2026 Lent Series
Unbound: Seeking the Freedom of God’s Love
Are you looking for a relevant Lenten series for your group, church, or community?
Pre-Order Now for Early Bird Pricing and Digital Delivery!Lent Series Summary
This Lenten season, join us in following Jesus through the wilderness and into the heart of the Empire. Along the way, we’ll wrestle with what it means to be truly free: to remove our masks, reject false power, center the excluded, accept God’s love, and choose life even in the shadow of darkness and despair. We’ll meet characters like Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman at the well, the man born blind, and Lazarus, and explore how Jesus invites each of them – and us – to step into the light to claim life abundant.
Each session is based on the Gospel reading from the Revised Common Lectionary (Year A). Though designed primarily for in-person small groups, this series can be easily adapted for individual use or larger gatherings. It includes an optional get-to-know-you session, four one-hour sessions, and a post-Easter gathering. Optionally, participants can choose to engage in five reflections between each session.
Session Content
Ash Wednesday Any Day (Genesis 2:7, 3:19): This optional opening session draws on Ash Wednesday themes to help participants acknowledge our human fragility, take off our masks, put our pretenses aside, and create a space for deep listening, honest reflection, and mutual respect.
Session 1: Lead Us Not into Temptation: Jesus in the Wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11): The group journeys with Jesus into the wilderness to name the temptations that often guide our choices, so that we might consciously choose the path that leads to love and freedom.
Session 2: Nicodemus at Night (John 3:1-21): This session contrasts Jesus’ teaching with religious rule-keeping to help your group recover the heart of the Law: love and freedom. You’ll then reflect on how we can live out Jesus’s teachings fully and without compromise.
Session 3: The Well at Noon (John 4:5-42): This session guides participants in naming and discarding the labels and limitations we impose on ourselves and one another, so that we might fully contribute our whole selves to the building of God’s Kingdom.
Session 4: “One Thing I do Know”: The Story of the Man Born Blind (John 9:1-41): This session and its subsequent weekly reflections explore the story of the man who was born blind, introduce participants to a theology of disability, and highlight some of the many gifts that people with disabilities bring to the Church.
Session 5: Lazarus, Come Out! (John 11:1-44): “I am the resurrection and the life,” Jesus says. How can we unbind ourselves and one another from the forces of death and despair, so that we may be free to share in life abundant?
Session 6: Palm Sunday (Matthew 21:1-11): Like the crowds on Palm Sunday, we often yearn for the kind of king Jesus of Nazareth is not. This session will guide participants in exploring our addictions to greed, power, and control, so that we may experience the true freedom of God’s Kin-dom.
Optional Post-Easter Gathering: Participants discern how they can carry what they have learned and experienced during their Lenten journey into their lives and our world. Optionally, this session can be accompanied by a shared meal.
Who Is This For?
This program was designed for participants who are new to faith-rooted justice, and for those who have been working for peace, justice and healing for decades.
This series was designed primarily for in-person use in churches of all denominations. However, it could also be adapted for the following uses:
- With a large group of 30+ participants
- For whole-community gatherings
- Individual reflection (instead of answering discussion questions, participants would journal or reflect silently)
- With a spouse, roommate, friend, or partner
- With a group of friends or coworkers
- With virtual groups
- As material for a sermon series
While participants would benefit from attending as many sessions as possible, this series allows for flexible attendance.
Ideas for church-based use:
- As a small group or Bible study offering
- Sunday School series
- Gathering time before or after worship/mass
- Women’s groups, men’s groups, young adult groups
- Campus ministries
- Wednesday night programming
- As a parent activity during children or youth programming
- Intergenerational ministry with high schoolers and their parents
Cost
| Registration Pricing | Early-Bird Pricing – for a limited time! |
| Registration for 1-14 Participants | $190 |
| Registration 15-30 Participants | $215 |
| Registration for Unlimited Participants in your Community | $240 |
This one time registration fee allows you unlimited access to the materials. (For example, you could conduct one small group, 35 small groups, or a large group of 500 people – the cost is the same).
Want to know more? Need help inviting people to your small group?
An overview, sample session and the promotion kit are available for free download. Just fill out the form below.
2026 Lent – Overview, Sample Session
An overview, sample session and the promotion kit are available for free download. Just fill out the form below.