Lenten Lights is a series of devotional readings leading up to Easter. A brief introduction to the series can be read here.

[Begin with no candles lit.]

HE IS GOD! He cannot stay dead. HE IS ALIVE. The true Glory of God shines in the world. The Light has won! The Eternal Light! TheBright Morning Star! The Light of the World!

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.

[Light all seven candles.]

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether…

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Lenten Lights is a series of devotional readings leading up to Easter. A brief introduction to the series can be read here.

[One candle lit before reading]

This was the darkest day in history. The Son of God himself was killed by people who weren’t satisfied simply to reject him; they couldn’t stand to have him exist. They thought they could put God out of existence.

And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him.

“You stiff-necked people . . . you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecut…

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Lenten Lights is a series of devotional readings leading up to Easter. A brief introduction to the series can be read here.

Sixth Sunday of Lent (if reading weekly)

or

Thursday before Easter (if reading daily)

[Two candles lit before reading]

God made very sure that we could understand who he is, what he is like, and what he wants for us and what he wants from us. He did this by sending his Son, Jesus. Now we don’t have just the written Word, we have the Living Word — a real person. When people watched Jesus, they were seeing God.

BUT even God himself, God in person, was rejected. People hated him and rejected his message from God.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his on…

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Lenten Lights is a series of devotional readings leading up to Easter. A brief introduction to the series can be read here.

Fifth Sunday of Lent (if reading weekly)

or

Wednesday before Easter (if reading daily)

[Three candles lit before reading]

God wants people to be happy. And the only way we can be happy is by following his instructions. So he gave us his Word, his written Word, to make very clear to us where our life comes from and how we can keep it.

BUT again and again we think our ideas are better than God’s. And we turn from life to death.

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lor…

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Lenten Lights is a series of devotional readings leading up to Easter. A brief introduction to the series can be read here.

Fourth Sunday of Lent (if reading weekly)

or

Tuesday before Easter (if reading daily)

[Four candles lit before reading]

Even before the world was created, God knew that Jesus would be the Way, the Truth and the Life for all who believed in him. But God didn’t just ignore his people then, waiting until the time came for Jesus. No, he gave them a way to be forgiven. If they offered sacrifices from a heart of worship, they could renew their friendship with God as they proved their reliance on him.

BUT people did not rely on God. Some did not follow his way of sa…

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Lenten Lights is a series of devotional readings leading up to Easter. A brief introduction to the series can be read here.

Third Sunday of Lent (if reading weekly)

or

Monday before Easter (if reading daily)

[Five candles lit before reading]

Usually God holds back his anger over sin. But one time he let it loose, so we would know how serious it is to turn our backs away from God and toward the darkness, and so we would know how great his wrath is against sin.

BUT he did not totally destroy his creation. He showed us his mercy, through Noah.

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continua…

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Lenten Lights is a series of devotional readings leading up to Easter. A brief introduction to the series can be read here.

Second Sunday of Lent (if reading weekly)

or

Palm Sunday (if reading daily)

[Six candles lit before reading]

God created people to give him glory. And he created a perfect place for them—a place that reflected his glory. He gave them everything they could need or want for happiness.

BUT they listened to God’s enemy. They didn’t really believe God’s gifts to them were enough for them. So they turned their backs on God, and they lost their perfect place to live and their perfect friendship with God. Now, they could see pain and futility and death in their futur…

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Lenten Lights is a series of devotional readings leading up to Easter. A brief introduction to the series can be read here.

First Sunday of Lent (if reading weekly)

or

Saturday of Palm Sunday weekend (if reading daily)

[All seven candles lit before reading]

God created the universe—from galaxies to water spiders. He created the breeze that calms us and the hurricane that terrifies us. All of it is to show us what he is like, to display his glory and personality.

BUT people have let themselves be blinded to the truth. Some take all of God’s creation for granted and say it just got there somehow—no need for God. Others worship the things that were created and don’t see God behind it…

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On each Sunday of this Lenten season and on Good Friday and on Easter, one of the devotions from Lenten Lights will be posted here — a total of eight devotional readings.

Each reading begins with a few sentences that summarize the thought for the day. All the rest is Scripture — letting God speak to us directly from his Word.

Some people use each devotion as it is posted weekly. Others save them up and use them daily in the last days leading up to Easter. And if you choose, it also can be used together with seven candles, representing the Light of the World.

Reading Weekly

There is one reading for each Sunday of Lent and for Good Friday and Easter.

Reading Daily

Daily use should …

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Growing up in the South in years when there was a lot more etiquette in the air, I learned an important lesson about Easter — that’s the day you can begin to wear white shoes again after winter. Fortunately, my family and church taught me more crucial lessons about the holiday that marks the crux of the Christian’s life.

Crucial, crux, holiday— in these words we see even our language bowing to the essential nature of the event we remember during Lent and Easter. Good Friday is not just a day off work; it is a holy day. Easter’s resurrection could happen only after the crucifixion, and the cross is like a crossroads in our lives. Every one of us must stand at that crux, that point requirin…

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