Adult Bible Study & Discussion Group

Our Wired Word discussion group will be paused during Lent.  Please come and worship with us during our Tuesday evening Lenten services at 7:00 in the Sanctuary.

The Wired Word lessons will be posted here for you to enjoy and discuss among yourselves.

During the season of Lent, which began on Ash Wednesday and lasts through Holy Week, many Christians are choosing to give up something. They may stop eating chocolate, abstain from drinking alcohol or quit checking Facebook. They make these sacrifices as a way to deepen their faith and focus on Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Traditionally, the season has focused on prayer, fasting and giving to the poor.

The word “Lent” comes from the Old English word “lencten,” meaning “spring season” or “lengthening (of daylight hours).” For many Christians, it is considered to be the “springtime of the soul,” a time for spiritual growth. Lent lasts for 40 days because Jesus fasted for 40 days in the wilderness, which coincided with his temptation by the devil. The season appears to last longer than 40 days because the six Sundays in the season are not counted in the total.

This year, Lent overlaps with the Islamic observance of Ramadan, a month of fasting spent in prayer, contemplation, giving to the needy and asking for forgiveness for sins. Ramadan began on the last day of February (or first day of March), and runs through Sunday, March 30.

Although not all Christians observe Lent, it is a meaningful season for millions of Catholics and members of many other Christian denominations around the world. “During Lent, we are asked to devote ourselves to seeking the Lord in prayer and reading Scripture, service by giving alms, and to practice self-control through fasting,” said the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to the Pensacola News Journal. For some, the act of fasting is simply giving up a favorite indulgence for Lent. But for others, fasting includes greater sacrifices.

So, what is the significance of fasting? For many Christians, fasting is a sacrifice designed to help them to move closer to God. It reminds them of the truth of Deuteronomy 8:3: “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” Speaking to the devil in the wilderness, Jesus quoted this verse when he was tempted to end his own fast by turning a stone into a loaf of bread (Luke 4:4).

Although not all evangelical Christians observe Lent, many practice fasting. Bill Bright, the co-founder of the campus-ministry organization Cru, made a practice of fasting and praying. He believed it played a vital role in what God did through him and through Cru as a ministry. He said, “Fasting is a biblical way to truly humble yourself in the sight of God,” and he was convinced that it strengthened a person’s confidence and faith in God, while also refreshing a person mentally, spiritually and physically.

For Muslims during Ramadan, fasting is done by abstaining from food and drink from sunrise to sunset. Fasting is understood to be a way to cleanse the soul, increase faith and foster a stronger connection with God. It is also an act of self-discipline, teaching patience, self-control and empathy for those who may not have enough to eat. Finally, fasting fosters a sense of community and unity among Muslims around the world, as they fast and worship together.

During Lent, Christians pursue many of the same goals, as they take action to draw closer to God, practice self-discipline and improve their practice of the faith. They use the season to focus on worship, prayer and fasting — although their fasting does not need to run from sunrise to sunset every day. Instead, they often give up something important to them, and they take actions to show compassion for people who are less fortunate than themselves.

In a recent message, the Vatican noted similarities between the Muslim observance of Ramadan and the Christian observance of Lent. “By abstaining from food and drink, Muslims learn to control their desires and turn to what is essential. This time of spiritual discipline is an invitation to cultivate piety, the virtue that brings one closer to God and opens the heart to others,” it said.

“In the Christian tradition, the holy season of Lent invites us to follow a similar path: Through fasting, prayer, and almsgiving we seek to purify our hearts and refocus on the One who guides and directs our lives,” the Vatican’s message went on. “These spiritual practices, though expressed differently, remind us that faith is not merely about outward expressions but a path of inner conversion.”

Christians have an opportunity to move closer to God during the season of Lent, by fasting or practicing other spiritual disciplines. Along with fellow Christians, they can use this time of year to renew faith, seek forgiveness, practice gratitude, show humility and give to people in need. And they can look for opportunities to reach out in friendship to Muslim neighbors, who are walking a similar path.

Many Christian churches and denominations add a Lenten theme to their observances, in order to provide focus and guidance to individuals and congregations. The Lent 2025 calendar from the USCCB invites people to “Reflect. Repent. Restore.” This year’s theme in the Church of England is “Living Hope,” and themes in other churches include “Bread of Life,” “Take Heart,” “Into the Deep” and more. All invite people to grow in faith throughout this “springtime of the soul.”

More on this story can be found at these links:

When Is Lent 2025? When Is Ash Wednesday? What Happens During the Christian Event? Pensacola News Journal 
What Is Biblical Fasting and Does It Work? Cru
Vatican Expresses Solidarity With Muslims During Ramadan Fast. Catholic News Agency

Applying the News Story

Discuss the common goals of Christian Lent and Islamic Ramadan. Consider the perspective of TWW Team Member Liz Antonson, who believes that there is value in having “spiritual solidarity with others of a different faith in a secular world that is increasingly perverse and self-destructive.”

The Big Questions

1. What have you given up for Lent, if anything? If you have made a sacrifice, what value has it had to you?
2. When have you engaged in fasting, and what was your experience? Sometimes fasting is voluntary, as in a spiritual practice, and sometimes it is involuntary, as in preparation for a medical procedure. What did fasting teach you?
3. Where do you find value in the season of Lent? How do you make this time of year spiritually significant?
4. Have you ever studied Ramadan or talked to a Muslim neighbor about it? Compare and contrast it with Christian Lent.
5. What does your church offer in preparation for Holy Week and Easter? What is meaningful to you? What more would be helpful to you?

Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:

Exodus 34:27-28

The LORD said to Moses, “Write these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” He was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. (For context Exodus 34:27-35.)

In chapter 20 of the book of Exodus, God speaks the words of the ten commandments to Moses. In the chapters that follow, God gives laws concerning slaves, violence, property and restitution. On Mount Sinai, Moses also receives instructions about the ark of the covenant, the tabernacle, vestments for the priesthood and other instructions for worship.

When Moses is delayed in coming down the mountain, the people of Israel make a golden calf. God is furious, but Moses convinces him not to bring disaster on the people. When Moses goes down the mountain, he becomes angry himself. He breaks the tablets of the covenant and burns the golden calf.

In chapter 34, Moses makes two new tablets and goes back up the mountain to renew the covenant with God. He stays on the mountain for 40 days (the same length as the season of Lent) and he fasts — “he neither ate bread nor drank water.” He writes the ten commandments on the new tablets and then takes them down the mountain to the people. At this point, “the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God” (v. 29).

Questions: Why do you think Moses fasted while he was spending time with God on Mount Sinai? How did it help him to focus on the word of God? When, if ever, have you made an effort to eliminate distractions and grow closer to God? What happened?

Isaiah 58:6-7
Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them and not to hide yourself from your own kin? (For context, read Isaiah 58:1-8.)

The prophet Isaiah makes a contrast between false and true worship, and he denounces religious fasts that are not accompanied by just actions. “Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day and oppress all your workers,” he says to the people of Jerusalem, on the day that the people have denied themselves food as a gesture of devotion to God (v. 3). Isaiah knows that a fast is meaningless to God if it is accompanied by service to self and the oppression of workers.

Wanting to show a better way to fast, God says through Isaiah, “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?” Rather than giving up eating, the people of Jerusalem should give up injustice and oppression. Bread that is sacrificed for a fast should be shared with the hungry, and a fast day should be used as an opportunity to help the homeless and the naked.

Questions: Instead of giving up something for God, have you ever taken on a new challenge? What did you do? How did it align with the purposes of God?

Luke 4:3-4
The devil said to [Jesus], “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.'” (For context, read Luke 4:1-13.)

In Luke’s story of the temptation, Jesus sends a clear message about the power of the word “no.” The story begins after the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, when the Holy Spirit descends on him in bodily form, like a dove. Then Jesus, “full of the Holy Spirit,” returns from the Jordan and is “led by the Spirit in the wilderness,” where for 40 days he is tested by the devil (v. 1).

The first thing that the devil dangles before Jesus is bread, knowing full well that Jesus is famished after fasting for 40 days. “If you are the Son of God,” says the devil, “command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus is really hungry, he has a physical need for bread, and he has the power to make a rock edible if he chooses to do so. He knows that bread is good and that God wants to give us our daily bread. But instead of filling his stomach, Jesus says, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.'”

Jesus is quoting Deuteronomy, a passage that goes on to say, “… but by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD” (8:3). There is more to life than the meeting of physical needs, according to Deuteronomy and Jesus — much more important is striving to live by the word of God. Since it is the devil who suggests that he satisfy his hunger with bread, Jesus simply has to respond “no.”

Questions: When have you said “no” to food or drink that you found tempting, and what gave you the power to refuse? What did you learn from your act of self-denial? When have you given in to such temptation, and how did it make you feel? What does it mean to you to live by the word of God, instead of by bread alone?

Acts 13:1-3
Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a childhood friend of Herod the ruler, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. (For context, read Acts 13:1-5.)

The book of Acts tells us that Barnabas was the first leader of the church in Antioch, located in modern-day Turkey, by the Syrian border. Barnabas was quickly joined by Saul, and “for an entire year they met with the church and taught a great many people.” It was in Antioch that the followers of Christ were first called “Christians” (11:26).

In the 13th chapter of Acts, we learn that there were “prophets and teachers” in Antioch, including Barnabas and Saul, and their spiritual practices included “worshiping the Lord and fasting.” While they were doing this, the Holy Spirit directed them to set apart Barnabas and Saul for the work of traveling to Cyprus and proclaiming “the word of God in the Jewish synagogues” (v. 5). After “fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.” The laying-on of hands is used in the Bible for a variety of purposes, including commissioning and the imparting of the Holy Spirit.

Questions: What connection do you make between worship, fasting, prayer and the Holy Spirit? How might fasting (or some other sacrifice) make a person more sensitive to the leading of the Spirit? When, if ever, have you made a sacrifice and felt closer to God’s will and God’s way?

For Further Discussion

1. TWW Team Member Frank Ramirez recalls that “Melchizedek greeted Abram who accepted his blessing [Genesis 14:17-20]. His name meant ‘Zadok is my King.’ He worshipped in a different faith, but Abram welcomed him and shared in a time of worship. Most Christians are at least aware of Jewish observances. Why don’t we have a similar awareness and respect for Ramadan and other observances of Islam?” What do you know about Islam and its various observances? How can you bless people of other faiths and be blessed by them?
2. If you have Muslim neighbors, they may invite you to come to their house for a fast-breaking dinner called an “iftar.” These meals are held at sunset each night during Ramadan, and they focus on hospitality and community. If you have been to an iftar, what was it like and what did you learn? If you have not, would you accept such an invitation? Why or why not? 
3. The 31-year-old nephew of TWW Team Member Bill Tammeus was a passenger on the first plane to smash into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. That unthinkable catastrophe required Bill as a journalist to help explain “what happened to turn people into religious extremists willing to murder innocent people.” In the years since that horror, Bill has participated in many iftar dinners, and he says, “What I most appreciate about these gatherings is the chance to meet people who are living generous and generative lives within some branch of Islam. It gives me — and you — a chance to recognize our common humanity and to recommit ourselves to the pledge never to dehumanize others. In my Christian tradition, many of us would put it this way: Dehumanizing others insults God, whose very image every human being bears.” Discuss.
4. Bill Bright, Cru’s co-founder, made it his practice to fast and pray. He said, “Fasting enables the Holy Spirit to reveal your true spiritual condition, resulting in brokenness, repentance and a transformed life.” When, if ever, has a sacrifice such as fasting revealed something important about your spiritual condition? What connections do you see between brokenness, repentance and transformation? 

Responding to the News

Find a spiritual practice that will enable you to grow closer to God and to Jesus during the weeks that lead up to Holy Week and Easter. It could be prayer, fasting, giving to the poor — or some combination. Make a commitment to practice it each day, and note what happens. Be open to what the Lord will do in and through you.

Prayer

Send your Holy Spirit on us, Lord, so that this season will truly be a springtime of our souls. Help us to grow in faith, understanding and compassion toward people in need. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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