This document discusses the themes of Lent and God's covenants. It notes that Lent is a time focused on repentance, which requires changing behaviors and forming new habits through persistence, patience and prayer. The passage explores God's covenant with Noah represented by the rainbow, the covenant with Israel represented by circumcision, and the new covenant represented by baptism and receiving the Holy Spirit. It encourages using Lent as an opportunity to draw closer to God's kingdom through repentance and prayer.

1. God’s Creation – Genesis 9:8-17 & Mark 1:9-15
The One Thing To Say:
In Lent we focus upon our need for repentance – more than just ‘sorry’ but a change in
behaviour which can be difficult and marred with failure but still perusing the change of
heart and action. The need to recognise that we need to form new habits of behaviour and
thinking; new habits are formed through persistence and patience and prayer; the
foundational one being prayer.
Intro:
Here we are week one of Lent. How many of us have decided to give something up or pick
something up? How many are keeping up with it with greater than 75% pass rate? Lent
seems a bit like New Year’s Resolutions Mark II to me with all the promising oneself to give
up a particular vice or do that good thing/healthy thing which you always struggle to do.
How many of us see Lent as something other people do; that it was invented by the Church
as a way of making sure nobody was having any fun between Christmas and Easter or that
it’s really just a countdown to Easter Eggs?
What if Lent isn’t about any of that stuff? That is isn’t New Year’s Resolutions Mark II or a
countdown to Easter Eggs? What if this time of year holds opportunities to be transformed
and set free? What if Lent was all about the closeness of the kingdom of God?
In our readings and sermons over this next 7 weeks we are exploring the theme of God’s
Covenants and so I would like to kick us off by looking a little about the first covenant in
scripture and the last.
Middle Bit:
Our God is a covenantal god – he makes promises with us and marks them in tangible and
physical ways. From the Rainbow as a repetitive symbol of his promise to Noah and all of
creation, through to circumcision as a sign of belonging to God’s special nation, ending with
Baptism as a symbol of the kingdom of God and receiving the Holy Spirit as its confirmation.
The mark of God’s new promise, that the kingdom of God has come near, is baptism. The
promise is confirmed through receiving the Holy Spirit of God – how much closer can the
kingdom of God be but through the presence of the Holy Spirit with us! We are made a new
creation through the work of the Holy Spirit in us and through our wilful repentance.
Baptism is a representation and realisation of the death and resurrection which a Christian
experiences as they live in the kingdom of God. A fundamental aspect of baptism is
repentance; it is not a mistake that Jesus’ first words in Mark’s gospel inextricably combines
the nearness of the kingdom of God with repentance and then calls it ‘Good News’.
Hard Line:
In Lent we focus upon our need for repentance – more than just ‘sorry’ but a change in
behaviour which can be difficult and marred with failure but still persuing the change of
heart and action. The need to recognise that we need to form new habits of behaviour and

2. thinking; new habits are formed through persistence and patience and prayer; the
foundational one being prayer.
Conclusion:
A friend of mine created a little tool for daily prayer and I want to give as many of you as
possible one of these this morning. I’ll take you through how to use it and encourage you to
make use of it to help you form new habits of prayer and to think about what repentance
means to you this Lent season. If you don’t find this sort of thing helpful then use something
or do something that will help you to connect with God more closely.