Defining Lent

What is Lent

40 days before Easter starting on Ash Wednesday (does not include Sundays)

A Time of preparation for the celebration of Easter

A Time of personal revival and re-commitment

A Time of contemplation of the Sacrifice of Christ and its meaning for our lives. 

Why do we celebrate it? 

It's a historical tradition as one of the liturgical seasons that connects us with generations gone before us.

In commemoration of Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness in preparation for His ministry

For Jesus, it was a time of temptation—of proving His commitment

For us, it is a time we deny ourselves of temptations to show our commitment to Christ

If you want to know whether you would be committed enough to die for Christ, ask yourself, are you committed enough to live for Christ?

What is its purpose?

To remind us of who God is and whose we are

To remind us of Christ’s sacrifice

To prepare our hearts and minds for celebrating Easter

To renew our relationship with Christ by giving us a sacred opportunity to limit ourselves of the distractions that keep us from our relationship in Christ. 

To empower us to be more         

What is the Hope of Lent?

That God would meet us where we are and do a new thing in us

That we would see the movement of the Holy Spirit in our life and be empowered to see ourselves as God sees us, see God’s call for our lives, and find that thing that makes us soar. 

That our relationship would be renewed and refreshed

How will you celebrate it?

The Brainstorm guarantee

If someone handed you a million dollars, would you stick it in the bank and forget about it—not putting it to any kind of use? 

Money in the bank is “potential energy”—it has possibilities, but possibilities never come to fruition on their own.     

Jesus is “potential energy.”  The Holy Spirit is power, but this power must be tapped--one must position one's self to receive it by engaging it and investing in it.  

Jesus is power for your life!

If you give Him a chance, and allow Him room in your life through Lent (and the rest of your life—Lent is a good place to start a new lifestyle), you will feel different, you will experience something powerful, you will be moved and changed and grow.      

 Other 40's in scripture:

40 days of Moses on Mount Sinai receiving 10 Commandments from God 

40 days Elijah spent walking to Mount Horeb

40 days of rain during the Great Flood (the flood itself lasted for over a year)

40 years of the Hebrews wandering the wilderness

40 days given to Nineveh to repent after Jonah’s prophecy

Lent's link to Baptism:

Historically, baptism was only granted after one participated in 6 weeks of training and fasting with 3 hour daily classes.  This usually occurred during the Lenten season.  

Would we take our baptism more seriously if we had to invest so much into it?  

Traditional Lenten customs include:

Penance:             repentance—not just asking forgiveness, but changing one’s ways. The giving up of a vice and replacing it with something that will bring you closer to God—often giving time and money doing something charitable.

 Fasting:                from certain foods and festivities

 Prayer (justice towards God)

 Alms-giving (justice towards neighbor)