Lenten Resources

This Lenten season, you are invited to go on A Journey to Hope as we travel with Jesus to the cross, discovering along the way that Hope can be found even as we encounter some of life’s most difficult circumstances.

While this series will encourage all persons along the faith journey, it is written specifically with the 18-34 age group and “seeker” in mind. The Message translation is used, keeping scripture easily accessible to all audiences. By addressing real life circumstances along the way (i.e., relationships, self-esteem, work, temptation, money problems, suffering and death), those on the journey learn how faith in Christ is relevant to everyday life and how having a faith community can make all the difference.

Multimedia and “props” are suggested to help visual learners understand how messages can apply to their lives. Worship response time becomes a way to go beyond inviting people into personal relationship with Christ and membership in the church – encouraging people to interact with God no matter their “milemarker” in life. Additionally, the Ash Wednesday service will encourage people to be intentional about this journey – attending worship, participating in online faith sharing and community activities as well. For those who prefer to be “Zacchaeus” (watching from afar) they will be invited to stick with the congregation to observe what goes on in other people’s faith journeys – in essence, receiving letters from those “traveling.” These letters may come in the form of Facebook, Twitter, blogs, short videos for worship, and personal testimonies.

Ash Wednesday begins with Mark 8:31-37 with Jesus’ turn to Jerusalem. Selections are used to honor His journey along the way. A Journey to Hope is a unique approach to these weeks before Holy Week that begins with Jesus announcing he will enter Jerusalem and gives us time to linger over some of the experiences that Christ has on the path to the cross. This also addresses the fact that many in this demographic do not attend Holy Week Services and experience Palm Sunday and Easter alone.

Amplify Hope

Amplify Hope offers a Lenten challenge through A Journey of Hope:  "Send the Easter Bunny Packing. Send Hope to Cote d'Ivoire." Click here to learn more.

Sermon Topics

Each topic has related worship grapics.  See the related graphics with each week's description below. To see all the graphics for Lent 2010, click here

Ash Wednesday:             
The journey begins. Ashes mark the beginning of a journey where our hands will “get dirty” and we find that with Christ at our side, hope can be found even amidst struggles.
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1^st Sunday:                        
Who is on this journey with you? How can people encourage or discourage you when the going gets tough? This segment tackles the importance of being involved in faith friendships and learning to lean on Christ as the ultimate friend.   
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2^nd Sunday:
Identity and self-esteem can make or break the journey. Do you base your identity on who people say you are, or who you know God created you to be? Finding a firm foundation will help you persevere and overcome obstacles.
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3^rd Sunday:                        
We all rely on work to meet the financial needs incurred in our journey, but how can work itself be realized as a joyful destination? The disciples gave up all of their things to live out their passion for Christ. Many of us give up all of our passions to have “things.” How can we find a balance?
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4^th Sunday:                        
When we get tired along the way, it is tempting to stop or turn around. To go the distance, we must learn to “refuel.” Prayer (personal and communal) is one means to build strength as Christ illustrates even in His most difficult times.
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5^th Sunday:                        
Money is a means of exchange for something that we want. Any journey requires “purchases” along the way. Do you have a healthy relationship with money? In other words, do you have money, or does money have you? We will encounter scriptures that illustrate both (The Rich Young Ruler & The Widow’s Mite) and focus on Christ’s response.
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6^th Sunday:                        
On this Palm/Passion Sunday, we will “flashback” to the accolades which were given to Christ upon His triumphant entry to Jerusalem. Would we have started this journey, if we had realized there would be pain along the way? When hope seems most elusive, it may be just around the corner.
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Thursday in Holy Week:        
Community was gathered around the table with Christ the night before He gave Himself up to be crucified. As we remember this important gathering, we too gather around tables, sharing the cup and breaking bread with one another in an experiential Lord’s Supper.
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Good Friday:                    
It is easy to point fingers at those who betrayed Christ (Judas and Peter), yet we all have participated in denying Him in various ways.  As we think about the journey we’ve taken, we recognize our own shortcomings, but also the message that in the darkest of times, God’s light still beckons us to Hope.
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Easter:                                 
When all hope feels lost, it has truly just begun. The journey continues.
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