Description
Lent is a season of reflection through the act of giving up or taking on. It’s a time we seek to incur some type of sacrifice to help us recognize our need for God and God’s presence in our lives. This series will help students see that from a 30,000-foot perspective. What if Lent was less about giving up a single item or action as a sacrifice and more about learning to “let go” of the things that pull us away from God? In this 6-week series, leaders will reflect with students on what it means to let go of self, comfort, stuff, status, control, and expectations. The goal of these lessons is to frame Lent as a journey of liberation from the things that hinder us from living a prosperous life of joy.
Week 1- Letting Go of Self
Students live in a world where the idea of “self” is front and center. People take selfies, have self-help gurus, and entire sections of bookstores exist that are dedicated to self-care. Though this isn’t inherently bad, and in many ways is important, students can easily become lost in trying to be their best selves. In the process, they might become overburdened by that journey. In this series, your group will reflect on that journey and on letting go of “self.” All sessions in this series will practice Lectio Divina, allowing Jesus’ words to challenge our view and high prioritization of “self.”
Scripture-Matthew 16:24-26
Week 2- Letting Go of Comfort
Who doesn’t love to be comfortable? Living that cozy life is so great. Entire industries are built around helping us live comfortably. However, what happens when it moves from a state of being to a core value in our lives? It’s easy to see how that can quickly happen. In this session, students will lean into this idea of comfort and how Jesus challenges us to let it go. What if when they encounter discomfort, instead of running to alleviate it, they embrace that moment as an opportunity to have their eyes opened to the presence of God? Jesus’ call to let go of earthly comfort is a call for students to embrace the transformative comfort of God’s presence.
Scripture-Matthew 8:18-22
Week 3- Letting Go of Stuff
Undoubtedly, we live in a society that loves “stuff.” Our economy is built on consuming as much as possible. Over the last century, an entire industry of marketing and advertising has been created to convince us that we need “stuff.” It’s fine to have stuff, but is it good to mindlessly consume? Should we buy more simply because it’s new or we want it? Jesus challenges us to let go of the high value we place on stuff. In this session, students will explore what happens when we let go of stuff. When they’re liberated from the hold stuff can have on their lives, they may find they have what they need (or even more than enough) for an abundant life.
Scripture-Luke 12:13-21
Week 4- Letting Go of Status
Status is important to many of us. It feels good to be invited into exclusive circles and to be a VIP. In this session, students will reflect on the road to achieving status that often includes brokenness, strained relationships, and even a loss of who we are and who God calls us to be. We can become blind to the people God calls us to see and invite to the party. Letting go of status is a call to students to reorient their guest list. It’s a reminder that God’s party is open to all, especially the unexpected.
Scripture- Luke 14:15-24
Week 5- Letting Go of Control
Are we really in control of our lives? It’s a question worth asking. If we’re not, who or what is? These are unnerving questions because most of us love to be in control. We like to know that we’re the lead directors of the movie of our life. However, God desires us to know that a larger story is being written about us, and it’s God who is the author. In this series, students will explore how they are called to let go of control and trust that God will guide and direct them toward a future they could not have imagined for themselves. It’s up to them. Will they let go and trust?
Scripture- Psalm 139:1-18
Week 6- Letting Go of Expectations
The journey with your students comes to a close with the text read on Passion Palm Sunday, a day filled with shouts of “Hosana, Hosana!” It’s a day filled with excitement and expectations, but we all know that less than a week later, it ends with shouts of, “Crucify, crucify!” It’s an unexpected end to a week that began with much joy. But even that has an unexpected turn: resurrection! Students will reflect on how God is not in the business of conforming to our expectations. Jesus comes riding in on a wobbly, borrowed donkey adorned with cloaks. This is unexpected for someone described as a king. Your group has expectations of who God is and how God works, but God wants to defy those! If only they were willing to let them go, maybe, they would encounter God’s surprising, transformative work in the world like they never have before.
Scripture-Matthew 21:1-11
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