Lenten Series                 12 Series of Sermons for Lent

It is my hope that these Lenten Series can be adapted to your parish. While at Grace Lutheran Church in Des Moines, Washington for more than three decades, I have used each of these series two or three times, often separated by ten years before using the series again. By the time ten years have passed, the people have changed, forgotten, and were ready for the dramas again. With new characters and new interpretations, each series became a new event. At this point in my ministry, we have more than twelve series that can be effectively used for Lent. It is nice not to have to start from scratch and to realize that all of these series are effective. That is, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached in a new and fresh way to the needs of the hearers. We rotate between series: one year dramas, the next year sermons.

A Letter about Lent

For centuries, Lent has been a powerful worship experience for the Church.  For thousands of years, the church has gathered for the special occasions of worship during this scared season.  Lent is part of our legacy.  Lent is an extension of our heritage. Through the years of being a pastor, Lent has become a highlight of our congregational worship life. 

Let me briefly tell you about it.  I learned about the worship potential of Lent from Pastor Phillip Natwick who taught me much about the parish ministry.  I saw what he did during those Lenten services.  Ash Wednesday was great, with the burning of the ashes and marking of the forehead with ashes.  Each following Wednesday night was a short service, 45 minutes at the longest, with catechetical preaching for the children and adults.  The services were geared for the young.  On Holy Thursday, we did the Passover and the Foot Washing.  Now more recently, on Good Friday, we do the powerful liturgy of Tenebrae and the "Carpenter and the Cross." 

People come...in droves.  Oh yes, grades 5-9 are still required to take notes and that helps attendance, as do the soup suppers.  But now, in our parish, when "Lift High the Cross" is sung every Wednesday night of Lent and the children and families gather for worship, the sanctuary is jammed with worshipers.  Sacred traditional memories are being created.  Our people have become part of a long history that reaches back centuries.  During Lent, the church is drawn closer and more deeply into the experience of the cross.  I commend this form of Lenten service to you, a form that I learned from a seasoned veteran pastor.

The following are series of sermons that we have done during the past thirty years here at Grace Lutheran Church. Most of these series have been done two-three times. These series have been honed, improved, and modified during the past decades. We rotate between a preaching series and a drama series. That is, we have preaching one year; dramas the next. Perhaps these series of sermons can be helpful to you and your parish as well. 

Edward F. Markquart, Pastor




Lenten Series of Sermons

The Ten Commandments (Coming)

The Lord's Prayer (Coming)

The Apostle's Creed (Coming)

The Seven Last Words

The Sermon on the Mount

The Twelve Steps (Coming)

The Seven "I AM's" (Coming)

Lenten Series of Dramas

The Voice of God 

Seven Deadly Sins 

The Living Gifts

People Vs. Jesus 

Conversations by the Cross (Coming)

Silent Witnesses (Coming)

The Sermon on the Mount
For The Sundays and Wednesdays of Lent
From Ash Wednesday to Palm Sunday
A Series of Twelve Dialogue Sermons
A Series of Five Puppet Shows (for five Wednesdays)

You Are The Salt of the Earth 
Matthew 5:13 (Ash Wednesday)

You Are The Light of the World
Matthew 5:16 (Lent 1)

Reconcile: Making Up Is Hard To Do 
Matthew 5:21-26 (also puppet show)

Sex, Adultery, Divorce 
Matthew 5:27-32 (Lent 2)

Love Your Enemies
Matthew 5:38-47 (also puppet show)

Don’t Show Off Your Faith
Matthew 6:1-9, 16-18 (Lent 3)

Prayer
Matthew 6:7-15 (also puppet show)

Treasure, Treasure, Toil and Treasure
Matthew 6:19-24 (Lent 4)

Worry
Matthew 6:25-32 (also puppet show)

The Golden Rule
Matthew 6:13 (Lent 5)

Specks and Logs
Matthew 7:1-5 (also puppet show)

Just Do It! 
Matthew 7:21-28 (Palm Sunday)

A Series of Five Puppet Shows for the Five Wednesdays of Lent

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The Seven Last Words
For the six Wednesdays of Lent, plus Holy Thursday and Good Friday

Golgotha 
John 1:17-19 (For Transfiguration Sunday in preparation for The Seven Last Words)

Father Forgive Them For They Know Not What They Do
Luke 23:34

Today You Will Be With Me In Paradise
Luke 23:43

Here is Your Son. Here is Your Mother.
John 19:26-27

My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?
Mark 15:33-34

I Thirst
John 19:28

It Is Finished
John 19:30

Father, Into Your Hands I Commit My Spirit

Luke 23:46

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