Despite being dead to sin and alive to Christ, many followers of Jesus inevitably fall prey to excusing or rationalizing our failures. “I’m a sinner saved by grace.” This is true, but not entirely in the way we often use it. According to the Apostle Paul, in Christ, you are dead to sin. The season of Lent is one of preparation and refinement where we pay attention to the ways we’re making a mess of ourselves and may not even know it (Brad Gray’s episode illustration won’t be soon forgotten). By the end of this teaching about Lent, you’ll be challenged to ask, “What in my life needs to die so that I can step out of the darkness and into the light of Christ?”

• What was your biggest takeaway from the Lent teaching? 
• How have you traditionally understood Lent? 
• What are some of the things you’ve been excusing, rationalizing, or simply not paying attention to that you know don’t belong in your life? 
• Tell/Recall a story from your life when you were standing in your own mess and were so fixated on what was in front of you that you weren’t even aware of it. 
• Ask God to reveal to you an area in your life where you’re still living as though you’re enslaved. What do you sense God’s response to be? 
• How will you begin living out the truths of this teaching this week?  

• Episode 100 – Life in the 40