I grew up observing the season of Lent in the church so I was familiar with it. This book opened my eyes to a whole new way of thinking of the season of Lent as well as practical ways to observe it. The book is divided into three sections: The Case for Lent; The Path of Lent; and Leading Others Through Lent. In the first section the reader understands the history of Lent including how early church leaders called their people to a regular season of fasting, prayer and sacrificial giving to enable themselves to grow in maturity in their Christian faith. These practices are not legalistic exercises, but to aid the individual Christian to experience the grace of God. The purpose is to reorient ourselves and to turn our focus away from ourselves and towards God.
The second section of the book examines the practices of Lent including fasting, prayer, almsgiving, and confession. Again the purpose of these disciplines is to allow God to change your character and make you holy. Practicing these disciplines causes the individual believer to realize what he or she does not have control over and to surrender that control to Christ.
The last section is for those leading others through Lent including a chapter on families with small children. It also has information on leading churches through Lent which would be helpful for any church leader or pastor.
I recommend this book for anyone desiring to grow in their understanding of the meaning of Lent and its practices. I received this book from Moody Publishers for this review.
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