You hear about devout friends giving up seemingly innocent things in life (like chocolate) or stressing out to live a more perfect life during six grueling weeks - for reasons you don't completely understand. Sermons about penitence are preached, and guilt soaks the congregation.

Sound like a good time?! It's time to rethink Lent.

Or at least see it for the positive opportunity it offers. It's spring-cleaning for the soul! Lent offers you time to pause, consider, and renew your relationship with God - an altogether hopeful (not dreary) experience.

"To arrive at newness of life, we first name parts of our lives that are shrouded in darkness," writes Parsons. "To put it very dramatically,... your first order of business is to break your heart for God. We walk through some muck so that we can leave it behind and find Easter joy beyond... With God's help we will clear the darkness away and begin to experience greater joy and newness of life."

Sure, there's work to be done during Lent, but it's the gentle, gradual work of opening one's heart and mind to grace. A Clearing Season will move you week by week from wilderness to holy ground, using a personal tone that will stir and challenge personal reflection.

Parsons includes exercises for small groups, as well as questions at the end of each chapter for individual reflection. Also included is an appendix of spiritual practices for Lent you may not have considered before.

With these beautiful words, St. John of the Cross places before us God's great invitation of Love. He reminds us that it is God who fulfills our desires, God who yearns for us, and God who will come to us if we seek Him.

Accept the invitation to journey through Lent with Jesus Christ and one of the great spiritual writers of the Catholic Church, St. John of the Cross. Inside you will find an Invitation from St. John of the Cross, a short biography of St. John of the Cross, a History of Lent, and St. John of the Cross on following Jesus. Each day of Lent, weekdays and Sundays, begins with: a Gospel Reading, a selection from the Writings of St. John of the Cross, a Reflection, and a Prayer.

Let this book help you explore the spiritual wisdom of St. John of the Cross and the journey to God.

A time of self-denial, soul searching, and spiritual preparation, Lent is a fitting season for daily reading and reflection. Grouped around such themes as temptation, crucifixion, resurrection, and new life, Bread and Wine can be dipped into at leisure or used as a guide to daily devotions--and returned to at any time year for spiritual revitalization.

Selections include writings by C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, Philip Yancey, Madeline L'Engle, Henri Nouwen, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, John Donne, Thomas Merton, St. Augustine, Mother Teresa, John Updike, Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and many others.

Call Him Savior offers the opportunity and challenge to journey with Jesus to Jerusalem. You will experience the salvation and hope of God offered through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ as you explore the Revised Common Lectionary readings designated for this Lenten season. The impact of an empty tomb is most fully experienced when we witness again the passion of Jesus and when we keep vigil at the cross. 

The study for Lent and Easter in the Scriptures for the Church Seasons series is based upon the Revised Common Lectionary scriptures for the church year, a three year cycle that includes readings from the Old Testament, the Psalms, the Gospels, and the Epistles. 

 

A seven-session leader�s guide, written by Nan Duerling, is available separately for use in Sunday school classes or other small groups order # 9781426716263

 

What if what happened then changes everything now?

This unique, video-driven study brings the passion and resurrection of Jesus to life through dramatic storytelling and challenging teaching by Kyle Idleman of Southeast Christian Church near Louisville, Kentucky. The Easter Experience Church Program is, as its name implies, a truly spiritual experience that has the power to change every member in your church.

This church kit is a multi-faceted resource kit integrating the small group DVD-based curriculum with weekend worship strategies and materials, creating a church-wide outreach strategy. It includes six 20-minute episodes on DVD, church service materials (music videos, video countdown, sermon bumpers, 6 sermon outlines,), promotional material (artwork, graphic elements, trailers), church campaign training resources, and other bonus features.

Also available are the Easter Experience Participant's Guide, the Easter Experience Small Group DVD Study, and the Easter Experience Ministry Devotional.

Paint yourself into the story and transform Easter into a truly life-changing experience.

Once you experience the story of Easter, absolutely everything in your life changes.

The Easter Experience is a unique, DVD-driven study which brings the passion and resurrection of Jesus to life through dramatic storytelling and challenging teaching. The participant's guide to The Easter Experience small group DVD follows the six 20-minute episodes, providing additional information, discovery questions, and tips for helping your small group grow spiritually and bond with each other as well as with the eternal message of Easter.

Also available are the Easter Experience Church Program, the Easter Experience Small Group DVD, and the Easter Experience Ministry Devotional.

Every Easter since the 1940s, readers have prepared their hearts and minds for the holiday by reading the Easter issue of Ideals magazine. This gorgeous, full-color book celebrates the season of new life and new hope.

Authors write about the melting snow and new shoots of green, about celebrations of this lovely holiday, about the Light of the World and the eternal promise of Christ's Resurrection. Prose recalling Easters past will charm and uplift the reader. Poetry hints at the timeless hope of this most vital of Christian holy days. Selections from the Bible tell the story of the original Easter, over 2000 years ago. Read Pamela Kennedy's musings on the nature of the Easter holiday and how she and her family have celebrated it. Enjoy the sheet music and the story behind the creation of 'Amazing Grace.' Beautiful fine art and breathtaking scenic photographs complement the text throughout.

As a bonus, included with this issue of Ideals is our new book of springtime recipes. Within its 16 pages are great choices for a potluck spread, your Easter Sunday table, or your picnic basket. Recipes such as salmon and pasta salad, ham rolls, and lemon bundt cake will please your palate and add flavor to any occasion.

Easter Ideals is a celebration of the season, the traditions, and the significance of Easter. Prose, poetry, and Bible selections in its pages illustrate the renewed hope that is a hallmark of this time of year. Authors and poets such as Pamela Kennedy, Michelle Medlock Adams, and Eileen Spinelli explore the season's meaning and special moments -- egg hunts, sunrise services, and Easter dinner with family and friends. Full-color photographs and fine art complement the text. Easter Ideals 2012 continues a tradition of inspiring readers with this meaningful celebration of all things Easter.

Also included with this issue are 11 bonus recipe cards to aid in Eastertime meal planning. Carefully selected and tested, these recipes will entice taste buds and satisfy appetites around the family table on Easter Sunday and beyond.