Introducing our new Lenten Study Guide
based on Scripture and Readings from
PARABLES OF THE CROSS
Many followers of Christ, even those not raised in a liturgical church environment, have come to recognize the value of observing the seasons of the church year. Holy days and seasons – particularly those leading to Christmas and Easter – anchor our souls in time, giving us annual opportunity to refocus on the story of salvation and the scope of human history from God’s eternal perspective.
Toward that end, this past Advent season we provided daily Advent Meditations, based on Scripture and illuminated by related paintings and quotes from Lilias Trotter. This year, anticipating the season of Lent, we have added a Lenten Study – based on Lilias Trotter’s devotional classic, Parables of the Cross – for each of the six weeks preceding Easter, to help prepare our hearts for the commemoration of Christ’s Crucifixion and His glorious triumph over death, the defining event of our faith: His Resurrection.
Parables of the Cross was written by Lilias Trotter in 1895, during a rest-break in England, seven years after her initial departure to Algeria. It was born of her own travail of soul and tempered with her breadth of life experience. The thesis of the book, Via Crucis, Via Lucis – “Death is the Gateway to Life” – is a comprehensive exploration of the great themes of God’s redemptive plan, illuminated by watercolors, exquisite studies of nature showing the parallels between the natural and spiritual worlds. Richard Foster’s observation of her sequel, Parables of the Christ-life, could well be applied to this first parable book: “. . . I hope you will give careful attention to Lilias Trotter’s words. Oh, in the beginning you will need to become accustomed to the rather flowery Victorian prose of that day. But, on a more profound level note how her words have a way of drawing us higher up and deeper in.”
A Study Guide to accompany Parables of the Cross has been developed by Jane Parsons Frazier who provides a week-by-week in-depth study of both the Parable text and the Scriptures that Trotter used as the basis for her thought, albeit unidentified as such within the book. Jane has a rich background in curriculum development and brings to this study guide her own theological training with a MA in New Testament from Gordon-Conwell and a M.Ed. in Curriculum Development from Covenant College. She has written curriculum for Great Commission Publications as well as developing curriculum at Back Creek Christian Academy, a classical school in Charlotte. Jane contributes her insight and skill to this Study Guide, helping to bridge the years between Lilias’ writing and today’s reader, plumbing the depths of the Scriptural context for this seminal work – and encouraging the participant to apply profound Biblical truth to everyday living.
Lilias Trotter Legacy invites you to consider Parables of the Cross for personal study or small groups discussions this Lenten Season. The Study Guide can be accessed/downloaded from this website under RESOURCES: Tools for Learning (scroll down the Tools for Learning page). You can purchase a facsimile copy of Parables of the Cross in the Lilias Trotter Legacy revised edition (2021) with an added Foreword by Kathy Keller (MA, Gordon Conwell; currently working for Redeemer City to City and GospelinLife.com). Direct links to both the study guide and the book are below:
While this study is particularly relevant during Lent, given the focus on the Cross, Parables of the Cross is not limited to a given season but presents eternal verities applicable to any one at any time of the year!