Lent Questions and Answers

What is Lent?

Lent is the 40 period (less Sundays) before Easter and is based on Jesus’s forty days in the wilderness. Some Christians fast, think soberly about their faith, and focus on repenting of their sins during this period.*

Does The Red Brick Church observe Lent? 

No. We do not follow a formal liturgical calendar.

Is it wrong to observe Lent? 

No. There are advantages of intentionally focusing on Christ for a season. Fasting and praying should certainly be encouraged. See: Focus on Fasting. 

What “dangers” or misunderstandings might come with Lent observance? 

The dangers to avoid are essentially the same dangers to avoid when fasting (giving up some legitimate practice for a season to focus on God). When we fast, it is easy to allow a works mentality to creep into how we see our relationship with God. Said another way, we can consciously or unconsciously begin to believe that we are asking God to bless us because we are giving  something up.

The Christians confidence should never be on our effort but rather on the Gospel or Good News of what God has done for those who put their faith and trust in him. 

If, during Lent, I want to grow on being more centered on Jesus, how should I go about it? 

Three suggestions:

1. Prayerfully read the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Meditate on Jesus in his Word.
2. Read The Final Days of Jesus: The Most Important Week of the Most Important Person Who Ever Lived to gain a clearer picture of Holy Week. For more on this recommendation, see my post, 7 Reasons to Read the Final Days of Jesus.
3. Read my small, unedited booklet, Surveying the Cross: Pursuing An Increasingly Cross-Centered Life During Lent, that highlights a strategy for being more Cross-centered during Lent. Please note that the links are for my own use and don’t work in the pdf version. Essentially, this document is a copy of my study notes. 

*Reposted from 2/28/2017.