A Bible reading plan for
Lent
6 weeks through Lent to Easter
Lent is the roughly forty-day season before Easter, a time to turn back to God with repentance and reflection as you walk toward the cross. This six-week plan journeys through the life and final days of Jesus, so that Easter, when it comes, lands with its full weight and joy: He died, and He is risen.
“And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.”Joel 2:13 (KJV)
The plan, day by day
Week 1: Return
Rend your heart, and turn unto the Lord, for He is gracious and merciful. Read also Psalm 51, the honest prayer of return. Lent begins with turning back to God.
Week 2: The Wilderness
Jesus fasts and is tempted in the wilderness, and overcomes by the word of God. Read also Luke 4. He faced our testing and did not fall.
Week 3: Following Jesus
If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross. Read also Luke 9. Lent is a season of following Him more closely.
Week 4: The Heart of the Gospel
The lost son and the running father: the mercy at the center of everything. Read also John 3, God's love that gave His Son.
Week 5: Toward Jerusalem
Jesus sets His face to Jerusalem and enters as King. Read also Matthew 21. The road now leads to the cross.
Week 6: The Cross and the Tomb
The crucifixion, and then read John 20, the resurrection. Lent ends where it was always heading: at the empty tomb, and Easter joy.
A reading plan is a servant, not a master. If you miss days there is no guilt here and no scorecard in heaven. Simply begin again where you left off. The goal was never to finish a list but to meet the One these words are about, Jesus, who is glad to be found by you today.
Where this plan is leading
Lent begins by facing our need honestly, rend your heart, not your garments, and turn to God, who is gracious and merciful. But it does not end in the ashes; it leads to the cross and the empty tomb. Walk these weeks with Jesus toward Jerusalem, and let the season deepen both your repentance and your wonder at the love that carried Him to the cross for you.
Who is Jesus? · Begin with Jesus · Ask someone to pray with you
Walk this plan in the app
The Living Bread carries the whole Bible with you in a warm reader you can return to every day, and a family who is reading too. Open each day's passage, mark what a verse stirs, and let the Word become a place you meet Jesus. Free, no ads, for all people.
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What is Lent?
Lent is the season of about forty days before Easter, observed by many Christians as a time of repentance, prayer, reflection, and often fasting, as they prepare to remember Jesus' death and celebrate His resurrection. The forty days echo Jesus' forty days of fasting in the wilderness.
How do I do a Lent Bible reading plan?
Read through the life and final journey of Jesus over the weeks before Easter, pairing it with reflection and repentance, as this six-week plan does. It moves from turning back to God, through the wilderness and the call to follow Jesus, to the cross and the empty tomb, so Easter arrives with its full meaning.
Do I have to be from a certain church to observe Lent?
No. While Lent has deep roots in the church calendar, believers from many traditions, and none, find great value in setting aside the weeks before Easter to draw near to God, reflect on the cross, and prepare for the joy of the resurrection. This plan is simply a way to walk with Jesus through the season.