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Seven Books to Inspire Reflection for Lent

Published Date: March 29, 2017

By Kari Lutes, Alumni Office Intern

One of the ways we can shift our focus during the season of Lent is by being intentional in what we read. Many devotionals and books are available during the season of Lent to help us to slow down and reflect on the sacrifice of Christ and realign our hearts with His. Here is a list of books from familiar voices of Seedbed, Asburians, and Christian thinkers like C.S. Lewis as well as untraditional options like poems, paintings and single word meditations:

 

Seedbed Recommendations:

Centurion: A free ebook by Sean Gladding, MDiv 2002

https://store.seedbed.com/products/centurion-easter-event

 “Enjoy this mini-series of historical fiction as you participate in Easter worship. Written from the perspective of a Roman centurion, it will draw you in and help you see the Easter event in a fresh way.”

 

Unseen Real by Stephen Seamands, MDiv 1972 & Professor of Christian Doctrine

https://store.seedbed.com/products/the-unseen-real-life-in-the-light-of-the-ascension-of-jesus

 “In The Unseen Real: Life in the Light of the Ascension of Jesus, Dr. Stephen Seamands explores the ascension of Christ, not as it relates to the past or the future but to the ‘here and now.’

The ascension means that Jesus is King and humanity is exalted. He is always personally present with us and gives us power to rule over our enemies. We have been called to join Him in his on-going ministry of intercession and in his mission to the world.

The ascended Christ invites you to an ascension-shaped life. ‘To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne” (Rev 3:21). This book can help you discover what that means.’”

Asbury Recommendations:

Isaiah Old and New by Ben Witherington III, Jean R. Amos Professor of New Tesatament for Doctoral Studies

http://fortresspress.com/product/isaiah-old-and-new-exegesis-intertextuality-and-hermeneutics

 “Reading the Book of Isaiah in its original context is the crucial prerequisite for reading its citation and use in later interpretation, including the New Testament writings, argues Ben Witherington III. Here he offers pastors, teachers, and students an accessible commentary to Isaiah, as well as a reasoned consideration of how Isaiah was heard and read in early Christianity. By reading “forward and backward” Witherington advances the scholarly discussion of intertextuality and opens a new avenue for biblical theology.”

Witherington said: “[This book] deals with all the important Lenten texts from Isaiah applied to Jesus’ ministry, death, and resurrection, a perfect focus for Lent.” 

Traditional Recommendations: 

Preparing for Easter: Fifty Devotional Readings from C.S. Lewis by C.S. Lewis

https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062641649/preparing-for-easter

 “Together in one special volume, selections from the best of beloved bestselling author C. S. Lewis’s classic works for readers contemplating the “grand miracle” of Jesus’s resurrection.

Preparing for Easter is a concise, handy companion for the faithful and curious of all Christian traditions to help them deepen their knowledge and consideration of this holy season—a time of reflection as we consider Jesus’s sacrifice and his joyous rise from the dead.

Carefully curated, each selection in Preparing for Easter draws on a major theme in Lewis’s writings on the Christian life, [and help us] consider why we can have confident faith in what happened on the cross.”

Songs Forever New: Lent and Easter with Charles Wesley by Paul Wesley Chilcote

https://www.cokesbury.com/product/9780819223739/the-song-forever-new/

 “A daily devotional inspired by the hymns of Charles Wesley, this new book paves the way for spiritual pilgrimage throughout this sacred period of the Christian year. Wesley’s lyrical theology and hymns represent a monumental devotional treasure within both the Anglican and Methodist heritage…

The hymns are arranged around themes tied to scriptural texts proper to each day. Each of the fifty-four meditations includes a biblical text, the Wesley hymn selection (with a recommended tune for singing from the Episcopal Hymnal 1982), a brief meditation, and a prayer for the day. Suggestions are also provided for the use of these materials in a pattern of either Morning or Evening Prayer”

Untraditional Recommendations:

 

Pauses for Lent by Trevor Hudson

http://books.upperroom.org/book/pauses-for-lent/

 “In Pauses for Lent, Trevor Hudson offers a beautifully minimalist book in which he focuses on one word for each day of Lent. You are invited to pause, focus on the word, read a scripture and a brief meditation related to the word, and then offer a prayer.”

 

Under the Fig Tree: Visual Prayers and Poems for Lent by Roger Hutchinson

https://www.churchpublishing.org/underthefigtree

 “In John 1:48, Nathanael says to Jesus, “How do you know me?” Jesus replies, with a twinkle in his eye, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree.” Lent is a time to slow down and journey with Jesus through his life, death, and resurrection. Under the Fig Tree is a book of 46 drawings, photographs, and paintings inspired by Lenten themes, readings, and stories for each day of Lent and Holy Week. The images, like snapshots, are colorful, inspired, and rife with emotion. The reader receives an opportunity to reflect, slow down, and walk with Jesus as a friend and disciple, to sit with Jesus under the fig tree and talk, listen, and glimpse the face and heart of authentic love.”

Each book on the list offers a different way into the Lenten season. Whether you choose to dive into the prophecies of Isaiah or mediate on a single word, the book you choose will help you to grow during this spiritual season. Start a book to help you refocus in the remaining days of Lent or make a selection for next year, prioritizing quietness and reflection during the Lenten season. 

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