Lent is almost upon us – get those pancake pans ready for next Tuesday. In case you haven’t settled on something to read or study for the 40 days, below is a pick of just some of the plentiful Lent resources available, as well as some great suggestions for Holy Week & Easter.
The most obvious first stop for many Anglicans is the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Official Lent book, published by Continuum. This year it is Our Sound is Our Wound by Lucy Winkett, a meditation on hearing the voice of God in our contemporary surroundings. A sample of the book can be read here. Also by Continuum is Strangely Warmed by Andrew Rumsey, a collection of 40 short devotions reflecting on faith in an accessible and, often, humorous way.
Accessibility is the key to two offerings from CWR, the publisher of Every Day With Jesus. Firstly, we have a short,
full-colour Lent Bible study, Encounters with Jesus, from former Evangelical Alliance General Director, Joel Edwards, blending a study of the the New Testament portrayal of Jesus with a study of Psalm 51. Jeff Lucas is well known both as an author and as a speaker, especially at Spring Harvest. CWR have, for a few years now, published a daily devotional from Jeff, Lucas on Life Every Day. Now they are offering DVD resources from him that make ideal small group Bible studies over the Lent period. One such recommended resource is The Impossible Dream, six sessions that will help us look at our lifestyles through the lens of the book of Micah.
The Irish Jesuit publisher Ave Maria Press have produced an interesting small Lent devotional, Sacred Space, that has some introductory thoughts and prayers for each week of Lent, along with Bible readings and a devotion for each days. The Bible Reading Fellowship produce an annual Lent book and this year have a title from Worship songwriter and Anglican priest Maggi Dawn, Giving It Up, which reflects on the discipline of fasting and its role in reminding us of our dependence on God.
Next, two interesting new titles for Easter from Hodder & Stoughton. The Longest Week by well-known author Nick
Page reconstructs the events of Holy Week leading up to the Crucifixion and Resurrection. Another well-known author, J John, has written the second Easter book from Hodder. The Return along with Chris Walley. The book combines fiction, Bible-study and some real-life stories to take a fresh look at the parable of the prodigal son. More details are available here.
Easter is one of festivals that children connect to easily (’chocolate rabbits and Jesus risen’ as C S Lewis put it!), and is an ideal time to study the Bible as a family. The Good Book Company have produced a combined edition of two of their popular reading notes ( XTB and Table Talk) for a three week family study of Easter, Easter Unscrambled.
A final recent release that has been generating a lot of discussion and reviews is from uber-blogger Adrian 
Warnock. Raised With Christ is a robust defense of the resurrection and lays out the implications as to how we should live our lives beyond Easter (and watch for a full review soon).
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