2008 Easter Devotional Guide
Palm Sunday, March 16, 2008
Hosanna!
Read Luke 19:28-40 and Matthew 21:6-10, 14-16
"Hey! What's all the commotion?" "What's going on?" "Where did all these people come from?" "What are they looking at?" "Who is that?" "Is that who I think it is?" Have you ever been part of a scene like that? People are curious. We slow down our cars so we can see what happened on the side of the road. We stop on the edge of a crowd and try to peer over those in front of us. Kids ask their dads to lift them up so they can see. And if we see someone famous or something spectacular we have to ask questions or make comments.
When Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey colt, a huge crowd appeared and began spreading their robes on the ground. Others cut branches and spread those on the ground. People cheered and shouted: "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!" At the temple complex the children cheered, "Hosanna to the Son of David!"
When the Pharisees asked Jesus to tell the children to be quiet, He said that if the children were silent, the rocks would cry out!
The girls and boys wanted to shout. This was the One who came in the name of the Lord!
They were excited. This was Jesus! Hosanna!
Questions for your family:
What makes you curious? What gets you excited? What is the most exciting thing for your family preparing for Easter? What makes you want to shout?
Make an Easter Tree with Your Family
Find a dead branch from a tree or large bush. Paint the branch white if you wish. Fill a large can or other container two-thirds full of plaster-of-paris, fine-grain patching cement, or small rocks, and place the branch firmly into the mixture. Each day family members can use construction paper to print words or to draw and cut out something to hang on the tree. The words or pictures might relate to the devotional reading or might be other things that remind us of Jesus and of Easter (cross, lily, fish, loaf of bread, cup, shepherd's crook, Bible, and so forth). Or, they might be prayer requests or reminders. Set a time to gather as a family each day of Holy Week and read the Bible passage and the devotional thoughts for that day. Talk about the questions and pray together.
Monday, March 17
No!
Read Luke 19:45-47
"Hello, Mom? Bradon just said his first word! Listen...
Bradon, say 'Da-Da.' Say 'Da-Da,' Bradon. Come on, you
can do it. Say 'Da-Da' for Grandma...Well he said it as
plain as anything just a moment ago."
Let's be honest. Your first words as a child were probably not "Hosanna to the Son of David!" Most likely you said something close to "Da-Da." Later you learned, "Ma-Ma." Soon after that you learned, "No!"
Parents seem to use that word a lot. They do so to protect their children from harm, to keep them from burning their fingers or getting cut or breaking something or darting out into traffic or... you know. They may also say it to correct and help their children to grow and understand that something is wrong. Hopefully parents then go on to help their children know what they should do instead.
When Jesus went to the temple after the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, He was like a parent saying, "No! Stop that!" Men had made the temple a place to do business and to cheat people--a place to lie and to take advantage of others. Jesus saw God's children doing something wrong, something that would hurt them, and He reminded them what they should be doing instead.
Questions for your family:
When was the last time a parent said "no" to you?
When was the last time you said "no" to a child? Has God ever said "no" to you? Can you think of something He wants you to stop doing? Start doing? God wants us to pray: to listen, to tell Him things and to ask Him things. What can you pray right now? Listen for His answer.
Tuesday, March 18
Money
Read Luke 21:1-4 and 22:1-6
Jane was six. She and I were coming out of the grocery store when she asked me to loan her a dollar. When I asked why she needed the money she said, "Please, I want to buy a cookie from that girl." I gave her a bill and watched as she handed it to a girl with a dozen large cookies.
As we walked to the car she thanked me for the money and asked if I wanted the cookie. She explained that she didn't really want it. Naturally I asked, "Well, then why did you waste that money?" She pointed back toward the girl, and I noticed the small sign that said the girl was trying to earn money to help a friend who had lost all her clothes in a fire. Jane said, "Isn't that what we're supposed to do?"
She repaid the dollar as soon as we got home. It wasn't about money; it was about sharing God's love.
Two passages in Luke, just a chapter apart, tell two events that occurred during Jesus' last week in Jerusalem. They tell volumes about people's different attitudes toward money. A poor woman gave everything she had in an act of love and worship; a trusted friend agreed to betray the Lord for a bag of silver.
Questions for your family:
Are you comfortable talking about money? Does your family talk together about how you will use your family's money? Does giving money to God feel like an act of worship? Or is it something you do without much thought? How might you use some part of your family's money to show love to God or to share His love with others?
Wednesday, March 19
Prepare
Read Luke 22:7-13
"Get ready for school!"
"Not now, I have to get ready for work." "Wash your hands and get ready for supper." "Are you ready to go?" "Hurry and get ready for church." "Are you ready for the big game?" "Are you ready for this?"
Preparing for school, preparing for life, preparing for marriage, preparing to cook a meal, preparing a wall to be painted, even preparing for death--we know a lot about preparing, about getting ready, for a lot of things. We do it every day.
Jesus sent Peter and John to prepare for the Passover feast that they would all share together. He told them where to go and what to do. He even told them what would happen and what they should say. Jesus prepared them. They obeyed Him and prepared for the feast. Jesus was preparing for what was to come. He would continue to prepare by eating a last meal with His disciples, by sharing important instructions with them, by spending time with the Father.
Questions for your family:
How did Jesus prepare the disciples? How were they to prepare for the Passover? Can you think of other ways Jesus had been preparing the disciples for what was to come? Are you ready to celebrate Easter? What are some ways your family can prepare?
Passover Thursday, March 20
Eat
Read Luke 22:14-23
A friend keeps telling me that eating
while you watch television is a terrible
idea. He says you don't think about--
you're not paying attention to--what
you're doing: what or how much you are
eating, or even if you are really hungry.
As often as possible we sit down together and eat as a family. We always have. There has never been a television nearby. We eat. We talk. We pay attention to one another. Sometimes we laugh. Sometimes, literally, we want to cry.
Jesus "fervently desired" to eat the Passover with His disciples one last time before the trial and crucifixion. He needed their attention. He talked with His friends. He taught them. He established for us the Lord's Supper and asked them and us to eat it as a way to remember Him. The broken bread and the cup became a picture of what was about to happen--His body broken and His blood shed.
Meals are important. We like to eat. Meals can also be a time to think, to talk, to laugh, and to pay attention to one another. The Lord's Supper is important--a time to remember Jesus and to think about all that He did for us.
Questions for your family:
Are you able to make time and put forth the effort it may take to eat together? What do you like to talk about around the table? Could your family make mealtimes more memorable? Who usually thanks God and asks for His blessings when you eat? What could your family do to remember in a special way all that Jesus did for us?
Good Friday, March 21
Pray
Read Luke 22:39-46
He did not want to go into the room and talk to his father. He was nine. Earlier he had gone into a store. He had picked up a small toy and looked at it for a long time. Then he had put the toy in his pocket. He was going to leave without paying for the toy. The man who stopped him worked for the store and had been standing behind him the entire time. The man called his father but his father had not been at home.
Now the boy stood outside the door. He did not want to go in. He wanted to go away and hide. It was almost time. Jesus may have wanted to go away. He may have wanted to hide. He had not done anything wrong, but He knew what was coming. He chose to pray. He asked His disciples to pray and ask God to keep them from temptation. He asked God if it were possible to allow Him to avoid what was coming. But He told God He would do whatever God wanted Him to do.
Questions for your family:
What are some other times you remember that Jesus prayed? When are some times you can pray as a family? God wants you to talk with Him. Can you pray that you are not tempted to do wrong? What else can you pray for?
Saturday, March 22
Father!
Read Luke 23:44-49
"Daddy!!!" The scream had not even ended before I leapt from the bed and raced down the hall. "A bad dream. A nightmare. That's all. Let me hold you. You'll be fine."
Probably most of us have been part of a scene similar to this one--as either the one calling out, the one called, or someone else in the family. You know what it's like. You are surrounded by darkness, perhaps in a deep sleep. You awake in pain or terror, or you hear a child call for you in pain or terror. Instantly you are awake. Frantically you call out or instantly you respond.
"It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three, because the sun's light failed." Jesus was in darkness. The world was in darkness. And as He breathed His last breath, He called out to His Father. Surely Jesus wanted His Father.
Surely God wanted to hold His Son, to comfort Him, to tell Him He would be fine.
Jesus would be fine. But not yet. Now He was dead.
Questions for your family:
What frightens you? Are you ever afraid of the dark? How does it make you feel when you remember that Jesus is "the light of the world"? Who do you want when you are afraid or sick or in pain? What comforts you? What makes you feel safe? When you call out to God, the Father, how does He respond?
Easter Sunday, March 23
Alive!
Read Luke 24:1-12 and Matthew 28:1-10
I'm a morning person. Most days I am up before daylight.
On the occasional morning when I sleep in, I wake
up to sunshine and think, "How luxurious, how marvelous!
I can't wait to start my day!"
Someone else in my family is not a morning person. She does not talk to anyone. She warns people not to try to talk to her. She looks serious. She looks scary. She would prefer that you went away.
People respond differently to mornings. They respond differently to different mornings.
The women who went to the tomb must have gone through the entire range of feelings and emotions: from sad to afraid to incredulous to amazed to happy to excited and joyful. Jesus had been dead. Now He was alive! They ran from the tomb to tell the good news. And as they ran they met Jesus. His first words after the resurrection?
"Good morning!" (Luke 28:9, HCSB)
Today is a good morning--a great morning! Jesus is alive! Every morning, every day can now be great because Jesus is alive!
Questions for your family:
In your family, who has a difficult time with mornings? Who likes to get up early? What helps you have a great morning? What makes you feel like you will have a great day? What things do you do at the start of each day? Could you stop and thank God that Jesus is alive?
