Lent Week 1
Confession & Confidence
Lent is a period of 40 days that leads us into celebrating Easter. For thousands of years, followers of Jesus have used Lent as a time of preparation – to ready ourselves to commemorate Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection at Easter.
For the next six weeks, we’ll be praying as a church for God to consecrate our hearts and re-centre ourselves on God’s presence. Lent is a space in time where we’re called to stop whatever we’re doing, no matter how important it might be, and enter more intentionally into the practices of prayer, fasting, confession, and repentance.
Yet the purpose of these practices aren’t the end goal in themselves. The goal is to line up our schedules, our bodies, our attention, and habits, with the deepest desire of our hearts – to be with Jesus. The purpose of Lent is to intentionally find ways to return to God with all our heart. To recognise where we’ve distracted ourselves from him, and what’s numbed us from being aware of his presence in our daily lives.
Lent has commonly been used as a time for confession and repentance – turning away from things that divide and damage our love for God and others. It’s a willingness to be very honest about the ways we’ve moved away from God, and to tell as much truth about it as we’re able. At the heart of repentance is a desire to restore what is really true about God and about us in our innermost being. And we do this by confidently entering his presence to experience and receive his grace and forgiveness through Jesus.
We begin this week by reading words from Mark’s Gospel and the book of Hebrews. They remind us of Jesus’ own battle and victory against temptation and sin. And after the reading, there’s a prayer asking for God to help us to turn away from anything we know to be wrong and sinful.
Scripture
Mark 1:9-13
Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised by John in the Jordan. Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
Hebrews 4:15-16
We do not have a high priest who is unable to feel sympathy for our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Prayer
Heavenly Father,
your Son battled with the powers of darkness,
and grew closer to you in the desert.
He was tempted as I am, yet without sin.
Give me grace to obey your Spirit;
and, as you know my weakness,
may I know your power to save;
through Jesus Christ my gracious Lord,
who is alive and reigning with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen