reconsidering and response?
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