is the period of 40 days before Easter (not including Sundays) that begins on Ash Wednesday. Since the first days of the Christian Church Community, nearly 2,000 years ago, Lent has been as season of spiritual growth, discipline, and maturation. Early converts to Christianity underwent a time of catechism, or faith instruction – including fasting – during these 40 days. This became a practice of “giving something up” during this time in order to be more mindful of the sacrifice that Christ made on the cross and in the crucifixion so that sin and evil might be overcome by resurrection grace and transformational faith-relationships with God. Instead of “giving something up” to be mindful of Christ and the new way of being in our world and relating to God and one another, thechurch community I serve (Fruitvale Presbyterian in Oakland, CA) wants to invite you to “take something on” during Lent.

Throughout Lent you can discover a new spiritual discipline that you can practice on your own in order to grow your faith and nurture your spirituality. These will be presented each Sunday by a special insert in the worship bulletin (which you can download on the church website). I'll also upload these inserts - including links to online resources - each Sunday until Easter (April 8th)

Throughout Lent, beginning on Ash Wednesday, February 21st, I'll be blogging on a daily basis, briefly sharing my thoughts about the sciptures that comprise a snap-shot overview of the entire Bible. If you'd like to try this as spiritual practice during Lent this year, simply tune into my blog each day. You'll find a link to the scriptures as well as a short reflection piece.

Here's the List of Scriptures that you can read through and which I'll be blogging about.

A Lenten Spiritual Discipline: Read the Bible on a Daily Basis
Readings for Lent “Through the Bible”

Day 1 Creation: Genesis 1:1-2:4
Day 2 Creation of Man and Woman: Genesis 2:4-2:25
Day 3 The Flood: Genesis 6:5-8:15
Day 4 The Call of Abram: Genesis 12:1-9
Day 5 Abraham and Isaac: Genesis 22:9-14
Day 6 Jacob’s Ladder: Genesis 28:10-17
Day 7 Moses in the Bulrushes: Exodus 2:1-10
Day 8 Moses and the Burning Bush: Exodus 3:1-22
Day 9 The Ten Commandments: Exodus 20:1-17, Deuteronomy 5:1-21

Day 10 Joshua and the Battle of Jericho: Joshua 6:1-20
Day 11 Call of Samuel: 1 Samuel 3:1-4:1
Day 12 Anointing of David: 1 Samuel 9:15-10:1
Day 13 David and Goliath: 1 Samuel 17:1-54
Day 14 The Shepherd Psalm: Psalm 23
Day 15 The Voice of the Lord Psalm: Psalm 29
Day 16 Advice from the Proverbs: Proverbs 10:7, 10:12
Day 17 Advice from the Proverbs: Proverbs 10:15, 10:20
Day 18 Test of Solomon’s Wisdom: 1 Kings 3:3-28
Day 19 Isaiah: Isaiah 9:1-7

Day 20 The Fiery Furnace: Daniel 3:1-30
Day 21 The Birth of Jesus: Matthew 1:18-25
Day 22 Baptism of Jesus: Matthew 3:13-17
Day 23 Plucking Grain of the Sabbath: Luke 6:1-5
Day 24 The Golden Rule: Matthew 7:12
Day 25 The Great Commandment: Mathew 22:36-40
Day 26 Healing the Ten Lepers: Luke 17:11-19
Day 27 The Widow’s Mite: Mark 12:41-44
Day 28 Lazarus and the Rich Man: Luke 16:19-31
Day 29 The Lost Sheep: Luke 15:3-7

Day 30 Laborers in the Vineyard: Matthew 20:1-15
Day 31 Calming the Storm: Mark 4:36-41
Day 32 Entry into Jerusalem: Matthew 1:1-11
Day 33 The Last Supper: Matthew 26:17-29
Day 34 Garden of Gethsemane: Matthew 26:36-46
Day 35 Arrest of Jesus: Matthew 26:47-56
Day 36 The Crucifixion: Luke 23:44-49
Day 37 The Resurrection: Luke 24:1-11
Day 38 Pentecost: Acts 2:1-3
Day 39 Paul’s Conversion: Acts 9:1-9
Day 40 God Wipes All Tears: Rev. 7:9-14