February 9, 2023

Lent season in the Proverbs

The season of Lent begins soon. Read about how our church will observe it this year.

What is Lent?

Lent is a 46-day period of time that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday. Lent season is an opportunity for Christians to identify with Jesus during His time in the wilderness. This is why during Lent season Christians practice various spiritual disciplines like fasting, prayer, study, repentance, and meditation.

Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days after His baptism (Luke 4:1-2). He was tempted by the devil and fasted during that time. This is why Lent is often referred to as a 40-day period. The other 6 days during Lent season are Sundays, and Sundays are feast days. On those days during Lent, Christians can lay down their fasting and other spiritual disciplines and enjoy God’s creation with a heart of gratitude and worship.

Why practice Lent?

Throughout the history of the church, Christians have labored to practice their faith in daily, practical ways. This is important because Christianity isn’t just a system of thoughts, ideas, and beliefs. It is a way of life. Jesus does teach us to love God with our mind, but also our heart, soul, and strength (Mark 12:30).

Lent season has been practiced by Christians for centuries, all the way back to roughly 325 AD! It’s an annual opportunity for us to identify with Jesus during His days in the wilderness and to practice our faith in tangible, concrete ways.

What is Ash Wednesday and why does Lent begin on this day?

Ash Wednesday is a day for Christians to reflect on the reality that we are going to die. The Bible teaches that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). We are all sinners, and we are going to die. Though it is not enjoyable to reflect on this, it is important for our souls. Psalm 90 says, “Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.“

We gain wisdom by remembering we won’t live forever. It helps us prioritize our lives and maintain a meaningful purpose in all we do. Lent begins on this day because reflecting on our death prepares us for the joy of eternal life with God. Easter Sunday, at the end of Lent, is all about the joy of resurrection, but resurrection implies death – we must die before we can be resurrected.

What is Holy Saturday and why does Lent end on this day?

Holy Saturday is the day after Good Friday and the day before Easter Sunday. On Good Friday, Christians remember the crucifixion of Jesus and how He died to forgive our sins. Holy Saturday, also sometimes called Silent Saturday, is remembered as the day when Jesus was in the tomb.

Lent ends on this day because the following day is Easter Sunday, and Easter is all about joy! The Lent season of fasting in the wilderness ends on Easter because that’s not a day for fasting, but joyous feasting!

This is how all these days fit together: Like Jesus, we will taste death (Ash Wednesday), we are also crucified with Christ (Good Friday), and we are buried in baptism and death with Jesus (Silent Saturday), but we will be resurrected to eternal life with Christ (Easter Sunday)!

How will we observe Lent season as a church?

On Ash Wednesday the church campus will be open during the day for anyone to come and reflect on the reality of death. Psalm 90, a beautiful and powerful psalm on death and living with purpose, will scroll verse-by-verse on the screens. Soft worship music will play all day. The lights will be low. It will be a sober time for personal reflection and prayer. We want to limit distractions, so if young children come, they need to understand it’s not a time for running or playing. No one is required to come, but all are welcome up until 7pm, when Seed Youth begins.

On Good Friday we will hold a special Good Friday service that evening. More details to come.

On Easter Sunday we will heartily celebrate and sing and worship like people who are going to live forever – because in Christ we will!

During the 46-day period of Lent, we will walk through the book of Proverbs as a church. Each day we will read a chapter of Proverbs, and the reading schedule will be made available on the church app. Proverbs helps us grow in wisdom, and Lent is a season for growing in wisdom. Stay tuned for more details on that.