Introduction: Opening the Gospels for Lent 2025

 DOWNLOAD THE LENT BOOKLET HERE or come back here each Monday during Lent for the material for the following Sunday.

When we hear the Bible read aloud in church services it can be hard to make sense of it. We only hear short snippets, out of context and out of order, and it’s a big and complex book, (or to be more accurate, a collection of books) written in a world long ago and far away from our own, so it’s no wonder it can be rather baffling.

 This series of posts aims to open up the gospel readings for each Sunday in Lent,  from Lent 1 through to Easter Sunday. Each week's material will be released on the Monday before the Sunday on which the Gospel will be heard, starting on March 2. The whole series is  also available as a downloadable booklet here,  I have included the Gospel reading set for each Sunday from the beginning of Lent through to Easter Sunday, with some basic information, and some questions to set our own trains of thought running. Different preachers may take their sermons in very different directions, but if we have already started to think about the readings, we are sure to get more from their sermons. We may not always come up with answers, but sometimes it’s asking the questions that really matters!

 I will be using a simple technique which can be used for any Bible reading. It invites you to read the Bible with your HEAD, your HEART and your HANDS. (There are more details in the booklet, or in the post below, and a video guide here https://tinyurl.com/3te4u8ym). You don’t need to be an expert to use this technique, and you don’t need to know anything about the passage beforehand. Over the years, I have found this technique works for all ages and backgrounds, for children and old people, for people full of faith and full of doubt, for those who have been churchgoers for decades and for those who are brand new to church.