Lent

Thirty Days to Change-
* What one thing in my life would I like to change for 30 days in order to see how it changes me?
* What spiritual discipline have I (or will I) commit to practice for 30 days? *What difference did (or will) this make in my relationship with God?
* What habit would I like to give up or to develop in the next 30 days or during the season of Lent? What changes do I hope this will make in my life- body, mind and soul?
* When have I decided to make a major change in my life? What were the results?
* How does my faith give me the courage to make positive, healthy changes in my life?

Lent is a time of preparation for the initiation of people into the Christian life in baptism. It is also a time for the church to journey together toward Easter and the reaffirmation of the baptismal covenant. Lent is not about being miserable, sad, and funereal in anticipation of Good Friday. The Sundays of Lent are not part of the forty days of Lent and so remain “little Easters,” as are all Sundays. Fasting and giving up something can be part of Lenten disciplines, but so can taking on some things. How does your church help seekers and members to connect worship and daily growth in spiritual, relational, emotional, and bodily fitness?

Lent is a time to prepare for Easter. It is a necessary prelude. The death and
resurrection of Christ are true whether or not you prepare for Easter. However, without your heart and life being ready, you may not experience the depth and power of Christ’s death and resurrection. With the aid of the following you can make commitments to discipline and growth for the next six weeks. As well you may think of other ways.

Inward and Personal Disciplines
Spend time in solitude each day. Read a book for inner growth. Begin to keep a journal of prayer concerns, questions, reading. Focus on thanksgiving, rather than on asking, in prayer. Give yourself a gift of three hours to do something you always say you don’t have time to do. Find a way to go to bed earlier or sleep in so you get enough rest. Make a list of people with whom you need to be reconciled. Pray for them and let Jesus guide you in your thinking and feeling toward them. Go to all of the Holy Week services as an act of love and waiting with Jesus. Take one hour to inventory your priorities and plan how you will reorder them. Give up a grudge or a rehearsal of a past event. Forgive someone who has hurt you. Dance your prayers to a favorite tape or CD.

Outward and Social Discipline
Take on some loving task. Plan to visit a “shut-in” neighbor or church member
weekly. Write a letter of affirmation once a week to a person who has touched your life.
Listen and respond to Christ’s call to a ministry of service. Go to coffee or dinner with someone you want to know better. Begin to recycle waste from your home and workplace. Give blood and recall the cross. Say “NO” to something that is a waste of money and time. Pray to God to help you resist racial prejudice and to give you courage in opposing it. Rebuke the spirit of criticism. Find a way to live out
the baptismal promise to “resist evil, injustice, and oppression” in the power and liberty God has given you. As a way of being accountable, share with someone your plan for Lent and then following Lent share with them your experiences.

Derived from an article “Connecting Worship and Daily Living in Lent” by Daniel Benedict. From www.gbod.org/worship. Thirty Days to Change from General Board of Discipleship Youth and Young Adult Ministry.