Lenten Spring Training
Five Lenten Exercises
By Reverend Barney Kitchen
1) Read several chapters from either Luke or Matthew during each week of Lent and ask yourself: "What do I hear as the "good news" in this cluster of chapters? Your responses can take on a greater depth if you partner with another person and share your findings with him/her either in person, via email or over the telephone.
2) Select one theme from each column below to ponder and place on your "front burner" during this Lenten season.
Love Meaning
Death Peace
Trust Purpose
Resurrection Reconciliation
Hope Priority
Grace Covenant
Keep your sensors open to your chosen themes during worship, study, prayer, meetings, work and while you are visiting with friends and family. Include your memories and experiences as you reflect and ponder on these themes in your spititual formation and growth.
3) Deepen your experience of worship during the Lenten season by:
-Closely observing the setting of worship; the architecture, colors,
symbols, and shapes that enrich your worship experience.
-Listen closely to the music during worship; try to identify the hymn,
anthem, postlude or prelude that most fed you during the
service. You will further grow as you try to clarify why a particular
selection spoke to your spiritual well-being.
-Identifying two important questions that were generated for you
through the sermon or prayer offerings; ponder those questions during
the coming week.
4) Enrich your prayer life with an evening and morning prayer. Try to include three expressions of thanksgiving in your evening prayer and an expression of petition for the day in your morning prayer.
5) In an effort to reflect God's love for the world, identify a particular country or region of the world (beyond the U.S.) to become more familiar with during the Lenten season. Our Missouri Mid-South Conference is exploring a covenant relationship with the Congo. You can find a brief description of all the countries in the world in a good annual almanac. Explore your selection in the daily news, on the internet, with friends & family and at the library.
The Lenten Spring Training is easly accomplished by investing just a couple of hours a week. And don't forget to spend some time during the week after Easter to evaluate how your intentions were fulfilled and to consider the possibility of integrating any of these disciplines into the rest of year.