Repentance: Living in the Light of God's Love

Repentance: Living in the Light of God's Love

To repent is to turn away from sin, to turn toward God, and to begin a new way of living in trust and obedience. Repentance is a choice, a change of mind and direction. It is a response to God's love, which calls us into relationship with God and with one another. Repentance isn't easy; we are all sinners, and obedience to God's ways goes against the grain. But God comes to us, sinners, and creates us new, gathering us close in love. God calls us and gives us grace to live in faith. Only in the light of God's love can we repent, return to God, and live new life in Jesus Christ.

1. Choose Life
   Meditations for February 21-25
   We may choose to conform to the values of human society or to live in obedience to God. To repent, to turn away from sin and to turn toward God, is to choose life.
2. God's Love
   Meditations for February 26-March 4
   Though we do not deserve divine love, God loves us. God's love is sure in all the circumstances of our lives. Repentance begins not with us but with God, who draws us into the way of Love.
3. Living for God
   Meditations for March 5-11
   To repent is to live a new life, relying on God's guidance, obeying God's commands, and seeking God's purposes. To live for God is to be transformed in God's love.
4. The Struggle of Faith
   Meditations for March 12-18
   Repentance isn't easy. We struggle with doubt, self-interest, arrogance, lack of discipline, ambition and human failings of many kinds. Conforming to cultural expectations is easier than following God's love that operates uniquely in our circumstances. God's love improvises with us moment by moment to bring about transformation and salvation.
5. Ordinary and Extraordinary
   Meditations for March 19-25
   Repentance does not mean that we halt our everyday lives and become somehow "spiritual." God works through ordinary people in ordinary circumstances. When we are filled with the love of God in Christ Jesus, our lives become extraordinary. Repentance is living for God day by day.
6. God Calls Us to Live in Faith
   Meditations for March 26-April 1
   God calls us to repent, to turn toward God and to live in trust and obedience. Within the grace of God, we can begin to live for God in the world.

Each session includes

• Opening prayer and an introduction to the study
• An introduction to the theme for the session
• A reflection on The Upper Room meditations and how they relate to the theme
• Activities relating the theme to our lives
• Closing prayers
• A "This Week at Home" prayer or activity

Each session also includes

• A deeper look at Bible and theology
• Multigenerational activities

Preparation

This six-week study is based on The Upper Room daily devotional guide, beginning with the meditation for Wednesday, February 21. Each participant will need a copy of the January/February 2007 and March/April 2007 issues of The Upper Room. To order copies of the magazine, call 1-800-972-0433. If your copies have not arrived by February 21, we can e-mail the first meditations to you. You may then photocopy them for your group.

General Instructions

Participants should read the scripture, meditation, and prayer suggested each day in The Upper Room.

This study guide may be used by a group or adapted for individual reflection and prayer. Suggestions for multigenerational activities and further study are also included.

Leadership may rotate among the group members. The leader should contact participants ahead of time to involve them in special readings or prayers during the weekly sessions.

This Lent 2007 Study Guide is a free resource offered by The Upper Room® daily devotional guide. Printed from http://www.upperroom.org/devotional/lent/. Copyright © 2007 by The Upper Room. All rights reserved. Reproduce for personal and small-group use only. Upper Room® and design logos are trademarks owned by The Upper Room, Nashville, TN.