A Lenten Study Guide by Frazer Church

A LENTEN STUDY GUIDE – INSTRUCTIONS INTRODUCTION This Study Guide was created with the intent that all of us during this Lenton Season might re-visit our understanding of prayer. Instead of creating a source with daily readings, we have determined that a once-a-week Lesson Plan would be helpful in guiding small group leaders and Sunday morning classes with material that would be thought provoking, interactive, and beneficial to the individual or group participating in the Lesson plans. As a result, each week there will be a lesson that gives guidelines to you as a leader of the group in running your weekly meeting, and an opportunity for each person within the group to reconsider their relationship to prayer in a community setting. At the same time there will also be suggestions as to ways that the individual can utilize the focus of each week to walk their way through this Lenton season in a more personal way. In some cases, for example, there will be instructions (Daily Exercise) for each day of that week in addition to the lesson guidelines done in a group setting (Exercises run Monday to Friday). There will also be cases where the general principle being discussed that week can be practiced by individuals on their own without any other instructions.

Daily Exercise: As the Leader you should give out the instructions for the week so that your other

members may practice the disciplines being emphasized that week.

PURPOSE OF LENTEN PROGRAM Lent is a 40-day (6 week) period of introspection and repentance by which Christians prepare themselves for the coming events of Passion Week that culminate in Easter. Churches have participated in this process by offering various programs to challenge members to take up their crosses to follow Christ. Some churches, for example, have once a week Lenton lunches with a speaker/preacher talking about some aspect of the Christian doctrine or tradition relating to the coming of Easter. Prayer and fasting throughout the Lenton Season has been a practice of the Christian church for virtually the whole of its existence. Though we don’t dress in sackcloth during this time, and only put ashes on our faces for the Ash Wednesday service, there is still an overall sense that this 40-day window prior to Good Friday and Easter is one that is extremely important to the spiritual life of the individual Christian and the overall church. In some ways the fact that the period of Lent is so important makes the whole idea of Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras), also practiced by many Christians, kind of ludicrous. It creates the false impression that you can turn on and off your humility and commitment to Christ and His cause. To practice excessive indulgence, if just for one day, seems to fly in the face of 24/7-365 spirituality that is a focal point for Lent. What we are offering to you this season of Lent is a chance to grow closer to God and the community of faith through carefully integrating prayer in its many forms into this 40-day period of Lent. Our hope is that you will be better for it as an individual believer and member of this local body, and that the Kingdom of God as-a-whole will be stronger because of this time of spiritual reflection and Christian practices.

LESSON 1 – CONTINUOUS PRAYER INTRODUCTION This week our goal is to learn to live in an attitude of prayer. Several passages of Scripture tell us to be in constant prayer throughout our lives (see, Rom. 12:12; Eph. 6:18; Col. 4:2; I Thess. 5:15). The Lord’s Prayer (also called the “Our Father”) has been prayed throughout the day by Christians since Jesus taught it to His Disciples. Many consider it one of the best depictions of the Gospel available to us as Christians and recommend praying it often during the day. In the Rosary of the Catholic Church the “Our Father” is prayed at least six times. The early Christian document, The Didache, says that Christians should pray it three times a day. The point is that continuous prayer is a part of Christian tradition going back to the New Testament. So, be in an attitude of prayer each day this week. Daily Exercise: This week pray the Lord’s Prayer several times throughout your day. You might also pray “breath prayers” continuously as well. Breath prayers are quick statements of prayer such as: I love you Jesus; Bless you Lord; Help me Jesus; Be merciful to me Jesus; I am yours Lord; Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, and others like this. These prayers recognize that your every moment belongs to God, and you are always in His presence. Repeat this pattern every day this week as a discipline. QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER How often do I consciously pray throughout the day? Do I have a constant awareness of my connection to God wherever I am and whatever I am doing? Why or why not? SCRIPTURE PASSAGE FOR THIS WEEK — Matthew 6:5-15 ■ READ & RETELL — Someone in the group reads the passage out loud while the rest of the group follows along in their own Bible. After a moment or two have someone restate the passage in their own words – let the group fill in the blanks from their memory of the passage. ■ READ & LOOK — Now read the passage once again. Discuss together what this passage says to you about God, Jesus, the Spirit, or his ultimate plan. ■ READ & LOOK AGAIN — Read the passage once more. Discuss together what this passage says about human beings and their relationship to God.

∑

INSIDE ME (PERSONAL REFLECTION) How does this passage reflect my own life and circumstances? What do I need to change or emphasize? WHO ELSE (PERSONAL REFLECTION) Who do I know that can relate to this passage? How can I tell them or help them benefit from it?

LESSON 2 – MEDITATION INTRODUCTION This week we will explore the nature of Meditation Prayer. Most of us live busy lives and it can be hard to find time to stop and focus our attention on things that are good for our soul. The Bible values time spent in thoughtful consideration of the things that are most valuable to us as followers of God. And yet, when the Psalmist speaks of meditating on God’s Word, we oftentimes find it hard to relate. Each day this week will be like a training session for us. Every day we will read a passage of Scripture and then meditate on its significance for us. We will then ask the Lord to tell us how this particular Scripture relates to us as a Christ-follower, and how we should apply it to our lives. If the Holy Spirit indicates to us that there are things within the passage that should be incorporated into our lives, we will pray immediately and grant the Lord access to our hearts to make the necessary changes. Daily Exercise: Passages for Reflection each day this week: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23; John 5:19-29; Romans 6:1-14; I Corinthians 12:12-26; Ephesians 6:10-19 QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER Where does the Word of God stand in your list of priorities each day? Do you make time to read God’s Word so that it may used by God to instill in you principles and inspiration for living the holy life? SCRIPTURE PASSAGE FOR THIS WEEK — Psalm 119:33-40; 97-104 ■ READ & RETELL — Have someone in the group read the passage out loud while the rest of the group follows along in their own Bible. After a moment or two have someone restate the passage in their own words – let the group fill in the blanks from their memory of the passage. ■ READ & LOOK — Now read the passage once again. Discuss together what this passage says to you about God, Jesus, the Spirit, or his ultimate plan. ■ READ & LOOK AGAIN — Read the passage once more. Discuss together what this passage says about human beings and their relationship to God.

∑ INSIDE ME (PERSONAL REFLECTION) How does this passage reflect my own life and circumstances? What do I need to change or emphasize? WHO ELSE (PERSONAL REFLECTION) Who do I know that can relate to this passage? How can I tell them or help them benefit from it?

LESSON 3 – PENITENTIAL PRAYER INTRODUCTION This week we will spend our time in Penitential Prayer. This form of prayer is inwardly focused, and usually relates to our seeking purification as Christians. So, as we go through this week, we should use our prayer time to search out our hearts for sins and impurities. We should begin each day asking the Holy Spirit to point out to us anything that might hinder our relationship to God or reduce our spirituality (Psalm 139:23-24). When we pray in this fashion, we begin by humbling ourselves before the Lord, and reminding ourselves that we serve a God whose very nature is Absolute Purity and Holiness. When the Spirit makes us aware that there is something that we have perhaps allowed to creep into our life that is dangerous to our soul, we should immediately cry out to God for mercy and forgiveness. We should ask God to cleanse our hearts of all that might separate us from His loving presence and give us the strength to walk faithfully as His follower going forward. Close your prayer time with a heart of thankfulness for His mercy and love!! Daily Exercise: Begin your prayer time with a request of God to show you any part of your life that is not under the full control of the Holy Spirit – offer it to God and give thanks. QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER Where in your life is the struggle taking place? Name to yourself what it is that you need God’s help in overcoming. Who do you know that is having their own struggles – how can you be God’s servant to them? SCRIPTURE PASSAGE FOR THIS WEEK — Psalm 32 ■ READ & RETELL — Have someone in the group read the passage out loud while the rest of the group follows along in their own Bible. After a moment or two have someone restate the passage in their own words – let the group fill in the blanks from their memory of the passage. ■ READ & LOOK — Now read the passage once again. Discuss together what this passage says to you about God, Jesus, the Spirit, or his ultimate plan. ■ READ & LOOK AGAIN — Read the passage once more. Discuss together what this passage says about human beings and their relationship to God.

LESSON 4 – INTERCESSORY PRAYER INTRODUCTION Did you know that you belong to one of the largest communities that ever existed? When we became Christ-followers we became part of a world-wide body of believers; we are brothers and sisters to Christians wherever they are found on planet Earth. This week we will consider our responsibility as Christians to “stand in the gap” (see Ezekiel 22) for all believers everywhere. It is easy to pray for family and friends, but Christians everywhere need our prayer support as well. Remember, Jesus stood in the gap for us when he went to the Cross & rose again. Moreover, Paul points out that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us all the time (Romans 8:26-27). As part of the world-wide community of faith we need to stand in the gap for our fellow believers whether they are currently under persecution or just living as a minority group in a predominantly non-Christian culture. Daily Exercise: This week specifically pray for all Christians throughout the world (perhaps you can pick a country on a map and pray for the Christians there). More specifically, pray for the missionaries Frazer supports – pray for them by name and ask God to empower their ministries. If need be, search our website to find their names and the countries in which they work. QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER Do you believe that our prayers on behalf of others (even nations) can have an impact? Should we pray for people (such as governing officials) that we don’t trust or believe in? SCRIPTURE PASSAGES FOR THIS WEEK — I Timothy 2:1-4; James 5:13-20 ■ READ & RETELL — Someone in the group reads the passage out loud while the rest of the group follows along in their own Bible. After a moment or two have someone restate the passage in their own words – let the group fill in the blanks from their memory of the passage. ■ READ & LOOK — Now read the passage once again. Discuss together what this passage says to you about God, Jesus, the Spirit, or his ultimate plan. ■ READ & LOOK AGAIN — Read the passage once more. Discuss together what this passage says about human beings and their relationship to God.

LESSON 5 – FASTING AND PRAYER

INTRODUCTION This week our subject is prayer and fasting. The primary mode of fasting in Hebrew and Christian tradition has been to deny oneself of food and drink for a set period of time. During that period of time the individual also engaged in prayer seeking for the help or mercy of God. In the Old Testament fasting was often associated with repentance on behalf of someone or even for a large group of people. Esther called for prayer and fasting when she broke the Law by entering the throne room of the King of Persia to save the Jewish people from being exterminated. (Esther 4:16) The King of Ninevah proclaimed a fast of repentance when Jonah prophesied that the Assyrian city would be destroyed. Ezra proclaimed a fast for God’s protection before the people began their return to Jerusalem in order to restore the walls of the city. In the New Testament the Christian leaders prayed and fasted before making any decisions, and especially when they ordained people to do ministry on their behalf. Daily Exercise: Choose one day this week and fast a meal (you may choose to fast on other days as well if you wish). Dedicate the hour that the meal would have been consumed to prayer and intercession on behalf of an issue that truly needs to be resolved in your life or someone else’s. QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER Where do you need a breakthrough from God? Is there something that desperately needs the attention of God – fast for it this week. SCRIPTURE PASSAGE FOR THIS WEEK — Isaiah 58 (note the connection between the attitude of the heart, our actions, and fasting) ■ READ & RETELL — Someone in the group reads the passage out loud while the rest of the group follows along in their own Bible. After a moment or two have someone restate the passage in their own words – let the group fill in the blanks from their memory of the passage. ■ READ & LOOK — Now read the passage once again. Discuss together what this passage says to you about God, Jesus, the Spirit, or his ultimate plan. ■ READ & LOOK AGAIN — Read the passage once more. Discuss together what this passage says about human beings and their relationship to God.

LESSON 6 – PRAYERS OF THANKSGIVING

INTRODUCTION This week we spend our time being thankful. Lent is about preparation for Easter, and Easter is about the Victory over Sin and Death. So, ultimately, Easter is about being thankful. So, this week we want to spend our time living in an attitude of thanksgiving. Sometimes we get so busy with our everyday life that we don’t take the time to simply be thankful for what we have. Let’s name some reasons for being thankful as we begin this week; though we are not alike in our lives and experiences many of the things we should be thankful for are shared among us all. We can be thankful for Christ Jesus and our relationship with Him; He is our source of life. We can be thankful for our family and friends, and for those in our family and friends who are most dear to us. We can be thankful for the opportunities we have to go to school, to work, or to be retired from a life of work. We can be thankful for the activities that we get to do each week and how they make our life happier and healthier. You get the picture – this week learn to be thankful (Ephesians 5:20). Daily Exercise: Each day pick one thing in your relationship to Christ as your focal point. Then take a few moments and give thanks to God for it – remind yourself of His favor to you. QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER How often do you pray without asking anything of God? Why is it hard to just be thankful to God for all that He offers to us: protection in trials; strength to overcome; comfort in sorrow; mercy in transgression; grace to love? SCRIPTURE PASSAGE FOR THIS WEEK — Psalm 111 ■ READ & RETELL — Someone in the group reads the passage out loud while the rest of the group follows along in their own Bible. After a moment or two have someone restate the passage in their own words – let the group fill in the blanks from their memory of the passage. ■ READ & LOOK — Now read the passage once again. Discuss together what this passage says to you about God, Jesus, the Spirit, or his ultimate plan. ■ READ & LOOK AGAIN — Read the passage once more. Discuss together what this passage says about human beings and their relationship to God.

∑