Lent is a time Christians from many different traditions prepare for Easter by fasting and giving up something for Lent. To fast means we don’t eat something we like or don’t engage in some activity we prefer. Fasting can be a way of saying ‘no’ to something important to us, so we can say ‘yes’ to God who we love first. The Lent fast begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter Sunday. Lent goes for 40, but these do not include the Sundays. On Sunday, the Lent fast is broken to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection.

At our church, we encourage using Lent as a spiritual practice to deepen your relationship with Jesus. Fasting during Lent can help you focus on God, pray, address habitual sin, develop spiritual fruit, or start new disciplines like Bible reading, Sabbath, or silence.

During Lent, our church holds 40 Days of Prayer. We invite you to sign up for a day—or several—to pray for our church and ministries. For details and prayer points, visit https://upbc.org.au/40days/  

As we head towards Easter, here are supports for the journey:

• You can sign up to pray for a day at church or register here
• Ash Wednesday service 7-8pm, Wednesday 5 March.
• Our sermon Series on Encountering Jesus has a bible reading plan to read
• Link articles will bring weekly devotions from the Lent Calendar readings.
• We will post daily prayer points on our Socials and weekly via text.
• In Holy Week we will have nightly prayer meetings for our church ministries.

Lent can be a great help. Lent prepares us for Easter by fasting and focusing on Jesus. We are reminded daily of Jesus’ sacrifice and combined with solitude, scripture and prayer deepens our relationship with God.

In Him,

Jason