Lent Week 1 - When You Fast...

Scripture Reading

Matthew 6:1, 16-18

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Big Idea (For Parents)

Jesus assumes that his people will fast as a spiritual discipline and therefore instructs them how to do it rightly.

Our church does not require observance of Lenten fasts or other aspects of the church calendar, but it does recommend biblically-aligned fasting as a valuable means given by God to further his redemptive purpose.

The one regular divinely-appointed Old Testament fast was that of the Day of Atonement, which was a time of self-examination in which Israelites were to turn from the sins that oppressed themselves and others in their community. Recognizing the biblical unity of mind and body, this Israelite inner self-examination was materially expressed in fasting from food. Freed from the burdens of personal and interpersonal sins, the whole restored community was prepared to joyfully celebrate the immediately-following Feast of Tabernacles/Booths together in God’s presence.

Therefore, fasting which merely desires to “be seen by others” to inflate our sinful pride is directly contrary to fasting’s purpose. On the other hand, true, humble fasting does not go entirely unnoticed. The Father sees and rewards those who intentionally deny themselves that they might be more fully aligned with and established in his purpose for them.

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Family Reflection

(Read aloud or summarize)

In the Bible, fasting means not eating or drinking for a period of time. God instructed his people to fast to help them recognize the wrongness of their sin and its bad consequences in their lives and the lives of others around them. Only when the burdens of those sins were removed could the people truly be happy with God and each other.

Fasting, confessing, and turning from their sins were how the people prepared to rightly rejoice with God and his people during community celebrations.

As the church, we can follow this pattern during the season of Lent as we prepare for the  celebration of Easter. Some people will fast from certain foods, or from food at certain times or on certain days. Some people may choose to give up other good things during Lent as a form of material self-denial to accompany their reflection on the wrongness of sin and its bad consequences.

Importantly, we celebrate every Sunday as the Lord’s Day, the day Jesus rose again. Therefore, even during a time of fasting like Lent, we never fast on Sundays. Weekly Lord’s Day celebrations can refuel and encourage us to stay committed to any fasting we do.

However we observe Lent, Jesus teaches us that (1) we must avoid doing anything merely to impress other people, and (2) God sees and will reward our sincere self-examination, however humble it may be.

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Discussion Questions

(Choose 1–2, adjust for age)

1- Why do you think some people in Jesus’ day wanted others to know they were fasting?

2- Why do you think Jesus assumed his people would sometimes fast?

3- What would be a wrong way for us to fast as a family or as individuals?

4- What could be a good way for us to fast as a family or as individuals?

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Practice—Family/Individual Fast

(Simple, embodied action for the week)

How might you fast?

-Together, pray for God's guidance on your Lent observance.

-Then, consider one or more ways to fast as a family or individuals during Lent.

Choose one and pray for help.

-Choose one way to fast as a family/individual.

-Pray together for God to help you maintain the practice during this Lent season (excluding Sundays).

Early Check In

-If a daily practice, check in after a day or two to reflect on how the fast has impacted you.

-If a weekly/non-daily practice, check in after having observed it at least once to reflect on the experience so far as family.