40 Glimpses of Resurrection Life
Why Lent? In the first 300-400 years of Christianity, many faithful men and women recognized the wisdom of setting aside chunks of time surrounding major Christian holidays. Followers of Jesus did this in order to help themselves fully prepared for important annual celebrations. Lent was set aside as a time for Christians to contemplate Jesus’ work on the cross, His life, death & resurrection, in preparation for a joyous celebration on Easter.
Lent is now a season of forty days, not counting Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday (February 26, 2020) and ends on the Saturday before Easter. This year we intentional focusing on “40 Glimpses of Resurrection Life.” We’ve chosen 40 different verses (see front) we will use to contemplate resurrection life. Each day of Lent we will posting a short video blog on Facebook, Twitter and our website that will give some explanation to each to verse and provide a specific prayer emphasis. We are aiming to have a print form of each week the Sunday prior. We hope you will take this journey with us as we prepare to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday.
LENTEN GUIDE (CLICK EACH DAY FOR THE VIDEO LINK)
As we go through the lent season you can also click on the image for each day 1-40 (remember not to count Sunday’s) and get the link to the video if you don’t want to find it on Social Media. Days go left to right, top to bottom. For example, days 1-5 are the first row, days 6-10 are the second, and so on.
Special Events
This year we have several special Lent focused gathering that we would love for you and your family and friends to be part of. Please feel free to invite others to join you for these events.
Ash Wednesday Service - February 26 at 7:00pm (No Childcare)
Palm Sunday Services - April 5 at 9:00am & 11:00am
Maundy Thursday Service - April 9 at 7:00pm (No Childcare)
Good Friday Service - April 10 at 7:00pm (Childcare 0-3)
Easter Sunrise Service - April 12 at 6am Sunrise Service,
Easter Sunday - Sunday Celebration Services 9:00am & 11:00am
Fasting
Fasting is a way of saying "No" to other things, so we can focus on what God is saying to us and pursue His presence. We do this believing the promise God gave Amos, "Seek Me and you will live" (Amos 5:4). Here are some helpful tips to help you practice fasting. Remember, the emphasis is on saying "Yes" to God; saying “No" to other things is just the means of preparing the way for better things.
PREPARE:
1. Pray before hand – give God your "Yes."
2. Evaluate your schedule:
What is coming up (meetings, birthdays, trips, etc.)? Where can extra time with God come from (meal times during fast, fasting from TV for one hour/day or every evening, etc.)?
3. Choose a fasting plan or create your own.
4. Mark your calendar with the fasting plan you’ve chosen.
5. Identify 1-2 prayer partners to pray for each other over the week.
6. Follow along with the daily verses & videos
FASTING PLANS
Here are four suggestions for some different fasting plans. The key words for this fast are: flexible and gradual. Check with your physician if you have any concerns about fasting.
SPECIAL NOTES
Family: Please take time to plan together as a family what each person will be fasting from. We don’t want your family to experience the hassle of preparing a different food for everyone in the family.
Children: We suggest you take time to share with your children why our church family is praying and fasting. Explain to them what changes you as parents will be making, and talk with them about simple things they might set aside so they can pray. This fast should be seen as something they choose to do, not something put on them as a punishment.
Caffeine: If your fast is short, don’t try and beat the caffeine addiction. If your fast is extended, cut caffeine out early, before the fast begins. One easy way to break the caffeine addiction is with extra strength Excedrin, diminishing the dosage daily.
Plan A: Over the next eight days, you will alter one meal each day of the week. Altering means you modify the content or portion of that meal. You may choose to skip a meal.
Plan B: Over the next six days, you will alter two meals each day of the week. You may choose to skip one meal.
Plan C: Over the next eight days, you will increasingly alter a meal until you skip one or two meals all together:
Day 1: alter one meal to prepare your heart for the week
Day 2: alter one meal
Day 3: alter two meals
Day 4: alter two meals
Day 5: alter three meals
Day 6: skip one meal altogether
Day 7: skip one meal altogether
Day 8: have a small special meal to break the fast
Plan D: “Limited Fast” In this plan, those with physical limitations will fast in some way other than the suggested options above. Some ideas (food related): no desserts, no wine, no white sugar, no red meat, no ice cream, nothing to eat after dinner, etc. Some ideas (non-food related): no TV, no video games, no movies, no texting, no internet, no smoking, take a walk every day to pray, no radio in car – use time to pray.
Communion
During the Ash Wednesday and Maundy Thursday services, we will be serving communion. (Note: Is your child almost ready to take communion for the first time? See this helpful guide to prepare them before these events take place.