A Journey Through Lent
What you'll learn
- Discover where the traditions of Lent come from.
- Recognize the significance of Holy Week.
- Explore why Christians throughout the centuries have celebrated Lent as a time of spiritual renewal.
- Describe the various ways in which lent can be practiced.
- Participate in the practices and prayers of Lent which have sustained Christians throughout the centuries.
- Develop ways you can easily begin to incorporate the season of Lent into your spiritual journey.
Requirements
- Your preferred translation of the Bible.
- A journal is recommended.
- This course serves as a companion to the book Lent: The Season of Repentance and Renewal by Esau McCaulley. The book is not required to complete the course. However, the book and course offer complementary material that enhance each other.
Description
This course will invite you into an intentional journey through Lent, during which you will learn how Lent enables believers to inhabit the church year and grow in their faith.
Lent, the season during which the Church traditionally prepares for Easter, has been celebrated by Christians around the world for centuries. It is a time for new Christians to enter the community of believers, and for every Christian to focus on repentance and renewal.
Many people, if they celebrate Lent at all, use it primarily as a time to give up a less-than-healthy habit. But the season includes so much more! There are practices, prayers, and services all designed to encourage reflection and repentance. But these don’t have to be intimidating. This course will help lower the barriers of Lent so that you can enter into this beneficial season at your own pace.
Along the way, we will break down some of the assumptions underlying potential resistance to Lent. We will also pay close attention to various themes of Lent, including repentance, renewal, and discipleship, and how these themes can help you develop a more robust faith.
This course is designed to be used during the season of Lent, but can profitably be used at any time of year. As such, it is divided into the weeks of Lent, allowing you or your group to utilize the material in a time-sensitive manner, and reflect on it with believers around the world.
We invite you to begin your journey through Lent with us!
Who this course is for:
- Families & individuals curious about the seasons of the Church
- Pastors & leaders seeking to incorporate Lent into their congregations
- Groups & individuals contemplating a season of repentance and/or renewal
- Christians of all traditions desiring a more liturgical season
- Long-time participants in Lent who want to reinvigorate their practice and contemplate afresh the aims and value of Lent
Instructors
- 4.7 Instructor Rating
- 405 Reviews
- 1,836 Students
- 2 Courses
Rev. Esau McCaulley, PhD is an assistant professor of New Testament at Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL. His first book entitled Sharing in the Son’s Inheritance was published by T & T Clark in 2019. His second book Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope was published by IVP academic on September 1st, 2020. It has won numerous awards including Christianity Today’s book of the year. He is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times. His writings have also appeared in places such as Washington Post, The Religious New Service, and Christianity Today. He is married to Mandy, a pediatrician and navy reservist. Together, they have four wonderful children.
- 4.8 Instructor Rating
- 29,141 Reviews
- 124,454 Students
- 43 Courses
David Seemuth has a Ph.D. from Marquette University in the field of Religious Studies with an emphasis on New Testament Theology. He has taught at the graduate level for over 30 years at numerous universities and seminaries. He also has 21 years of on-line teaching experience. His passion is to see that people not only understand the Scripture, but also apply them to daily life.
- 4.8 Instructor Rating
- 28,878 Reviews
- 123,256 Students
- 41 Courses
Jennifer Loop is currently a doctoral student at Durham University. She is the Director of Ministry Engagement for the Wisconsin Center for Christian Studies, and plays a critical role in the online education, both organizational and theological, by guiding the online student experience. Jennifer enjoys engaging with a virtual community of diverse students and learners to explore how theology, faith and practice intersect.