Following on from yesterday’s post on some resources for Lent, I thought I would give you an idea of what I am doing during Lent.

Lent is meant to help us remember and focus on the events of Holy Week and the celebration of the resurrection on Easter Sunday. There are a number of different aspects to that preparation. “Giving something up” or self-denial can be part of that preparation but it is the bit that we most often focus on. We can give up chocolate or alcohol for Lent, we can refrain from doing things we enjoy like going to the cinema, playing video games or even give up using Facebook or Twitter during Lent. For me Lent is not so much about giving things up but doing extra things to help me focus on God.

This year the church, I am part of Hope Church Newham are using a prayer guide to pray together during Lent. For each day during Lent we are praying on a different theme: Sunday we pray for our gathering that day, Monday for our family and friends, Tuesday for those in authority, Wednesday for God’s work in our communities, Thursday for the world and the persecuted Church, Friday for events during 2012 (lots of important events happening in 2012 in the life of our church, locally and nationally), and Saturday for revival / renewal in the Church.

In addition to following Hope Church’s prayer guide, I am going to be participating in the big read 12, reading through Tom Wright’s “Lent for Everyone” which this year looks at the gospel of Mark. I hope to share some of this journey here on my blog during Lent.

Hopefully a longer post tomorrow on what I am doing for Lent (Wednesday 22nd February to Saturday 7th April 2012). But here are some links to some online resources to help you on your journey through Lent.

The Big Read 12

Loads of excellent online resources to help you read and study the gospel of Mark either on your own, or in your church’s small group, or as part of an online community. Check out their web page here: #bigread12

24-7 Prayer Lent prayer spaces

24-7 prayer are doing a daily video podcast throughout Lent again this year: Click here for the #247spaces web page.

Hope Church Newham’s Lent Prayer Diary

The church I am part of Hope Church Newham are praying together during Lent. For daily prayer points that you join us in praying or adapt for your own church, check out Hope Church’s website here (First daily post will appear on Wednesday 22nd February).

Last Saturday, I attended the Christian New Media conference (#cnmac11) in London.  This was the second CNMAC.  The aim of the #cnmac11 conference is to inspire, equip and to connect Christians interested in or involved in new media.

The opening session helped provide a biblical and theological framework for the day  with Professor David Wilkinson and Doctor Peter Phillips from CODEC speaking on “Created to Create.”

During the day there were numerous break-out sessions on offer under four tracks: Theology, Social, Church, Charity and Business and Technique. The topics covered were wide ranging and there really was something for everyone.  It was hard to choose which session to go!

The theology track dealt with what it means to be a “digital creative” or #digicreatives. I went to the first session in this track in which Dr Peter Phillips from CODEC explored a “speculative theology” of creativity in relation to digital space.

After a welcome coffee break and a chance to catch up with some friends, it was time for the second break-out session.  I went to a very useful session on “Building a mobile app.”  It was interesting to look at mobile apps from a business and marketing perspective rather than from a purely technical one.

After lunch, the afternoon opened with a main session looking at impact social media had on emerging world events during 2011: the “Arab spring,” the UK riots and the demise of the “News of the World.”

"How Social Media changed the world"

There were two further break-out sessions in the afternoon with a well needed coffee break in between.  I went to two sessions on technique – one looking at video on a “low” budget and the other on podcasting.  I am thinking of ways of using video more in our church.  The podcasting session was very disappointing as it was too focussed on a single solution for podcasting church sermons rather than podcasting in general.

The final session of the day was the keynote address from Dr Patrick Dixon a futurist. According to Dr Dixon the “future is emotion.”  The biggest change agent is not technology but how we emotionally connect to events and people.

In all it was great conference, well organised and excellently hosted by Vicky Beeching.  I was inspired by the conference and made connections with some great people too.  Looking forward to doing it all again at #cnmac12!

Postscript

This post would be incomplete without mentioning the post conference tweet-up at the Crown Tavern. About 20 or so of us met up for drinks and chat after the conference.  It was a great opportunity to meet new people and I had some great conversations though I didn’t get a chance to personally chat to everyone there.

It’s been very quiet here on my blog recently.  I think I have managed to tame the final bit of tumbleweed and you can expect to see a new look and feel to my site very soon along with more regular content.

This weekend, I am going to the Christian New Media conference http://www.christiannewmedia.com/. Hopefully this will inspire me to take this blog to a new level.  I hope to have a post up about the conference early next week.

“The love that we need is God Himself coming into our hearts. When the soul is perfected in love, it has such a sense of that love that it can rest in it for eternity, and though it has as much as it can contain for the time being, it can always receive more.”

Andrew Murray

“The righteousness of God consists most basically in God’s unswerving commitment to preserve the honour of his name and display his glory.”

John Piper

“Live near to God, and all things will appear little to you in comparison with eternal realities.”

Robert Murray M’Cheyne

“The glory of prayer is that we have power as intercessors to bring the grace of Christ and the energising power of the Spirit upon the souls who are still in darkness.”

Andrew Murray “The Prayer Life”

“Bear up the hands that hang down, by faith and prayer; support the tottering knees. Have you any days of fasting and prayer? Storm the throne of grace and persevere therein, and mercy will come down.”

John Wesley

“The treasures of a saint are the presence of God, the favour of God, union and communion with God, the pardon of sin, the joy of the Spirit, the peace of conscience, which are jewels that none can give but Christ, nor none can take away but Christ.”

Thomas Brooks