INTO THE WILDERNESS / 40 DAYS to FAST, PRAY, Gather & Feast
“At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.”
INTO THE WILDERNESS : LENT 2024
This season of Lent is calling us ‘into the wilderness’, where we will be renewed by the Spirit, where He will reveal any temptations, fears or obstacles that might keep us from fulfilling all that God has purposed us to do and where we believe He will call each of us into a new season of purpose. Join us as we journey through the wilderness with Jesus in preparation for the cross and resurrection.
WHAT IS LENT?
The word “Lent” can invoke several thoughts, questions, and feelings, depending on your background with the Church. If you grew up in an evangelical church, you probably think of it as some strange Catholic tradition, where folks put ashes on their foreheads and give up different kinds of foods every year. If you grew up in a liturgical tradition, you may have had a good experience or, perhaps, you file it away in the junk drawer of legalism given some bad experiences. Whatever the case, Lent doesn’t have to be seen as either rote or mystifying. Like the rest of the seasons, it can be seen rightly and faithfully when understood through the lens of Jesus—the one true story of the Bible.
Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, February 14th, which kicks off 40 days of prayer and fasting—representing Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness. The last week of Lent is called Holy Week, during which we remember Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday), the Last Supper with His disciples (Maundy Thursday) and His death on the cross (Good Friday). The season officially ends on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter, March 31st.
In a culture inundated by individualism and hedonism, with rhythms and practices that turn our desires toward the things we think we need, Lent turns our desires toward Jesus, the only thing we truly need. Lent is helping us trade lesser loves for His greater love. It is a season to prepare for the joy and hope of Easter.
While Advent is a celebration and a time of great anticipation, Lent is more frequently seen as a time of solemn observance and preparation for the celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus at Easter. Just as we carefully prepare for events in our personal lives, as a wedding, or birthday, a commencement; Lent invites us to make our minds and hearts ready for remembering Jesus’ life, death and body resurrection.
OUR PRAYER FOCUS
Over the next 40 days, we will be uniting in prayer and fasting to discover:
What does He want to RENEW in us?
What areas of our life need to be RENEWED by His Spirit? Our faith, a dream, a relationship. What dead things might He renew and bring back to life in this wilderness season?
What does he want to REVEAL that has the power to keep us from fulfilling our purpose?
That He would REVEAL any temptations, fears or obstacles that might keep us from fulfilling all that God has purposed us to do.
What does He want to CALL you into.
We are praying that we would sense and know what He is CALLING us into, individually and collectively, in this new season of purpose?
GATHER WEEKLY to PRAY & FAST
There are very few things in the body of Christ more special and powerful than uniting together in prayer and fasting. During Lent, we will gather each Wednesday to do both.
Each Wednesday starting Feb 14th we will start the day (7am) and end the day (7pm) in prayer. Our Kids space at Shiloh Gardens will serve as a prayer room where we will gather to pray and spend time seeking Jesus.
We will be fasting each Wednesday from sun up to sun down. We invite you to join us as we commit time each week to journey through the wilderness with Jesus and give Him room to renew, reveal and show us His Purpose.
EVERY SUNDAY GATHER & FEAST
Every Sunday during Lent is an opportunity to celebrate all that God is doing in us and through us, so each Sunday we will gather to worship and celebrate Jesus and then after service, we will gather to feast, or as some might say, have a meal together.
Right after church each Sunday we will gather at the Market Hall at Halcyon to sit around the table to commune, fellowship, laugh and have a meal together. These moments have alway created and fostered some of the most formative and life giving moments in our young church’s history.
PRAYER AND FASTING RESOURCES
For many of us, the rhythm or pattern of fasting and prayer is new or has been a challenge to make consistent. It may be that we need a better idea of what fasting is or that we are needing a guide to help us know what to pray. Listed below are a few articles, videos, or books that might help you as you journey toward the cross.
Bible Reading Plans
Lent For Everyone - NT Wright and Bible.com
Thru the Gospels - Bible Gateway
Lent with Family - The Purposeful Mom
Fasting Articles & Podcasts
Starve the Flesh, Feed the Spirit - Message from Bridgetown Church
Offering Ourselves to God - Practicing the Way podcast
How to Fast For Lent - Article from Gravity Commons
Prayer Guides and Devotionals
A Way Other Than Our Own: Lent Devotionals by Walter Brueggemann
Lent: A Season of Repentance and Renewal by Esau McCaulley
40 Days of Circle Maker by Mark Batterson
How to Pray: A Simple Guide for Normal People by Pete Greig