LENTEN RESOURCES

Lent is a part of the Christian liturgical calendar from Ash Wednesday to Easter that commemorates Jesus’ 40 days of fasting and prayer in the desert as He prepared for His public ministry. Many people who follow Jesus use these 40 days to intentionally draw closer to Jesus through spiritual practices, reflection upon Jesus’ life and our own, giving something up, or taking something on like almsgiving, especially for the poor and those most marginalized. It might look different for different people. We recognize that everyone has diverse interests and needs, so to better serve our growingly diverse community, here are a variety of different options for you as we begin the Lenten season. We will have a limited amount of copies for sale at the Book Table in the Fellowship Hall after service.

As we focus on fostering connection and community, we invite you to consider asking at least one person in the church to do a devotional with you:

  • For the “Back-To-The-Basics” Bible Reader ($5 at the Book Table)

    Immerse: Messiah or The Books of the Bible New Testament → The New Testament organized in chronological order without verses. Has Bible reading plans, videos and guides.

    For the One Who Needs to a Traditional Lenten Devotional ($5 at the Book Table)

    Leaning In, Letting Go: A Lenten Devotional by Nicole Massie Martin → Brief Daily devotional with a short scripture, reflection and prayer focused on leaning into God and letting go of unnecessary burdens. Daily reflections and prayers invite us to lean into God's grace and let go of our own agendas and practices that hold us back from the abundant life God calls us to enjoy and share with the world.

    For the One Who Wants to Read Scripture with Others 

    Fuller's Communal Reading of Scripture (Free Download)

    Fuller Seminary put together a Communal Reading of Scripture, also known as the Public Reading of Scripture, with weekly readings from the Gospel of Luke. Each reading takes less than 20 minutes, and each week's reading has accompanying commentary and reflection questions and is encouraged to practice WITH others. 

    For the One Who Needs TLC (Purchase on your own)

    Sacred Self-Care: Daily Practices for Nurturing Our Whole Selves by Dr. Chanequa Walker-Barnes → As a clinical psychologist, pastor, and activist, Dr. Chanequa exercises self-care as a spiritual discipline with daily reflections and practices that include scripture, reflection and daily practice.

    For the One Who Wants Healing, Poetry and Breath Prayers Centering the Black interior world (Purchase on your own)

    Black Liturgies: Prayers, Poems, and Meditations for Staying Human → Cole Arthur Riley For anyone healing from communities that were more violent than loving; for anyone asking what it means to be human in a world of both beauty and terror, Black Liturgies is a work of healing and empowerment, and a vision for what might be. She brings together prayers, letters, poems, meditation questions, breath practices, scriptures, and the writings of Black literary ancestors to offer forty-three liturgies inviting readers to reflect on their shared experiences of wonder, rest, rage, and repair, and creating rituals.

    For the One For the One Who Needs a Liberative, Decolonizing Perspective That’s Rooted in Scripture (Purchase on your own)

    Sacred Belonging: A 40-Day Devotional on the Liberating Heart of Scripture (Daily Bible Devotions on Belonging to God, the Earth, & One Another) by Kat Armas → Cuban American writer Kat Armas draws from personal narrative and Scripture, Armas highlights biblical passages that point toward decolonized themes centered on creation, wisdom, spirit, the body, and the feminine.

    For the One Wanting to Reflect Deeper on the Crucifixion, Suffering, Black History, and Black Spirituality ($10 at the Book Table)

    The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James Cone → A landmark award-winning book on the conversation of race and religion in America on the history of lynching, the Crucifixion of Christ, Black liberation, and the white evangelical church.

    For Kids and Youth

    The Peace Storybook Bible

    The Peace Table is a comprehensive family storybook Bible to love Jesus, grow in faith, and become peacemakers who change the world! There’s biblically faithful retellings of 140 stories from Scripture, stunning, diverse artwork,  prayer prompts, questions, and action ideas to guide family reflection, wonder, and conversation. 

    Only Light Can Do That: 60 Days of MLK – Devotions for Kids 

    Through Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.'s words and Bible verses, kids can reflect on Scripture, wisdom from Dr King, and be inspired to live out their Christian faith towards justice and love. 

lenten resources 2023

Lent is a part of the Christian liturgical calendar from Ash Wednesday to Easter that commemorates Jesus’ 40 days of fasting and prayer in the desert as He prepared for His public ministry. Many people who follow Jesus use these 40 days to intentionally draw closer to Jesus through spiritual practices, reflection upon Jesus’ life and our own, giving something up, or taking something on like almsgiving, especially for the poor and those most marginalized. It might look different for different people. We recognize that everyone has gone through so much and have diverse interests and needs, so to better serve our growingly diverse community, here are a variety of different options for you as we begin the Lenten season. As we focus on fostering connection and community in this season, we invite you to consider asking at least one person in the church to do a devotional with you:

For the “Back-To-The-Basics” Bible Reader
Immerse: Messiah → The New Testament organized in chronological order without verses. Has Bible reading plans, videos and guides.

For the Busy and Rushed One Who Wants to Live at a Savoring Pace
Addicted to Hurry: Spiritual Strategies for Slowing Down by Rev Dr Kirk Bryon Jones → Reflect on 'why' we hurry and busy ourselves and consider a new way of living to see more clearly, listen more carefully, and think more deeply. 

For the Contemplative Yearning for God through Daily, Difficult, and Dry Times
Listening for God: A Minister's Journey Through Silence and Doubt by Rev Dr Renita J Weems → A classic, honest, spiritual formation book for those who are trying to come to God in the midst of the mundane distractions and demands of daily life. Dr. Weems is a highly respected womanist (Black woman) Old Testament scholar.

For the One Who Wants to Expand Their Spiritual Formation 
Our Unforming: De-Westernizing Spiritual Formation by Cindy S Lee → A deconstructing and reconstructing of deepening, stretching, and widening of one's spiritual formation by including diverse experiences of God from the multicultural mosaic throughout time. 

For the One who Wants Shorter, Honest, Human, (Humorous) Daily Devotionals
Good Enough: 40ish Devotionals for a Life of Imperfection by Dr Kate Bowler and Jessica Ritchie → A fresh imagination for how truth, beauty, and meaning can be discovered amid the chaos of life and the encouragement to strive for what is possible today—while recognizing that though we are finite, the life in front of us can be beautiful.

For the One Wanting to Reflect Deeper on the Crucifixion, Suffering, Black History, and Black Spirituality
The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James Cone → A landmark award-winning book on the converastion of race and religion in America on the history of lynching, the Crucifixion of Christ, Black liberation, and the white evangelical church.