I didn't grow up observing Lent. Now, though, I observe Lent each year, and I learn so much about God and myself in the process. I've found that Lent is much richer than simply giving up chocolate. In the past few years, I’ve fasted from things other than food, read a special devotional to prepare for Easter, and more. Last year during this season, as we awaited the birth of our daughter, I spent time reflecting on new life in Christ. Fittingly, she was born just days before Easter. It was my most joyous Easter yet!
Whether or not you're liturgical, your Easter celebration can be more meaningful if you observe a period of preparation during Lent. I know it's made a difference for me. Here are our top Bible studies for the Easter season. Do them on your own, or gather a group to study together this Easter.
No Wonder They Crucified Him
This study examines Jesus as not simply meek and mild, but as a dangerous man because he was and is the God who is dangerously good. Take a fresh look at Jesus' call to action.
6 Session Bible Study
Of all the people admired in the world today, Jesus of Nazareth continually ranks at the top of the list. Even those who don't call themselves Christians regard Jesus as one of the wisest teachers and most loving leaders the world has ever known. He is still making the covers of magazines and being talked about in coffee shops with a popularity like no other person who has walked this earth. So why did his contemporaries kill him?
From his entry into Jerusalem to the Resurrection
8 Session Bible Study
Eight inductive Bible studies focus on the events of Jesus' final week on earth—his entry into Jerusalem, the last meal with his disciples, his trial, his Crucifixion, and his Resurrection.
Easter Week: Sacrifice and Salvation
A week of contrasts—from the Triumphal Entry to the Passion.
4 Session Bible Study
Holy Week changed the world, with the Cross as the turning point for all humankind. But it is also six days of amazing contrasts—from the joyful celebration of the Triumphal Entry to the Passion only days later. In between are days of both high drama—as in the confrontations in the temple—and high pathos—as in the Upper Room and Gethsemane. For people who have never thought about how these episodes fit together, this series seeks to bring all these conflicting events and emotions into a unified whole.
The Cross
The cross transforms everything for us.
13 Session Bible Study
These 13 inductive Bible studies based on John Stott's book The Cross of Christ show you how the cross transforms everything—your worship, your call to mission, and your ability to love your enemies or face suffering.
Give It Up for Lent
Don't just go through the motions.
3 Session Bible Study
The practice of Lent can easily become routine and perfunctory. We can go through the motions without letting them touch our hearts or change our lives. This Bible study will help you take time to make sure that as you give up something, you will gain much more.
Rediscovering Lent
Explore the history of Lent and what it can mean for you today.
Multi Session Bible Study
Lent is meant to be much more than a muscle contest for the will. Rather, through fasting and focus, Lent helps us to enter into close communion with Jesus as we ponder our sinfulness and the grace coming at Calvary. Many evangelicals are rediscovering the spiritual richness of this ancient tradition.
This download will help you explore the history of Lent and consider what it can mean in your own life. So whether Lent's relatively new to you, or it's been part of your life 's rhythm for many years, this exploration offers you something new to think about.
Liturgy for Lent, Even If You’re Non-Liturgical
Contemporary Christians, ancient practices, deeper faith.
Single Session Bible Study
Liturgical churches help lead the faithful to deeper, biblical lessons through seasons in order to prepare for major Christian observances. Through experience and practice, the 40 days of Lent can help Christians to prepare spiritually for the central moment of the Christian year: Easter.
Yet many Christians have not prepared for the joys of Easter by simplifying the life of faith, deepening prayer and Bible reading, practicing Christian disciplines, and engaging in a sacrificial life. A liturgical Lent makes a profound difference in a believer's life. Even if liturgy has not been part of your tradition, you can learn from its practice.
Leading to Easter: Searching the Soul
Search your soul as you learn about the triumphs and failures of the people closest to Jesus.
7 Session Bible Study
The season of Lent is a season for searching the soul. As you study Matthew 26–28, you will search your own soul through the lenses of the people closest to Jesus in his last hours. The last three chapters of Matthew are a juxtaposition of stories. While the theme of rejection runs through these chapters in Matthew, there is good news: joy of the resurrection that you can experience with new eyes.
The Risen Christ: Jesus’ Final Words on Earth
8 Session Bible Study
Christians sometimes meditate upon “Jesus’ last words”—the statements he made as he was dying upon the cross. But those actually are not Jesus’ last words, for, in the Gospels and Acts, we read of other critical questions he asked and statements he made after his resurrection. In this 9-session study, you will look closely at words Jesus spoke in the period between his resurrection and ascension.
A Resurrection that Matters
Our salvation before God stands on the Cross, yes. But it is also founded on something more.
Single Session Bible Study
One of the hallmarks of evangelical faith is that we are cruci-centric, or "Cross-centered." And that's not a bad thing. Rather than focusing the Christian life on merely the example of Jesus' life and earthly ministry, evangelicals look to his death as the sine qua non of our salvation. But does your gospel also have room for the Resurrection? This study will help show you why it should.
