Lent
+ What is Lent?
+ Why participate in Lent?
+ Weekly Fasts
+ Good Friday Services
+ Easter Sunday Services
+ Songs for the Season
WHAT IS LENT?
The word Lent derives from an Old English word for spring and lengthen. Lent was originally a preparation period for those pursuing baptism but quickly became a season for the church as a whole to symbolically follow Jesus into the wilderness. Lent is a time of disruption — to break from our normal routines — to go into the wilderness ourselves in self-sacrifice and self-denial. We do this, not to earn anything from God, but to empty ourselves of lesser things in order to fill ourselves with the greater things of the gospel.
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WHY PARTICIPATE IN LENT?
Lent might not be something you’re familiar or overly comfortable with. So why are we making a point of emphasizing the Season of Lent at Central?
Two words: The Gospel.
Lent affords us an annual opportunity to laser our focus on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, to contemplate the cost that Jesus paid for our salvation, and the sufficiency of His sacrifice. Whereas Advent is a season of ever-increasing light as we await the incarnation of Jesus. Lent is a season of ever-increasing darkness in approach of the crucifixion of Jesus. Observing Lent affords us an intentional opportunity to remind ourselves that the resurrection only came after the crucifixion. Celebrating the resurrection of Jesus begins with embracing His suffering—and Lent is the opportunity for the church to do both.
Some think that Lent strikes an unnecessarily somber tone. But when practiced rightly, it actually invites us into a deeper hope (this has been referred to as bright sadness) and culminates in deeper joy. When we prepare ourselves for Easter by entering the sorrow and pain that preceded it, the celebration will be all the sweeter and more joyful.
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WEEKLY FASTS
Each weekly fast represents a common comfort to which our culture runs for distraction. Giving these up models Christ’s reign in your life and provides added time to commune with Him through the Word and prayer.
We see Lent as a gift, not a Law, and weekly fasts throughout the season of Lent as an opportunity to commune with Jesus more intentionally. Fasting isn’t only the neglecting of something but replacing it with a filling of a better thing, the best thing: Jesus.
This Lent we invite you to participate in our weekly fasts.
WEEK 1: FOOD* | Feb 14 - Feb 17
WEEK 2: TV & MOVIES | Feb 19 - Feb 24
WEEK 3: SOCIAL MEDIA & INTERNET BROWSING | Feb 26 - Mar 2
WEEK 4: CAFFEINE & SWEETS | Mar 4 - Mar 9
WEEK 5: MUSIC & PODCASTS | Mar 11 - Mar 16
WEEK 6: SHOPPING FOR NON-ESSENTIALS | Mar 18 - Mar 23
WEEK 7: SLEEP** | Mar 25 - Mar 30
*Week 1: Consider fasting one meal per day for the week or season, one whole day for the week or season, or the week itself.
**Week 7: Wake up an hour or two earlier or stay up an hour or two later and devote that time entirely to Jesus.
Consider building each week upon the next. For example, by week 7 you will find yourself fasting from everything listed above.
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GOOD FRIDAY SERVICES
Our Good Friday (1 hour) services are crafted to help us contemplate, revere, and even embrace the cross. As we approach Easter, it can be tempting to rush past Good Friday or turn away from the cross in discomfort. But we must see the cross as the precursor of joy, an inseparable part of the triumph that we celebrate at Easter.
Come join us!
Friday, March 29
+ Chilliwack Campus | 9.30am & 11.00am
46100 Chilliwack Central Road | MAP
+ Promontory Campus | 11.00am
Promontory Elementary, 46200 Stoneview Drive | MAP
+ Harrison Campus | 11.00am
514 Lillooet Avenue | MAP
Please note: On Good Friday all kids will stay in family worship for the entire service. Central values children worshipping along side their parents, having the opportunity to observe, learn, and participate in the larger church family, preparing for when they too will be in there one day. Activity pages will be available.
Childcare will be available for kids 5M - 6Y in Chilliwack only.
+ Stations of the Cross | Chilliwack Campus Before and after the Good Friday services we invite you to meditate on Christ’s journey to the cross through a reflective art display in the Slesse room. The exhibit will be open from 9am until 1pm. All ages are welcome.
EASTER SUNDAY SERVICES
On Easter we celebrate the fact that Jesus saves: He defeated sin on the cross and conquered death when He rose from the grave.
Come join us as we rejoice & focus on the implications of the resurrection.
Sunday, March 31
+ Chilliwack Campus | 9.00am & 10.45am
46100 Chilliwack Central Road | MAP
+ Agassiz Campus | 10.45am
Ag Hall, 6800 Pioneer Avenue | MAP
+ Promontory Campus | 10.45am
Promontory Elementary, 46200 Stoneview Drive | MAP
+ Lake Errock Campus | 9.00am
43745 Lougheed Highway | MAP
+ Harrison Campus | 10.45am
514 Lillooet Avenue | MAP
Please note: We'll have a full Kid's Ministry program available across all of our campuses. If you're attending our Chilliwack Campus, please check-in your child/ren and take them straight to their classrooms before the service.
Kids will remain in service until dismissed at all other campuses. Learn more.
SONGS FOR THE SEASON
Classic hymns and recent originals to help you engage in Lent, a season that exposes our sin and reawakens our need for the grace and love found only in Christ Jesus.
Got questions? We'd love to answer them!
Please contact Tyson Beesley | Worship Pastor - tyson@centralcommunity.ca