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For many today, Easter is about Easter egg hunts, an Easter bunny, and lots of candy. Yet when Christians look to Scripture, we see that Easter is about so much more! Preparing our hearts for Easter Sunday is an important part of the Christian faith.
This deeper, biblical understanding of Easter naturally leads to the season of Lent—a time the Church has historically set apart to help believers prepare their hearts for Christ’s resurrection.
While traditions vary, the meaning of Lent is rooted in Jesus’s time praying and fasting in the wilderness, as reflected in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. These approximately forty days from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday encompass Holy Week, including Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.
When you’re a pastor preparing your Lent sermon series leading up to Easter, there’s a lot to tackle and consider. From the journey to the cross to the meaning of the resurrection, a Lent sermon series offers ample opportunities to mine important theological truths and teach Christian doctrine in a series format.
Deeply exploring Christian doctrine is something congregants can struggle to make time for in a busy world. That’s why your Lent sermon series offers an incredible opportunity to do just that! Lent takes place over several weeks from Ash Wednesday to Good Friday (or Holy Saturday for some), providing ample Sundays to prepare your congregants’ minds and hearts for Easter Sunday.
As we approach the season of Lent, here are 15 fresh and unique Lent sermon series ideas to help you teach your church about the meaning of Easter.
An important part of any Lent sermon series is to teach your congregants Christian doctrine and help them understand what Easter is really all about. Whether you choose an 8-part series (beginning February 15th) or something shorter, crafting a Lent sermon series offers a powerful opportunity to teach biblical foundations, invite spiritual reflection, and prepare your congregation for the hope of Easter.
For your Lent sermon series this year, take your congregation on “a journey through Easter”. This journey tells the full story of Easter, including the Passover, Jesus’ time in the garden of Gethsemane, Peter’s denial of Jesus, the trade with Barrabas, the guards at the tomb, the resurrection of Jesus, as well as the women at the tomb—and so many more important moments! It’s really up to you how you plan it.
Consider treating your journey like an exciting drama with twists and turns, keeping your listeners engaged and informed. This “journey” should highlight significant scenes and explain what they mean in light of the Easter story—and in light of our lives today.
There’s no doubt that the story of Easter centers around the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, there are many other characters in the story of Easter, including the twelve apostles, Pilate, Barabbas, Herod, Simon of Cyrene, Mary, and many more.
This year, your Lent sermon series can tell the story of Easter, but with a twist—from a different character’s point of view each Sunday! That way, your Lent sermon series is story-oriented, explaining what each person’s perspective was in different situations and encounters, and explaining how their human stories reflect truths in our own lives.
“Why did Jesus have to die?” Better yet, “Why did Jesus have to die for me personally?” These questions are important. But the truth is that many congregants do not actually know the answer to these questions.
For many listeners (especially your new visitors), “sin” and “atonement” can feel like old-fashioned and confusing words. That’s because in modern-day America, we mostly have little to no understanding of the concepts of sin and atonement in our everyday cultural vernacular. And afterall, what’s the point of Jesus’ sacrifice to those who don’t believe they have any sins they need to be saved from?
Yet Jesus, as the sacrificial lamb, relates all the way back to important concepts found in the Old Testament, even to Genesis, and is the crux of the resurrection.
Use this Lent sermon series to carefully explain these concepts week by week, unfolding them in exciting and riveting ways. Consider tying this series in with the doctrine of holiness and sanctification through the Holy Spirit!
For more Lent sermon series ideas for Lent, consider exploring the topic of fasting. Fasting has become a popular and somewhat trendy part of Lent. After Mardi Gras and beginning on Ash Wednesday, Christians began their period of fasting and praying for Lent.
Some Christians choose to give up certain foods, like chocolates or sweets. Others choose to give up alcohol, coffee, or any other temporary pleasures they view as potentially having a negative impact on their heart, such as social media, video games, television, and swearing.
Whether your church participates in churchwide fasting for Lent or leaves it up to each individual congregant, consider a unique Lent sermon series on fasting and prayer, connecting it with Jesus’ own time of fasting and prayer found in the Gospels.
Each week could cover a new temptation, or a new area to surrender to God—inviting the church to reflect on what truly satisfies the soul.
According to the Gospels, Jesus was born in Bethlehem (in Judea), fulfilling the Messianic prophecy from Micah 5:2. After His birth, Mary and Joseph eventually settled in Nazareth, a town in the region of Galilee, where Jesus grew up and lived most of His earthly life. Jesus arrived in flesh and blood, and died around age 33.
For many, the familiarity with Jesus the person made him the unexpected savior. And for many today, this message is just as shocking. “How can God come in human form? How can a human be God?”
This Lent sermon series offers a great opportunity to mine, explore, and explain these tenants of the Christian faith. Consider discussing the Trinity, atonement, the Holy Spirit, and how these concepts make Christianity unique from every other religion in the world.
Ash Wednesday and Holy Week are important bookends of Lent, yet many Christians are unfamiliar with what each of these days represents—or why it matters for their faith today.
Holy Week includes Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. Despite being central to the Easter story, these days can risk blending together or being skipped as just a lead-up to Easter Sunday, without deeper reflection on their significance.
A Lent sermon series explaining the significance of Ash Wednesday and each day of Holy Week can help connect the dots in ways many congregants have never understood before. Each message can unpack the significance of that day—Jesus’ entry on a donkey, the Last Supper and command to love, the crucifixion, and the silence of the tomb before the triumphant resurrection.
By the time Easter Sunday arrives, your congregation will have gained a greater understanding of Lent and why Easter is not just a one-day event. On Easter, they won’t just celebrate the resurrection; instead, they’ll understand the cost and beauty of what came before it.
The road to Calvary is one of the most sobering and heart-touching portions of the Easter story. From Jesus’ trial and sentencing to his physical suffering under the weight of the cross, this journey reveals both the depth of human brokenness and the depth of Christ’s love.
A Lenten sermon series centered on “The Walk to Calvary” invites congregants to slow down and reflect on each step Jesus took on the way to the cross. Craft your sermon to focus on a moment along that road—the unjust accusations, the trade with Barabbas, the mocking and scourging, Simon of Cyrene carrying the cross, Mary and the women who wept, the thief on the cross, and Jesus’ final words before His crucifixion.
As the series unfolds, invite congregants to consider what it means to follow Jesus on the path of sacrificial love, obedience, and surrender. This approach helps the church see the cross not only as a historical event, but as a call to discipleship that transforms how we live in light of Christ’s sacrifice.
Consider telling the story of “The Walk to Calvary” from a different person’s perspective each Sunday, answering questions like:
Answering these questions helps your congregation place themselves in the shoes of the eye witnesses of the Easter story, adding an up-close-and-personal touch to the walk to Calvary.
The resurrection of Jesus is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. Many Christians know that Jesus rose from the dead, but struggle to articulate why the resurrection matters for their lives today.
This Lenten sermon series focuses on the meaning of the resurrection, helping your congregation move beyond surface level celebrations into discipleship, understanding, and changed hearts.
Unpack a different implication of the resurrection each week:
This series can also explore how the resurrection shapes Christian living—calling believers into freedom from sin, a personal relationship with Jesus, and being on mission for the Gospel.
Grounding Easter Sunday in rich biblical theology helps congregants see the resurrection not as the end of the story, but as the beginning of a transformed life in Christ.
Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he made several promises to his disciples concerning the “Helper”, the Holy Spirit (John 14, John 16:7). For many, the sending of the Holy Spirit after Jesus’s ascension is a crucial part of the Christian faith today.
Easter is not just a historical event to remember—it is a living reality that transforms the lives of all who believe through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Each week could explore different ways the risen Christ brings power into our daily lives: victory over sin, freedom from fear, discernment, the gifts of the Spirit, strength in trials, hope in the face of uncertainty, and so much more.
This series reminds congregants that Jesus’ power is not distant or abstract—it is active, present, and life-changing today. By Easter Sunday, your church will be equipped to live in the ongoing power of the risen Savior every day!
The empty tomb stands at the center of the Christian faith, boldly declaring that death does not have the final word. A Lent sermon series focused on the power of the empty tomb can help congregants confront the reality of death—physical, spiritual, and emotional—while pointing them to the hope found in Christ’s resurrection, our salvation, and the future Kingdom to come.
You can explore how Jesus’ victory over the grave transforms our understanding of death, suffering, and fear. From the grief of the women at the tomb to the joy and awe of resurrection morning, this series can show how the empty tomb brings hope in the face of loss, freedom from sin, and confidence in eternal life.
By Easter Sunday, your congregation will be invited to celebrate not only that the tomb is empty, but that resurrection power is available to bring new life, healing, and restoration today. Overall, the power of the empty tomb gives Christians confidence that Jesus rose from the dead, conquered death, and is the ultimate Savior.
As every pastor knows, the story of Easter did not begin with the Gospels. In fact, the story of Easter harkens back to the earliest pages of Scripture, where God’s plan of redemption is first revealed.
A Lenten sermon series focused on the fulfillment of Old Testament promises can help congregants see how Jesus’ death and resurrection are the culmination of God’s covenant faithfulness throughout history.
Consider exploring a different promise, pattern, or prophecy—such as the promise of a coming Redeemer, the sacrificial system, the Passover lamb, or the suffering servant—and show how these find their fulfillment in Christ.
From Old Testament prophecies pointing to the coming Messiah, to the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ death and resurrection, and finally to the hope-filled promises found in the Epistles, this series can help congregants see how all of Scripture points to Easter.
By slowing down and studying these key verses in context, your church can gain a deeper appreciation for God’s redemptive plan woven throughout the Bible. This approach not only reinforces biblical literacy, but also helps congregants understand that Easter is not an isolated event—it is the fulfillment of God’s promises from Genesis to Revelation.
The first witnesses to the resurrection were not kings, priests, or religious elites—but faithful women who came to the tomb. A Lent sermon series focused on the women at the tomb highlights their courage, devotion, and obedience, while also revealing how God often works through unexpected people to accomplish His purposes.
Your sermon series can center on a different woman or moment—Mary Magdalene’s grief and recognition of the risen Jesus, the women’s faithfulness in returning to the tomb, and their commissioning to go and tell the disciples. This series invites congregants to reflect on themes of faithfulness in uncertainty, hope in grief, and the call to bear witness to the resurrection.
Take time to explore these often-overlooked perspectives, encouraging your church to gain a richer, more personal understanding of Easter and its transforming power for all members of your church—even those who feel overlooked in life.
What makes Christianity and Easter stand out from every other religion is simply this: In no other place do we find a suffering Savior. But what is the significance of this suffering Savior?
Instead of serving a God who feels far away, impersonal, judgemental, and is unquestionably other than us, we serve a God who chose to become one with our suffering in order to conquer the greatest source of suffering of all—death.
God the Father takes the form of Jesus the baby, choosing to enter into His own creation’s midst, becoming the atonement for sin, to make a way for His creations to be near him for all eternity. The “suffering Savior” is the heart of the Gospel: a God who does not remain distant but willingly enters the brokenness of the world to bring redemption.
By walking with Jesus through His suffering, we are reminded that no trial, pain, or fear in our own lives is beyond His love and grace.
Easter is about more than a single moment in history—it’s about the promise of eternal life and the reality of God’s Kingdom breaking into the world.
A Lenten sermon series on God’s Kingdom can help your congregation see how the resurrection calls Christians to live with eternity in view, shaping daily decisions, priorities, and relationships. Each week could explore how Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection inspire us to “Seek first the Kingdom” (Matthew 6:33).
Eternal life is both a present reality and a future promise. This Lenten sermon series encourages congregants to see beyond temporary struggles and earthly concerns to focus on the Kingdom to come.
There are many favorite Easter Bible verses that Christians turn to again and again, year after year. For your Lent sermon series, you can choose the best verses to use as the backbone for your weekly sermons!
Explore each passage in depth, explaining their meaning, and describing how each passage fits into the larger story of redemption.
While your Lent sermon series will guide congregants through Scripture and reflection, you can enhance engagement by incorporating visual storytelling! Showing clips from Jesus-focused movies or the popular The Chosen series is a great way to bring the Easter story to life, helping your congregation connect with the narrative in a fresh and memorable way.
For example, a scene depicting Jesus’ interactions with His disciples, His time in the garden, or moments along the road to Calvary can reinforce the lessons from your sermon and spark meaningful discussions and emotions.
Visual media can serve as an amazing complement—not a replacement—to Scripture teaching, offering congregants an immersive way to experience the story of Christ during Lent.
Pro Tip: Did you know that Subsplash has an official partnership that brings The Chosen content right into church apps built on the Subsplash platform!?
Churches using Subsplash can add The Chosen video episodes to their mobile and tablet apps at no extra cost, allowing congregants to watch the series alongside sermon media and other discipleship content. Churches also get discussion questions and other resources tied to The Chosen to help churches facilitate deeper engagement and conversation about the Gospel stories portrayed in the series.
In short, Subsplash makes it easy for churches to stream, host, and share The Chosen—helping pastors and ministry leaders use the series as a discipleship and teaching tool in conjunction with their preaching and study resources this Easter.
The season of Lent offers pastors a unique opportunity to share the Gospel in fresh ways with your congregants, including members, visitors, and those who are recent Christians.
A well-planned Lenten sermon series can guide your listeners in both understanding and experiencing the true hope of Easter. Congregants don’t just hear the story of Easter—they live it, reflect on it, and carry its lessons into daily life.
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