A Holy Lent: Readings

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Recommended readings for Lent
Judy Baird, program director, offers these suggestions for readings in Lent.

The season of Lent is often a time of special devotion, when many of us seek to take on special studies or readings. Even if we’re in a small group that meets weekly for Bible study, we may want do something on our own as an added discipline. There are so many good books and study guides in the Christian bookstores these days, that it’s sometimes hard to sort through them all and know what might make good reading for Lent.

I’ve put together a list of recommended readings with the prayer that it might help you make a meaningful selection that will draw you closer to Jesus on your walk with him to his cross, through the dark veil of death and into the light of his resurrection on Easter morning.

The cross is a powerful symbol of the gift of salvation that Jesus secured for us in his crucifixion. He Chose the Nails by Max Lucado is an insightful look at the other gifts of the cross — the nails, the crown of thorns, the garment taken and the garment given — and why those gifts are so central to our salvation. A student version, He Chose You, is streamlined to connect with youth ages 10- to 14-years-old.

The Final Week of Jesus, also by Max Lucado, will take you on a walk with Jesus during the days just before his death and help you relive the glorious events of Easter. These devotional readings, taken from Lucado’s best-selling And the Angels Were Silent, are combined with beautiful illustrations to help you experience Jesus’ passion and promise.

The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey is a fresh look at Jesus’ teachings, miracles, death and resurrection, and reveals Jesus as an awesome Lord and compassionate Savior.

Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster will help you discover how to incorporate the practices of meditation, prayer, worship, simplicity and other Christian disciplines into your daily routine. This book is a wonderful follow-up to Class 201: Discover Spiritual Maturity.

Above All by Brennan Manning, author of The Ragamuffin Gospel, is an exploration of the lyrics of Michael W. Smith’s best-selling song by the same name, which proclaims Christ’s sovereignty and sacrifice. Michael W. wrote the forward.

If you enjoy Christian fiction, several books based on the Biblical character of Mary Magdalene are good choices in this season of repentance leading up to Easter. Unveiling Mary Magdalene, by Liz Curtis Higgs, is a blend of contemporary fiction and Scripture that reveals the true heart of Mary of Magdala, first witness to the Resurrection. Whether she was a prostitute, as some throughout history have supposed, an adulteress, or a woman possessed by demons, the mysterious Mary’s story of despair and deliverance is one with which many of us can identify, and her devotion and dependence on Jesus something we would do well to strive to emulate. There is an accompanying workbook for Bible study.

Magdalene, by Angela Elwell Hunt, is another fictionalized account of Mary’s life. In an era when women are sequestered and silenced, Miryam of Magdala lives a contended life until her son’s careless gesture evokes a hostile action that shatters her serenity. With no hope of justice, Miryam commits and unthinkable act and descends into depths of darkness that threaten her life and her sanity. Even after Yeshua the Messiah dramatically restores her life, Miryam can neither forget nor forgive unresolved injustices.

Daughter of Jerusalem, first in the Daughters of Faith series by Thom Lemmons, is a fictional account of Mary Magdalene’s intimate thoughts on Christ’s resurrection, the birth of the early church, the days following Pentecost, the rift between the Jewish and Gentile churches, and the triumph of overcoming the hurts of her past.

Divine, by Karen Kingsbury, weaves a dramatic story of tragedy and redemption and reveals that just as the real Mary Magdalene encountered Christ 2000 years ago, he still reaches out to us today with the power to change lives. Featuring the fictional Mary Madison, whose childhood was filled with unspeakable horrors, this is the story of how a divine power has set Mary free to bring life-changing hope and love to battered and abused women living in the shadow of the nation’s capital.

Another excellent choice in Christian fiction is A Skeleton in God’s Closet by Paul Maier. An archaeologist makes a shocking discovery in a grave belonging to one Joseph of Arimathea. When word of the discovery leaks out, pandemonium ensues and the archaeologist — a believer — must prove the find a cruel hoax before millions abandon their faith! Hold fast to yours as this mystery unfolds!

Follow this book up with Maier’s More Than A Skeleton, an investigation of what is either a convincing, dangerous hoax or the return of Christ.

In the Fullness of Time: A Historian Looks at Christmas, Easter, and the Early Church is Maier’s classic trilogy on the origins of Christianity which take you back to the first Christmas, the first Easter, and the first Christians. Maier correlate history, archaeology, and the New Testament to bring alive the true drama of earliest Christianity. The First Easter focuses not only on the Resurrection but also on those critical years and days preceding it — especially the week that forever changed the course of history. Here the nature of the conspiracy against Jesus is revealed, the politics behind the Crucifixion are unraveled, and a historically reliable date is established for Good Friday. Maier vividly documents the Last Supper, the capture at Gethsemane, the trial before Pilate, and the process of crucifixion. He also provides important new evidence concerning the empty tomb and the actual events of that first Easter morning.

Maier also wrote The Very First Easter, a beautifully illustrated story with candid answers to children’s questions about Jesus’ death and resurrection.