Lenten Resources



Below are a variety of United Methodist Lenten Resources for local churches, small groups, families or Sunday School classes

Amplify Special Offer for NGUMC Churches in 2023

Church leaders in North Georgia who sign up their church/charge for a new subscription to Amplify Media will receive 30 days free plus 6 months at 50% off. To take part in this special offer:

  1. Go to https://amplifymedia.com/pricing.
  2. Select your subscription: choose between Basic, Premium, or Premium + Live Streaming
  3. Select your tier: choose either up to 100 subscribers or unlimited subscribers
  4. During checkout, enter the coupon code NGUMC before entering your credit card information.

Amplify is an online resource for church‐wide, group, or individual study, worship, and devotional material. Access anytime, anywhere, on any device – all with one subscription for your entire congregation. Stream thousands of videos, listen to the entire audio library of the Common English Bible, find Lenten studies for your church, and much more. 

Cokesbury Lenten Resources

Find Cokesbury's Lent, Holy Week, and Easter resources at www.cokesbury.com

Lent & Anti-Racism Study: Imago Dei

Imago Dei (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) Lenten Bible Study is a five-week study is written in the style of Lectio Divina. In this form of Bible study, all participants are equal, all insights are of equal value, and there are no wrong answers to correct. This form of Bible study is built upon prayerful listening to the Holy Spirit and to each other. Each is to take turns sharing by mutual invitation. In this Bible study, we seek to share with one another the image of God, celebrating our diversity, our equity, and our inclusion. During the study, we are looking for the same image of God displayed in the lectionary text used with the hope that the use of this model might facilitate our ability to live in the image of God and to perceive that same sacred image in others.

This free study may be downloaded from The General Commission on Religion and Race of The United Methodist Church.

Coins for Lent

Discipleship Ministries offers a family giving practice for Lent. Items on the printable daily guide will remind us of all that we have and how little others may have. Each Sunday, pray as a family for the project and the people who will benefit from your gifts. Our giving begins on Ash Wednesday and concludes with Holy Saturday. During Lent, Sundays are for worship and praise to God and are reflected with a weekly day of prayer.

Download at https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/articles/coins-for-lent-2023. 

Society of St Andrew Lent Resources

The Society of St. Andrew, a feeding ministry and United Methodist partner, is offering free devotionals for the season of Lent. This year’s theme is “Redeemed.” The deadline to order print materials is early February. The daily devotionals will start Ash Wednesday and conclude on Easter Sunday.

Order at https://endhunger.org/lent/.

Invite Your Community: Easter Outreach Resources

Invite your community to take part in your Easter worship services with the help of United Methodist Communication's outreach resources. Choose from banners, signs, posters, postcards, invitation cards, and more, all featuring a wide variety of designs and messages. 

Use promo code UMCEA23 to get up to $200 off. This offer is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Once funds are depleted, the code will expire.

Order at https://umc.outreach.com/partners/united-methodist/easter.

Online Lenten Resources

Living Out God's Truth: Small Group Conversation Guide

The North Georgia Conference offers a 6-week conversation guide for small groups based on the teachings of The Rev. Dr. Gary Mason at the 2019 North Georgia Annual Conference. This guide, Living Out God’s Truth, makes for an excellent Lenten study.

Devotionals and Books

Lent Studies for individuals or groups from Cokesbury and Abingdon Press

Because of This I Rejoice, Max O Vincent

For too long Lent has been thought of as a season of self-sacrifice and discipline that sounds to many Christians like a list of spiritual chores. Lenten disciplines become the spiritual equivalent of New Year's resolutions to lose weight, be healthier, or practice better money management. These promises are easily made and often quickly broken, leaving us feeling like we do not measure up to what we should be.

In his letter to the Philippians, the apostle Paul joyfully turns to spiritual practices that draw him closer to God amid persecution and imprisonment. These practices keep Paul connected to a sense of God's power and presence. Joy flows from Paul and becomes a vital part of his relationship with the Philippians.

Because of This I Rejoice is a 6-week study of Philippians that explores what Paul teaches about joyfully practicing spiritual disciplines. The intent of these disciplines is to help us focus less on ourselves and more on God. This Lenten study invites us to engage in the same spiritual practices as a way to grow closer to God and allow joy to flow through our lives.

My Body Is Good: Giving Up Diet Culture and Embracing Body Positivity for Lent, Rev. Anne Cumings

Equipped with a body-positive mindset, Cumings has created an engaging and uplifting study to guide readers through a Lenten season of celebrating their bodies. Written specifically for women, each daily meditation offers a scripture passage, a reflection, and a prayer. Readers are encouraged to capture their questions, ideas, and thoughts through journaling and other spiritual practices, all with the intention of healing from diet culture. Join her on this Lenten journey, and never again forget that your God-given body, made from dust, is good.

Our Lenten Prayer: Reflections and Observations from The Lord's Prayer, Rev. Olu Brown

During Lent, worshipers around the world join together in a common theme of Christian faith, practicing self-reflection and remembrance of the sacrifice Jesus Christ made on Calvary. It is not only a time of individual reflection, but a time of communal reflection, reminding us that we are a global community of believers, and we have a responsibility to one anther and to our world.

The Lord's Prayer: The Meaning and Power of the Prayer Jesus Taught, Rev. Adam Hamilton

Most Christians know the Lord’s Prayer by heart. But do we really understand and appreciate the meaning and power of its words, what we ask of God each time we pray it? In The Lord’s Prayer: The Meaning and Power of the Prayer Jesus Taught, pastor and bestselling author Adam Hamilton guides us to really know—and really pray—the Lord’s Prayer. He explores each of its rich lines and their meaning in the Bible, illuminating what we ask of God and what we ask of ourselves through its words. And he teaches us how to use it as a pattern for our own prayer life. The book itself is available along with a leader guide, leader kit, DVD, worship resources and bookmark packets (25 per packet).

The Most Important Prayer of All, Rev. Adam Hamilton (New Children's Book)

In this new children's book by the Rev. Adam Hamilton, a little girl learns the meaning of the Lord's Prayer from her grandfather. Sold in packs of 10 for churches to purchase and give to families. This book recommended for ages 3-12 is perfect for parents, grandparents and other caregivers to read with children.

Witness at the Cross: A Beginner's Guide to Good Friday,  Dr. Amy-Jill Levine

Experience Holy Friday from the perspective of those who watched Jesus die. In Witness at the Cross, Dr. Amy-Jill Levine shows how the people at the cross each have distinct roles to play in the Gospels. The story of Jesus’s death is not something we just read: we think about it, and we experience it; we hear the taunts of the soldiers, the priests, and the passersby even as we hear the famous “seven last words” from the cross. Available resources include the book itself, a leader guide and/or kit and a DVD.

Unrevealed Until Its Season, Rev. Dr. James C. Howell

The Rev. Dr. James C. Howell provides this meaningful Lenten devotional guide for individuals and small groups, Unrevealed Until Its Season is also a valuable resource and perfect gift for musicians as they prepare for worship, and for ministers as they lead worship. Howell ponders phrases from old and new hymns, such as “Be Thou My Vision,” “Hymn of Promise,” “All Creatures of Our God and King,” “For Everyone Born,” “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” “Lift High the Cross,” and “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.” The book is available in print or eBook formats.

Resources