LENT A Prodigal People - A guide for individuals, families, and small groups - Redeemer Anglican Church
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LENT
A Prodigal People
ring
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A guide for individuals, families, and small groups
2020“The practice of Lent is a means of grace, but grace
itself is a mystery that grips us however buttoned-up
or sloppy our Lenten practice is.”
-Tish Harrison Warren
“The prodigal son didn’t repent because he grew
tired of living with and like pigs. He repented
because God gave him eyes to see.”
- Rosaria Champagne Butterfield
The Prodigal Son at least walked home on his own
feet. But who can duly adore that Love which will
open the high gates to a prodigal who is brought in
kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in
every direction for a chance of escape?”
- CS Lewis
“I am the prodigal son every time I look for
unconditional love where it cannot be found.”
- Henri Nouwen
2What Is Lent?
Lent is a 40 day period of Christ-centered devotion
between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. The
practice of Lent has been observed by Christians around
the world since the early centuries of the church.
Why Practice Lent?
The most important reason to practice Lent is to draw
near to Jesus Christ and become like him. Lent is a
season of intentional discipleship under Christ and with
Christ. We also practice Lent to bond more closely with
fellow Christians who are on the same journey, not only
in our local church but also around the world. Along the
way, our sin and enslaving habits are put to death, and
we learn to internalize and share in Christ’s resurrection
power.
Invitation to Practice Lent at Redeemer
To the extent that you are able, practice Lent with with
your church family. Begin with an Ash Wednesday
service and receive the sign of the cross on your
forehead - reminding you of your own mortality. Use
this little booklet to read scripture and confess your sin
each day. (You’ll notice that the themes for confession
each week track with our Ephesians sermon series.)
Participate in a Small Group and discover that you are
not alone in your struggle. Remember to keep the
balance between fasting and discipline on Mondays-
Saturdays and feasting on Sundays. Plan ahead for Holy
Week, so that we can walk through Maundy Thursday,
Good Friday, and Easter Sunday together as a church.
What we hope you’ll find is that, as we enter into these
practices together, God’s grace for us is more abundant
than we previously thought. We’ll try together and we’ll
fail together, then we’ll confess our sins together and be
forgiven together. When we come out on the other side,
into a bright Easter morning, we’ll find ourselves closer to
Christ and closer to each other.
3What are ways I can expect to become more
like Christ during Lent?
There are some themes that often arise when people describe
their experience of practicing Lent; however, this list is not
exhaustive, God’s activity in your life cannot be predicted or
controlled.
➤Humility - Humility is the capacity to recognize who we are
in relationship to the living God. The path of Lent reveals our
mortality, sin and limitations. Often, the Holy Spirit reveals
personal and corporate blind spots during Lent. Our hunger
pains, headaches and failures during Lent become living
reminders of our great need for the salvation offered through
Jesus Christ.
➤Reordered Loves – The gentle harness of Lent is designed to
loosen our unhealthy attachments to creation (including food,
drink, and money) so that we may enjoy a deeper bond to the
Creator. We learn to internalize and enjoy the love of Christ
during Lent.
➤Purity – Soren Kierkegaard said that “purity of heart is to will
one thing.” During Lent, we see the incompatibility between
our commitment to Jesus and our dabbling in idolatry. We
confess our sins and thereby take hold of the forgiveness that
is ours in the Gospel.
➤Renewed Imaginations – As we progress through events of
Ash Wednesday, the 40 days of Lent and the drama of Holy
Week, see ourselves and the world as they are in God. The
events of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection become for us
a window into the new creation (otherwise known as the
Kingdom of God) in which we can participate and from which
we can receive a secure identity.
➤
Dependence – During Lent, we unlearn the lie that we are
self-made, self-contained individuals. We learn to draw upon
the life of God and the bonds of affection with our fellow
Christians.
4FAST | PRAY | GIVE | FAIL
FAST | Fasting is a willing abstention from eating food (and
sometimes drink) to make space in our souls to feast on Jesus.
• ➤ Partial Fast: cutting out part of your diet such as sugar/
desserts, alcohol, meat, caffeine, or dairy products for the
entire duration of Lent (except Sundays). Chose something
that has an inordinate hold on your life.
• ➤ Partial “Media” Fast: You may choose to abstain from
modern distractions that have an inordinate hold on
your imagination, such as social media, screen-based
entertainment, or the news.
• ➤ Whole Fast: choose a challenging weekly practice of
skipping entire meals, from 1 meal a week to 1-2 days
per week. You still need to take in enough water and
calories to sustain energy without satisfying hunger. Key
days to practice the Whole Fast is Ash Wednesday and
Good Friday. You can continue this practice on Fridays
throughout the year as a way to remember Jesus’ death
and commune with him on the way to your resurrection.
PRAY | Prayer is participating in the life of God talking with and
listening to him, whether in solitude or in common worship.
• ➤Christians often pray using the Scriptures, especially the
Psalms.
• ➤ In Lent our prayers take on a tone of repentance and
contrition.
GIVE | Giving is a direct participation in God’s generosity.
• Set aside money for a “neighbor fund” that you would
otherwise spend on yourself. Pray for opportunities to
spend it in love towards your neighbor, be they a coworker,
extended family, prisoners, or refugees.
• ➤Give generously towards the church above and beyond
your pledge or tithe. If leaders highlight a special offering,
contribute money that you have set aside during Lent.
FAIL | Let failure be your teacher. Your “inner rebel” will rise
up and assert itself against the vision of deeper communion
with Christ. Use this as an opportunity to cry out to God
(and his people) to encourage and support you. Failure and
setbacks are tools in Jesus’ hands to shape you into his image.
Remember the Apostle Paul’s great paradox, that Christ’s
strength is indeed displayed through our weakness.
56
How To Use This Guide
This little guidebook is designed for individual, family, and small group use
during the 2020 Lent season at Redeemer Anglican Church. It tracks with our
Lent Sermon Series on a prodigal people.
Week 1 - The Prodigal Younger Son
Week 2 - The Prodigal Older Son
Week 3 - The Welcoming Father
Week 4 - Becoming a Prodigal People
For each week, re-read the Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15.
READ
After reading, take a moment to reflect on what you have read. Slow
down. Linger on the story - what does it stir in your mind and heart?
There are a handful of questions provided to stimulate reflection (and
REFLECT discussion with your Small Group).
The time of prayer follows a simple liturgy: a call to prayer, a time of
confession and forgiveness, a time of supplication (making requests to
God), the Lord’s Prayer, and a benediction. This liturgy can be prayed
alone, with others in your household, and with your Small Group.
PRAY
When we truly receive the good news of the Gospel, we are motivated
to embrace new habits and extend the good news to others. The love
of God to us in Jesus overflows within us and spills out to our neighbors.
Each week there are suggested actions that help us receive, embody,
ACT and extend the Gospel.
7WEEK 1 | THE PRODIGAL YOUNGER SON
Luke 15:11-32
READ
What are the temptations or addictions to which the younger son
falls prey? How might these point to his truest desires? Do these
temptations or addictions mirror your own?
REFLECT When does he come to true repentance? What do you notice
about his voice and tone when he comes to the Father?
How does the Father respond to his son’s return?
In receiving compassion and forgiveness, the son responds by
repeating his confession. It seems he is unable, at first, to fully
believe his father’s forgiveness. Why is it so difficult to hear and
accept forgiveness?
NOTES:
8Call “I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him,
“Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I
am no longer worthy to be called your son.” (v. 18-19)
(Optional: Sing one of the Songs from the Parrish Songbook)
PRAY
Confession Confessing aloud our sinful tendencies to...
-Rely on our own ambition and will.
-Become greedy and rebel with what we’ve been freely given.
-Act and think lustfully.
Forgiveness “But the father said to his servants: “bring quickly the best
robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes
on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat
and celebrate. For this my son was dead and is alive again; he
was lost and is found.” (Luke 15:22-24)
Supplication [Bringing our specific requests to Christ Jesus who hears our cries.]
Lord’s Prayer (It is suggested that, if prayed as a household or small group, the
members hold hands during the Lord’s Prayer)
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those
who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Benediction The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of
God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all
evermore. Amen. (2 Corinthians 13:14)
We all identify with the younger son in some way. In this season of
Lent, is there a habit of rebellion to which you fall prey.. Ask a friend
to hold you accountable and pray for you regularly.
ACT
9WEEK 2 | THE PRODIGAL OLDER SON
Luke 15:11-32
READ
How is Jesus addressing his audience with the elder son’s
perspective?
What are the temptations to which the elder son falls prey?
REFLECT The eldest son refuses to even refer to his younger brother as
“brother.” How do his temptations mirror your own?
How does the Father respond to his eldest son?
Jesus ends this story without a perceived conclusion. We are not
told whether the elder son accepts the Father’s invitation. What
would it take for this story to end well?
NOTES:
10Call But the eldest son was angry and refused to go in. His
father came out and entreated him, but he answered
his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you,
and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never
PRAY gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my
friends.’ (v.25-29)
(Optional: Sing one of the Songs from the Parrish Songbook)
Confession Confessing aloud our sinful tendencies to...
-To self-righteously judge others.
-Pridefully keep out & resent the “sinners” and “lost” among us
and around us.
-Condemn our brothers and sisters.
Forgiveness The father responds: Son, you are always with me, and all that
is mine is yours.
Supplication [Bringing our specific requests to Christ Jesus who hears our cries.]
Lord’s Prayer (It is suggested that, if prayed as a household or small group,
the members hold hands during the Lord’s Prayer)
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those
who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Benediction The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of
God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all
evermore. Amen. (2 Corinthians 13:14)
The eldest son distances himself from his brother when he returns. In the
season of Lent we not only move intentionally away from sinful habits, we
move towards virtue. This week how can you make an active move in love
towards a neighbor who is or has been lost?
ACT
11WEEK 3 | THE WELCOMING FATHER
Luke 15:11-32
READ
Try to place yourself in the shoes of the father. How does he
respond to each of his sons? How does he feel towards them?
What does this tell us about our Heavenly Father?
REFLECT Henri Nouwen writes, “for most of my life I have struggled to find
God, to know God, to love God...Now I wonder whether I have
sufficiently realized that during all this time God has been trying
to find me, to know me and to love me. The question is not “How
am I to find God? But how am I to let myself be found by him?
The question is not How am I to know God? But “how am I to let
myself be known by God?” And, finally, the question is not, “How
am I to love God,” but “How am I to let myself be loved by him?”
How would you answer one of the questions above?
NOTES:
12Call “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my
heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength
and my redeemer.” - Psalm 19:14
(Optional: Sing one of the Songs from the Parrish Songbook)
PRAY
Confession Confessing aloud our sinful tendencies to...
-To focus more on our own sins and shortcomings than the lavish
love of our gracious welcoming Father who runs to meet us.
-Only half heartedly (if at all) believe the Fathers willingness to
celebrate the return of his children.
Forgiveness “But the father said to his servants: “bring quickly the best
robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes
on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let
us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead and is alive
again; he was lost and is found.” (Luke 15:22-24)
Supplication [Bringing our specific requests to Christ Jesus who hears our
cries.]
Lord’s Prayer [It is suggested that, if prayed as a household or small group, the
members hold hands during the Lord’s Prayer]
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those
who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.
Benediction The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and
the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all evermore. Amen.
(2 Corinthians 13:14)
Many of us can identify with Nouwen’s sentiment in the second reflection
question..As you go about your week, ask God this question: “How are
you loving right me now?” Practice the discipline of accepting
this abundant love.
ACT
13WEEK 4 | BECOMING A PRODIGAL PEOPLE
Luke 15:11-32
READ
In returning to the Father and receiving His forgiveness and
abundance we now become His heirs, successors. We are now
challenged to become like the Father.
REFLECT What would change in your life if you believed this to be true?
How do you feel about that?
The call to the younger son is to return home. After we have
come home and accepted the love of the Father, our calling
now is to remain home, to welcome wayward children with
open arms and invite them to full life in the household of God.
What could this look like in our community?
NOTES:
14Call But while he was still a long way off his father saw him
and felt compassion,and ran and embraced him and
kissed him.
(Optional: Sing one of the Songs from the Parrish Songbook)
PRAY
Confession Confessing aloud our sinful tendencies to...
-Resist the call to offer forgiveness and welcome others into
relationship with the Father
-Choose to be an insular community, unintentionally (or
intentionally) failing to pursue those in our community who are
lost as our Heavenly Father pursues us.
Forgiveness “But the father said to his servants: “bring quickly the best
robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes
on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat
and celebrate. For this my son was dead and is alive again; he
was lost and is found.” (Luke 15:22-24)
Supplication [Bringing our specific requests to Christ Jesus who hears our
cries.]
Lord’s Prayer [It is suggested that, if prayed as a household or small group, the
members hold hands during the Lord’s Prayer]
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those
who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.
Benediction The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the
fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all evermore. Amen.
(2 Corinthians 13:14)
To whom in your life have you been slow to offer the welcome of the
Father? Reach out to a neighbor or new member at Redeemer to
intentionally welcome them into the family of God. Have someone over
for a meal, or meet out for a cup of coffee.
ACT
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