When you read through the Bible there are remarkable connections that God has woven through its pages. From century to century, through a diverse group of authors, God has provided a consistent message of love, justice, grace, redemption and hope.
In particular, it is amazing to see the way God used His prophets to provide glimpses of His ultimate solution to our greatest problem, sin. Time and again God placed clues about the coming Messiah in the prophets’ messages, preparing us to encounter Jesus. From His birth to His death (and everything before, during and after!) God used the prophets to paint a portrait of the Christ, the Messiah that would bring salvation to His people among all the nations.
The devotional booklet you hold in your hands is a forty-day guide writ- ten by people within the Eastbrook family to help us draw near to Jesus Christ as we prepare ourselves for the joys of Easter. Traditionally, this journey is called Lent, beginning on Ash Wednesday and carrying for- ward to Easter Sunday. Lent is shaped as a forty-day journey, echoing the forty-year journey of Israel to the Promised Land and Jesus’ forty days of temptation in the wilderness, intending to lead us into deeper engage- ment with God through prayerful reflection and reading of Scripture.
This year, our Lenten devotional will trace these glimpses and clues as they bring into focus the Hope of our salvation: Jesus, the promised Messiah. Each week explores a particular theme through a series of prophecies. The daily readings will include both an Old Testament prophecy and a New Testament scripture that echoes, expands, or clarifies it.
And so, we enter into this forty-day journey during the season of Lent, inviting God to paint a clearer picture of His plan for the world. Through prophecy and fulfillment, we will explore Jesus’ incarnation, His mission, earthly work, and suffering, as well as what is still to come: the fullness of God’s Kingdom and the final judgment.
May God grow all of us as we embark on this journey together.
Matt Erickson
Senior Pastor, Eastbrook Church
How to use this Devotional
- Plan a 15-minute window each day when you can thoughtfully do the daily reading. Set a time, create a pattern, and stick to it for the Lenten season.
- Decide whether you want to invite your friends, family, or small group to join you.
- Begin each day by reading the Scripture passage for each day.
- Read the devotional and reflect on it. Use the “Dig Deeper” questions to talk about it with someone else or to journal on your own. You can download a PDF of the 2020 Lenten Devotional here.
- The “Family Talk” section of the devotional is written for, and addressed to, elementary-age kids. Each page introduces the week’s theme in a kid-friendly way. After you complete each week’s readings you can discuss the “Family Talk” questions together. You can download the Family Talk PDF here.
- Use this online version of the devotional readings to reach out to friends online and around the world. Invite them to follow along with you during Lent this year. Check back here each day (eastbrook.org/seeingjesus) Use Eastbrook’s Facebook page (facebook.com/eastbrookchurch) and other social media outlets such as Twitter and Instagram (@eastbrookchurch) to share ideas. Post your comments, thoughts, and questions in the online version. Read others’ comments. This is a great way to learn from the perspectives of others.
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