Lent

About this plan

Lent is the church’s season of turning back to God before Easter, and this plan gives its weeks a daily shape. It runs from Ash Wednesday to the eve of Palm Sunday, 39 days, with a short reading and usually a psalm each day, so that Holy Week can begin where Lent ends.

The first four days are about return, beginning with Isaiah 58 and Psalm 51, the prayer of someone who has done wrong. Then come five themed weeks: the wilderness, where Jesus is tempted in Matthew 4 and Israel is fed with manna; mercy, from David’s repentance in 2 Samuel 12 to Ezekiel 18; following Jesus through Mark 8 to 10, where he tells his disciples to take up their cross; the Lamb, from Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22 to Isaiah 50 and Hebrews 9; and the road to Jerusalem, which ends with the raising of Lazarus in John 11.

Lent moves with Easter, so it begins on a different date every year.

What you’ll read

• Return to the LordDay 1Isaiah 58, Psalm 51
• Tested in the wildernessDay 5Matthew 4, Deuteronomy 8
• David confessesDay 122 Samuel 12, Psalm 32
• Abraham and IsaacDay 26Genesis 22
• Lazarus is raisedDay 39John 11, Psalm 30

78 chapters · 23 books · every Lent

This plan follows the church year: Day 1 is Ash Wednesday and Day 39 is the Saturday before Palm Sunday, so Holy Week can begin the next day. Lent moves with Easter, so these dates change every year.