In the heart of fear and pain, God plants the seed of our joy
Lent can be a somber season of the church year.
It begins with an ashen sign of mortality and sin. Bright colors turn to deep purples, alleluias fall silent, and worshipers ponder what to give up this year. Though the word Lent derives from an Old English word for springtime, spring still seems far off in much of the Northern Hemisphere.
Easter, on the other hand, is obviously joyful. Bells ring, alleluias echo, white and gold shine brightly, and every single candle is lit. Jesus is risen, and so are the daffodils, hyacinths, and lilies. Joy clearly belongs to Easter.
Why reflect on joy during the quiet introspection of Lent instead of waiting for Easter?
Because when we move beyond surface assumptions, something beautiful emerges, richer and more nuanced than sheer happiness.
A joyful Lent is not a contradiction in terms.
As it turns out, joy is right at home during a minor-key season like Lent – and if joy is there, perhaps there are other seasons of life that joy calls home, too. Joy is a beacon that points us toward God’s unfailing presence, even in the heart of fear and pain.
This Lenten series offers resources to support your community’s worship and devotional life from Ash Wednesday through Easter Sunday:
Ash Wednesday: Setting the Stage for Joy
First Sunday in Lent: Persistent Joy
Second Sunday in Lent: Expectant Joy
Third Sunday in Lent: Liberating Joy
Fourth Sunday in Lent: Transformative Joy
Fifth Sunday in Lent: Vocational Joy
Palm and Passion Sunday: Joy Everywhere and Nowhere
Maundy Thursday/Good Friday: Imperfect, Incomplete, Enough
Easter Sunday: Glorious Joy
What’s included in the series?
The Seed of Joy includes several resources to help your worshiping community tend the seed of joy this season. If you purchase the Basics, you receive the Preachers’ Notes, Children’s Message Starters, Words for Worship, and Hymn Suggestions. All the other resources are included in the Bundle, or are available à la carte.
Preachers’ Notes: Preaching commentaries that explore connections between each week’s lectionary texts and The Seed of Joy theme.
Children’s Message Starters: Kid-friendly connections to the week’s theme help to jump-start your brainstorm for a children’s sermon.
Words for Worship: Fresh texts for Sunday worship in Lent include a Call to Worship, a rite of Confession and Forgiveness, Prayers of the Day for each week, an adaptable template for the Prayers of the People, a Prayer of Dedication, a Eucharistic Prayer, a Charge for each week, and a Blessing.
Tending Joy: This devotional guide offers daily reflections from Ash Wednesday through Easter Sunday, inviting your community to cultivate joy in unexpected corners of life during this season.
Enduring Joy: This Lenten Midweek Worship offers a bridge between home devotions and communal worship, offering worshipers opportunities for shared reflection and engagement on one of the previous Sunday’s texts.
Hearts Broken Open: This Tenebrae Service for Good Friday uses growing darkness to invite worshipers deeper into meditation on Christ’s passion and death.
The Seed of Joy: now live in the Market Stall!
Want to get a sense of The Seed of Joy before you buy? Click the button for a sample of the series.
Ready to purchase? Click the button to head to The Seed of Joy Market Stall.
