LENT R E S O U R C E G U I D E

LENTEN ROAD THE JOURNEY TO EASTER BEGINS HERE

LENT IS A CALL TO RENEW A COMMITMENT GROWN DULL, PERHAPS, BY A LIFE MORE MARKED BY ROUTINE THAN BY REFLECTION.

- Joan Chittister, O.S.B. -

Every year for forty-days the Church observes and participates in the season of Lent. Lent takes the Church all the way to the Easter event, and its road is marked with the practices of self-reflection, honesty, repentance, and renewal. It is most famously the season of the “fast”, the practice of denying the self of its usual vices and pleasures, to suffer a bit with the absence of things we normally never think twice about. And all of this is wrapped up in the hope that the Church might walk with Jesus during his final days here on earth, while sitting in on his teachings, observing his dealings with people, and most importantly, getting in touch with his suffering for our sakes.

Resource Guide These forty-days around Atlanta Christian Church come with a diverse list of Lenten opportunities and resources, all of which are cataloged in this packet. Read up on all the options and pick a few to engage with!

- Derek Sweatman

It is not as a child that I believe and confess Jesus Christ. My hosanna is born of a furnace of doubt. - Fyodor Dostoevsky

ABOUT FASTING PRACTICING SELF-DENIAL

Ash Wednesday (February 26, 2020)The first day of the Lenten season is Ash Wednesday and traditionally people fast from food on this day as a way of focusing the whole body on the season ahead, with its focus on mortality, brokenness, and the hope of renewal.

During Lent Perhaps the most famous fast of Lent is the forty-day fast from something so embedded in your daily routine that its absence is noticeable. There are no rules here, just the practice of removing a habit from your life and paying attention to that experience over the course of the season. Think: [giving up] negativity, fear, alcohol, gossip, condescension, certain foods, etc. (There is also tradition of doing a reverse fast, where you add something to your life, like prayer or service or sabbath.)

Additional ideas over at www.atlantachristianchurch.org/lent

Good Friday (April 10, 2020)Good Friday takes the Church into Easter weekend, and with its focus on the passion of Christ, it is traditionally a day of fasting from food. People will often begin this fast on Good Friday eve with their first “meal” being the Communion on Easter Sunday.

Death, you see, is absolutely all of the resurrection we can now know. The rest is faith. - Robert Farrar Capon

ASH WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 26, 2020

Times7:00 AM & 7:00 PM

LocationServices will take place on the lower level in the youth room gathering space. Park in the lot and enter through the door on the lower level and enter the first room on your right.

ServiceBoth services are identical and will last 45-minutes. Both services include: singing, readings, prayers, and the imposition of the ashes.

Service Leaders:

7:00 AM - Derek Sweatman & Jeff Box 7:00 PM - Lindsey Self & Joel Mooneyhan

ChildcareThere is no childcare offered for these services, but children are welcome to attend.

To be human is to be  in need. To be less than you feel you could be. When was the last time you did something wonderful and said, “Well, I  am  human.” Never! Not once! We say, “I’m  only  human” to apologize for our shortcomings. So,  on Ash Wednesday, we place a mark on our heads, not to call attention to how great we are, but as an admission of weakness, of shortcoming, of  humanity. It’s less a diamond ring and more a scarlet letter.

Nick LannonA Sermon For Ash Wednesday, 2012

WEEKLY PRAYER BEGINS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4

The sanctuary will be open for prayer twice every Wednesday during the Lenten season from March 4 through April 8. We have two time slots available: come before work between 7:00 AM & 8:00 AM or during lunch between 12:00 PM & 1:00 PM.

How It Works Enter the sanctuary from the front of the church and pick up a prayer guide in the lobby. Then find a seat and work through the guide in silence on your own. There will also be prompts, quotations, passages of scripture, and pictures projected on the wall throughout. Simply return the prayer guide as you leave.

These weekly prayer opportunities are not a program but rather a chance for you to come and sit still and to pray. It’s a bit old school, but Lent does well with the raw materials of faith and practice. So, make it a goal to come by at least twice during the season.

I must unscramble my affairs so that my life will become order. O God, I need your sense of order. - Howard Thurman

SHORT-TERM CLASS BEGINS SUNDAY MORNING, MARCH 1

Did you know that every Sunday of the year is built around four separate readings from the Bible: a reading from the Old Testament, one from the Psalms, another from the Epistles, and one from the Gospels. And during these longer, more focused seasons such as Lent, those four readings are quite locked in and rich with meaning.

Explore The Old Testament Readings Joel Mooneyhan will lead a short-term class during Lent focused entirely on the weekly Old Testament readings for the season. This class will meet from March 1 through April 5 at the 9:00 AM spot. Childcare provided.

Schedule 03/01 Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7 03/08 Genesis 12:1-4 03/15 Exodus 17:1-7 03/22 1 Samuel 16:1-13 03/29 Ezekiel 37:1-14 04/05 Isaiah 50:4-9

Sign up at: www.atlantachristianchurch.org/lent

out Lent is a time when we should be doing that: sending our roots to look for the water of life. - N.T. Wright

PODCASTS WEEKLY LISTENINGS

In addition to our regular weekly sermon podcast, we provide two additional listenings during the season:

The Deep Cut The Gospel readings for Sunday mornings during Lent are enormous and complex passages, like too big to condense into a 20-minute sermon. Every Tuesday throughout the season a new episode of "The Deep Cut” will take you through the finer points of Sunday’s passage. Like a mini Bible study! Each episode will last 30-minutes and will come with a downloadable listening guide. Hosted by Derek Sweatman and Joel Mooneyhan.

Blues For Lent Drops every Wednesday during Lent and it features devotional musings on the Psalm readings from the previous Sunday, set against the backdrop of some of the great rock-n-roll and blues music of our time. Each episode lasts 15-minutes and is hosted by Derek Sweatman and others. Listening guides available for download. First episode drops on Ash Wednesday, February 26.

All podcasts are available at www.atlantachristianchurch.org/teaching. “The Deep Cut” and “Blues For Lent” are also on iTunes, and “Blues For Lent” can be found on SoundCloud as well. Search: Atlanta Christian Church.

Fundamentally, the Gospel is the blues, the story of a lover who refuses to give up on his betrayer. - Derek Sweatman

GOOD FRIDAY SERVICE FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 7:00 PM

We close out the Lenten season on Good Friday, April 10. This service includes music, prayer, a short devotion, and reflection.

What’s Good About Friday? Yes, Good Friday is the day we remember the death and burial of Jesus, and you wouldn’t be the first to ask: “So, why is that good?” The short version is this: it is only good in that we know the ending of the story. There is a resurrection on the horizon. But for those who were there, for those friends and followers of Jesus, it was a different story. Resurrection was not on their radar. For them, they had simply lost a friend. So, Good Friday is a day for the Church to enter that space of darkness and unknowing, and yet with a sense of hope.

Details Time: 7:00 PM Place: Atlanta Christian Church (Sanctuary)

Childcare will be provided for this service.

Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection, not in books alone but in every leaf in springtime. - Martin Luther

WWW.ATLANTACHRISTIANCHURCH.ORG/LENT