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Lenten Small Groups
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Week 1
Repentance is an invitation to relationship. Before we can truly express sorrow for our sins and make a change in our lives, we have to acknowledge the state of our relationship with the one we may have hurt or walked away from.
Reflection Questions- How would I describe my relationship with God?
- When did I first encounter the Lord?
- What may be some obstacles to my relationship with God?
- Exodus 3: 1-12
- Mark 1: 1-15
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Week 2Repentance is a transformative journey. We turn away from one way of life and move towards the way of life God intends for us. God's intention for our lives is not for our destruction or our unhappiness. God desires that we live in the light of His glory. God desires our peace of mind and heart. God desires that we know and own we are His beloved sons and daughters. This truth is revealed through His transforming light.
Reflection Questions- Can I admit I need transformation in my life?
- How does God view me?
- What are the dark places in life that need God's light?
- Why is the Lord asking for a transformation of me?
- Ezekiel 18:21-28
- Ezekiel 36: 16-38
- Luke 5: 35-39
- Luke 9:28-36
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Week 3The Samaritan Woman teaches us what it takes to face the truth of our "stuff". That is the hard part of repentance, facing our "stuff". Yet, the Lord invites us to do it with Him, for with Him there is mercy and the fullness of redemption.
Reflection Questions- What are sins, strongholds, addictions, hurts, etc. I need to be raw and honest about?
- Can I believe that I can be forgiven and set free?
- What does freedom in Christ look like?
- John 4: 5-42
- Psalm 130
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Week 4Sight is so critical to our everyday living. Light helps us to see more clearly. Jesus comes to open our eyes and to see with greater clarity. We must allow him to do so. We must acknowledge that we may suffer from some spiritual blindness that only Christ can heal.
Reflection Questions- Where is my spiritual sight limited?
- How has God opened my eyes throughout this Lenten journey?
- What darkness am I still holding on to?
- Where was the light of Christ in my week?
- John 9: 1:41
- Ephesians 5:8-14
- 2 Peter 1:3-11
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Week 5It takes a lot to admit we need to let go of some things. It takes a lot to admit we have been in some dark and desperate places. Yet, there is great freedom in coming out of those places. There is a freedom that comes from running out of the confines of the tombs of our lives. There is a wisdom to having gone through what we have gone through. There is a new life that comes on the other side.
Reflection Questions- How have I been challenged to "die" to some things/situations/circumstances this Lent?
- Has God called me out of the tomb or am I still there?
- Where have I experienced a glimpse of the resurrection this Lent?
- John 11: 1-45
- Isaiah 55
- Luke 9:23-25
- Galatians 5:24-25
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Holy Week"The second word spoken by Jesus on the Cross recorded by St Luke is a word of hope, it is his answer to the prayer of one of the two men crucified with him. The good thief comes to his senses before Jesus and repents, he realizes he is facing the Son of God who makes the very Face of God visible, and begs him; “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingly power” (v. 42). The Lord’s answer to this prayer goes far beyond the request: in fact he says: “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (v. 43). Jesus knows that he is entering into direct communion with the Father and reopening to man the way to God’s paradise. Thus, with this response, he gives the firm hope that God’s goodness can also touch us, even at the very last moment of life, and that sincere prayer, even after a wrong life, encounters the open arms of the good Father who awaits the return of his son." - Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience, 15 February 2012
Scripture for Meditation- Luke 23: 39-43
- Jeremiah 31: 31-37
- Ezekiel 33: 10-16
- Hebrews 8: 8-12
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