Lent: A Season to Witness. (Reading With the People of God #21)Sample

Welcome to Lent: A Season to Witness

Welcome to this Lenten journey. Lent is a season to slow down, pay attention, and learn again how to see. This reading plan invites you to become a witness—to listen carefully to God’s Word and the story He is telling.

Each day follows the ancient rhythm of the lectionary, bringing together three voices of Scripture: Jeremiah, calling a wandering people to return; the Gospel of Mark, the earliest written account of Jesus’ life, moving steadily toward the cross; and a Psalm, helping us respond in prayer with repentance, trust, and hope.

Along the way, you’ll encounter short BibleProject videos designed to help you better understand the structure and themes of Scripture.

Before beginning today’s readings, we encourage you to watch the following Mark overview, which introduces the Gospel and invites you to wrestle with its central question: Who is Jesus, and how will we respond to Him?

Today’s readings place two very different voices side by side. In Jeremiah, we witness how far God’s people have wandered into idolatry. The prophet does not soften his words—yet again and again he calls the people to return to the Lord. As you read, notice how often this theme of return appears. Perhaps there are times when love requires clarity rather than comfort—and perhaps this word is meant for us as well.

In Mark, the story begins not with Jesus’ birth, but with His baptism. God responds to humanity’s cycle of sin by sending His Son to fully identify with us—yet unlike us, Jesus remains faithful in the wilderness. Read today as a witness, holding together Jeremiah’s pain and the hope revealed in Christ.

Primer contributed by Logan Beardsley, Lead Pastor of Cornerstone Community Church