For some of us, Lent conjures up thoughts of anticipation, wonder, sacrifice, and preparation. For others, Lent can remind us of deprivation, dogma, and restriction.

In the approach to the season leading up to Easter Sunday, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, we want to shed some of the extra stuff we all carry around and just turn our eyes toward Jesus and the peace that can only be found in Him. This year, during the weeks leading up to Lent, we aren’t looking for a way to address our eating habits, or cut things out mindlessly and without purpose, or even for our own gain. Instead, we purposefully turn our eyes towards Jesus, learning more about his life, death, and resurrection, and what that gift means for those of us who choose to follow Him.

As we look toward the gift of the cross, we want to focus on less becoming more in our lives. Less stuff to bring us more of Jesus. Less focus on ourselves and the things that don’t matter, and more of Jesus and His word and His hand in every area of our lives.

We invite you to observe Lent together with your church. Here is what we’ll be doing together and we hope you will join us:

Keep up with our Sunday teaching series, Less is More.
Starting Sunday, Feb 26th, we’ll be looking at spiritual practices we can implement in our lives to discover the peace and strength that Jesus offers.
Use our Lent guide to reflect and commit to practicing spiritual disciplines in your life.
Available as a pdf online and in a printed guide that you can pick up on Sunday, use our guide to get the the most out of the teaching.
Join us in a church-wide day of fasting and prayer on Fridays
Join your church in one day of fasting from food each week. By choosing to fast, you are giving God an opportunity to have more of your time and focus. Just watch what He can do with that! Use this time to meet God in prayer and Scripture, lifting up your burdens and leaving them at the foot of the cross. At the end of each day of fasting, we hope you will break the fast by coming together with loved ones.
Read through the Gospel of Luke
There are twenty-four chapters in Luke, and we encourage you to read four chapters each week for six weeks. We hope you will be encouraged as you are reminded of, or maybe introduced to for the first time, the power and glory found in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. For families with young children, we encourage you to read from the Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Llyod Jones each day to help your children draw close to Jesus this season.

We pray that you will approach this season of anticipation of Easter with a refreshing outlook on sacrifice and focus. Less is more. Jesus is more than enough and wants us to turn to Him to meet every need.