Weekly Lenten Disciplines for Households

Most Lent disciplines are marathons requiring that one keep at it for six weeks.  Introduce families to lent disciplines they have a better chance of keeping by assigning a different discipline for each week.  Announce the week’s discipline during worship each week explaining both how and why to do it.  Make them simple and doable with a good chance of success.  The disciplines might rise from the sermon.  Or, they may focus on helping families grasp one part of worship or even one phrase of a prayer or song.  Below is a starter to list to get you going.  The possibilities are really endless.  And, once people try such worship homework during Lent, they will be open to more of it at other times during the year. 

t  Say the Lord’s Prayer once each day this week.

t  Sing the Doxology once each day – after listing the blessings of that day.

t  If your congregation gathers prayer concerns orally during worship, challenge each household to start a prayer concerns poster on which to list their prayer concerns this week.  Check it out each day and pray together for every concern or person on the list.

t  Pass the peace each day in the household.  Work on really meaning it when you say “Peace be with you” to each other no matter what has gone on that day.

t  Pick a phrase from the Lord’s Prayer or a creed that relates to the day’s worship theme.  Encourage each household to talk about it and pray/say it together each day.  The first Sunday of Lent might suggest “forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.”

t  Give out papers with a verse or very short story on it inviting each household to read it each day and talk about how it fits what has happened that day.