Home   

RESOURCES FOR LENT AT
GOOD SHEPHERD LUTHERAN CHURCH, MONCTON NB

Lutheran preaching and teaching proclaims the crucified and risen Christ -- the Saviour for sinners!

LENT is a time of preparing yourself
to hear the Great News of EASTER through...
 
LENT is a time for getting the basics straight
... getting the basics of the Bible's faith straight!
 		 Come join us this Lent!
... joining others in hearing and studying the Word, and in worshipping the Saviour! 		LENT is a time to meditate on the Passion of our Lord
... meditating on our Lord's passion FOR YOU!
 
LENT is a time to drink more deeply from the Word of God!
... reading and learning from the Word of God at home!		 LENT is a time for bearing the fruits of our repentance and faith!
... customs that show the fruit of our repentance and faith!
Bonus!

Why Lent?

Unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies it remains a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit -- John 12

LENT is the 40 day period (not counting Sundays) of preparation leading up to the Great News of our Lord's victory over the grave at EASTER.

It is meant for renewal of faith and life and for the making of new Christians. It is for the diagnosis and treatment of sin. And though the reality is that we're never quite done with sin in this life, the point is that it need no longer be contagious. Rather, it is as new and renewed people of Christ that we become the bearers of the infection of holiness -- salt and light in the world today.

As the Christian life remains the "feeble struggle," simul justus et peccator (simultaneously righteous by grace and yet a sinner in our flesh), Lent is a liturgical time for extended repentance, faith and renewal toward holy living both for those who have been Christians for many years, as well as for those who are only now being formed and prepared for the new birth by water and the Word at the Easter Vigil.

This year (2008) the Sunday Gospel readings in Lent actually reflect the ancient outline of the catechumenate, that is of those just learning the basics of the Biblical faith:

  • Matthew 4:1-11, the role of temptation and sin;
  • John 4:5-42, the Samaritan woman and the theme of living water;
  • John 9:1-41, the Man Born Blind and the theme of spiritual blindness and sight;
  • Matthew 20:17-28, servanthood; and
  • John 11:1-53, the Raising of Lazarus and the theme of faith.
Sin and death, Living Water and the New Birth, the vision of faith, the life of service to God and neighbor, and the participation in the resurrection already now by faith which empowers the living and certain hope of the resurrection of the body at the Last Day -- these are the fundamentals that form and shape the Christian.

The Lenten forming of disciples, or "discipl-ine", begins on Ash Wednesday (February 6th, 2008), and culminates in Palm Sunday (March 16, 2008) and the Triduum of Holy Week: a three-day long series of services of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and the Vigil of Easter on Holy Saturday (March 20-22, 2008). Here especially, the rituals may speak more eloquently and deeper than words alone as our time is sanctified by walking through the reconciliation of the Upper Room, to the foot of the Cross at Calvary, through the font of the Vigil to the mystery of our Lord's resurrection -- EASTER! (March 23, 2008)

We hope you can join us for this exciting time of growing under God's Life-Giving Word, as we prepare to rejoice with all our hearts (and all our friends!) at the great Good News of Jesus' Resurrection FOR US at Easter!

  • LENT is a time... for getting the basics of the Bible's teachings straight!
    LENT is a time for getting the basics straight
    There is a special word for a small book that gives the basics of the Bible's teachings: a catechism. A good catechism gives answers in a timeless way not according to fads, answers that are still true hundreds of years later. We recommend Dr Martin Luther's Small Catechism (in simple question and answer form) and the Large Catechism (in a short series of sermons, one for each part); you can even learn to sing the basics of the Bible's teachings through songs!

  • LENT is a time for bearing the fruits of our repentance and faith! LENT is a time for... customs that show the fruits of our repentance and faith!

    Lutherans love to ask "What does this mean?" (for example) because it is the significance of a thing that tells you what it's proper place is in your life, and so answering this question often helps your faith to have firmer foundations!
     
    • An overview of Lent
         (external link to great explanations at St. Paul Lutheran Church (LCMS), Kingsville, MD)
    • "Why is everything so purple in Lent?
    • "What is the significance of Lent?"
    • "What is the meaning of the Ashes" on Ash Wednesday?
    • What is an "Alm" and why am I supposed to give them away?
    • Works of mercy, works of charity
    • The Uses of Ashes in the Bible
    • "Fasting and bodily preparations" during Lent
    • What do we do with the palms on Palm Sunday, and why?
    • Customs of Good Friday
    • Are there other seasons like Lent in the year?
         (external link to great explanations at St. Paul Lutheran Church (LCMS), Kingsville, MD)

      •  
      (more to come!)

 

Last modified February 1st, 2008
(Still under construction!)