Today is Ash Wednesday, the start of the Lent season. In case you are unfamiliar with the term Lent, I will give a bit of background about this span of time in the liturgical church year.
The term Lent comes from the Old English word Lencten, which means springtime. The season dates back to the third and fourth centuries, and originated as one of the spiritual preparations for Easter in remembrance of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the 21st century, we still observe it as a season of preparation and of repentance.
Lent is a forty-day period that invites us to make our hearts ready for remembering Jesus’ passion and celebrating his resurrection. Only weekdays and Saturdays are included in the forty days. Sundays stand on their own with a focus in worship on repentance and renewal.
A lovely rhythm emerges during Lent of confession of personal sin before God during the week. On Sunday, the congregation comes together to receive restoration for their souls. We are pardoned from sin and cleansed as the whole body of Christ.
Lent has retained a focus on fasting and abstinence in imitation of Jesus Christ’s fasting in the wilderness before he began his public ministry. In the devotional book, Seeking God’s Face, it says, “The spare and somber nature of Lent is healthy for the heart and true to the gospel, scrubbing away frothy spirituality by calling us to say no to ourselves in order to experience a greater yes in Jesus. It helps to imprint the form of the cross in our lives, recognizing that the news of the risen Lord Jesus is not good without the way of the cross.”
The awareness of dark sin shadowing our lives brings us to confession. This leaves our souls cleansed and renewed, ready to receive the light, to celebrate the light, and to live in the light when the Easter season approaches.
The pattern of confession and renewal begins today on Ash Wednesday. This is the first day of the season of Lent. Traditionally, ashes from the burned palms of the previous year’s Palm Sunday are used by the pastor or priest to mark a cross on a person’s forehead saying, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). From Biblical times, sprinkling oneself with ashes has been a mark of sorrow for sin.
In Living the Christian Year, Bobby Gross remarks on the meaning behind the ashes of Ash Wednesday. “Dust and ashes symbolize two themes at the heart of Lent: our creaturely mortality and our moral culpability. Finite beings and sinful persons, we are destined to die. And so we humble ourselves before the eternal God who must, if we are to live, redeem us. The dust speaks of our bodily dependence, and the ashes signify our spiritual penitence. Ash Wednesday sets the true tone for the season: humility, simplicity, sobriety, and sorrow.”
Starting with the somber acknowledgement of death and ending with the triumphant new life of Easter morning, the Lent season is a rich time, deserving of our observation. The Lent season can be transformative. This has been my experience over the past several years. From new book contracts to job changes to my sons’ high school graduations, Lent has been the time when God has introduced these new realities into my life, conducted his ongoing work in my heart, and prepared me for the next span of my journey.
The resources I’ll be sharing with you in this blog post have been helpful to me in the areas of repentance and renewal. Each of them are cherished books that I draw upon routinely. I hope that among these titles you may find a gentle voice that helps you, affirms you, and teaches you as you embark on your own preparations to celebrate resurrection.
These books aren’t in any order such as most favorite to least or anything like that. They are all valuable to me and have found their permanent place in my library. Also, a quick note to say that I’ll share links for you to explore each title further. No one is making any money from my sharing. I only wish to make good authors and their quality books accessible.
Book #1: Falling Into Goodness, Lenten Reflections by Chuck DeGroat
I got this book three years ago because I’d read another book by this author. It has one reading for each day of Lent, starting with Ash Wednesday and continuing for six weeks. Each week has a theme around which the readings are developed.
Week one focuses on “Dwell with God.” Week two is “Live from your true self.” Week three is “Imagine the Kingdom.” Week four is “Take the humble Path.” Week 5 is “Wrestle with God.” Week six is “Follow Jesus.”
In his reflection for Ash Wednesday, Chuck DeGroat writes, “No one ever told me what a gift it would be to return to the ground of my being … on the ground and in the dust there is no façade. No more hiding. Only rest. And it’s where Jesus can find you. Jesus came down, you see. To the dust. In the flesh. And so, you no longer need to prove yourself to protect yourself. There is no ladder to climb, no stairway to the pearly gates, no performance strategy, no purity ritual. Only surrender. Only rest.”
Chuck DeGroat’s Lenten book is thoughtful, relatable, and helpful. He is a trusted guide through the shadowed season known as Lent.
This book was published in 2017 by an independent publishing platform. Learn more here.
Book #2: A Violent Grace by Michael Card.
I’ve talked about this book before, and I’ll mention it again since it so helpful to me. The pastor of the church my husband and I attended when our boys were small preached a sermon series on this book and encouraged the congregation to read it. I purchased a copy, fell in love with it, and have used it as part of my Lenten devotions ever since.
I like this book because it is small, based completely on Scripture, and thought provoking. I love how Michael Card can focus in and get right to the point on deep, sound doctrine while also telling a story. This book is also illustrated with sketches that bring to life the agonies, the tensions, and the love Christ felt as he experienced the events of Holy Week.
Please, pick up a copy of this book and use it for your own devotional times and reflections to make the Lenten season more meaningful and life changing.
This book was published in 2013 by Multnomah Publishers, Inc. Learn more here.
Book #3: Lent: A Season of Returning by Ruth Haley Barton.
If you haven’t yet read any of Ruth Haley Barton’s work, this book is a good place to start. It is a thin, workbook-style booklet with one reading for each week. The readings include a devotional, a choice of Scripture passages, and a space for reflection in which to write about your own meditations. The weeks follow the themes of Solitude: Fashioning our own wilderness; Self-denial: Setting our minds on things above; Repentance: Cleaning our messy house; Confession: Coming home to God; Suffering: Dying that we might live, and Holy Week: An invitation to walk with Christ.
Ruth Haley Barton’s writing is reflective, easy to follow, and transformative. I appreciate her ability to take deep, important theology and make it accessible and practical.
This booklet is available as a download from Christian Book Distributors for Year B and Year C of the lectionary. Learn more here.
Book #4: Stations of the Cross Prayer Guide by Ruth Haley Barton
This is another thin booklet, and it lays out the various events Jesus passed through on his way to the tomb. It’s touching and thought-provoking. Each station gets us in touch with the Savior’s heart of love that endured suffering for our sakes.
Scripture reading, prayer, and silence shape each station of the cross. There are fourteen stations taken directly from Scripture, along with a few that have been passed down in the Christian tradition. The Stations of the Cross is an interactive experience, allowing us to keep vigil with Christ on the long and arduous journey to the cross.
If you have even a few minutes each day over the next couple months to reflect and pray, consider spending time with this book. It will help you gain a deeper appreciation for Christ’s sufferings. Even the small things of Holy Week will take on rich meaning.
This booklet is also available from Christian Book Distributors. Learn more here.
Book #5: Living the Cross-Centered Life by C.J. Mahaney.
During the COVID era of everyone staying home on Sundays, I heard a pastor reference this author as we tuned into a service on the radio. I’ve read other books by C.J. Mahaney, and appreciate how well this book serves the themes of Lent.
This book exhorts us to center our lives by asking what the main thing is in our lives. What are you most passionate about? What do you love to talk about? What do you think about most when your mind is free? What defines you? As the author says on page 20, “Through what we experience together in this book’s pages, I hope you’ll learn to feel consistently that Christ died only yesterday, and become committed to live that way as well. As we cultivate our understanding and appreciation for the cross, as we live the rest of our earthly days feeling increasingly as if Jesus’ death happen only yesterday, we’ll be more and more astonished and overwhelmed by God’s grace. Only then will we more deeply understand and experience God’s grace in a way that consistently engages our passion.”
This book is divided into fourteen chapters and reads like a non-fiction book instead of a devotional. C.J. Mahaney helps us see the cross from an intentional, applicable angle so that we are ready to embrace Holy Week and the work Jesus did on the cross by keeping it central to our lives.
This book was published by Multnomah in 2006. Learn more here.
Book #6: Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die by John Piper
Here is another book about the cross. It is divided into fifty chapters, each one giving a reason why Jesus had to suffer and die. The style of this book reminds me of apologetic writing by its strong, truthful theology and persuasiveness.
The book touches on subjects like forgiveness of sins, love, and removing condemnation. John Piper gives a great starting point for entering into a sincere reflection on Jesus’ death.
I even like the look of the book itself. The print is in brown ink with brown shading along the edges of the pages to make it look antique and aged, sort of like a scroll.
This book was published by Crossway in 2006. Learn more here.
Book #7: Lent for Everyone by N.T. Wright
This is a series of three books, one for each yearly cycle according to the Lectionary. The book for Year A focuses on the gospel of Matthew. The book for Year B focuses on the gospel of Mark, and the book for Year C focuses on the gospel of Luke. Since we are in Year A, I hope to take a look at N. T. Wright’s writings on the gospel of Matthew during my own Lenten devotional time.
These books are arranged by week, with a Psalm listed for each Sunday. The rest of the days take you through the particular gospel intended for that year. Each daily reading is arranged with a Scripture passage, followed by a brief devotional, an application, and a prayer.
I appreciate N. T. Wright’s theology and the stories he shares in the devotionals. If I could hear him speaking while I read, I’d also appreciate his English accent. In this series of books, you’ll find a nice balance of deep, sound theology and uplifting encouragement.
These books were published by Westminster John Knox Press in 2012. Learn more here.
Books I referenced or quoted in this article:
The Worship Sourcebook, Co-published by The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and Faith Alive Christian Resources, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2004.
Seeking God’s Face, Praying with the Bible through the Year, also co-published by The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and Faith Alive Christian Resources, Grand Rapids, Michigan, s013.
Living the Christian Year, Time to Inhabit the Story of God by Bobby Gross, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2009.
