SEVEN... Last Words; Stations of the Cross - Suggested Holy Week Devotions

sunday

FIRST WORD “Father, forgive them.” Luke 23:34

read 1 Corinthians 4:12, Acts 3:17, Matthew 27:35

Do we sometimes hurt others and not know what we are doing? What can we learn about forgiveness from Jesus’ first words on the cross?

FIRST STATION Jesus Condemned

read John 19:1-16

monday

SECOND WORD “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” Luke 23:43

read Revelation 2:7

Was it fair for the criminal to get to go to heaven with Jesus? Do you sometimes think people deserve it when bad things happen to them? What do you deserve? And what, thanks to God’s action through Jesus, do you get?

SECOND STATION Jesus Carries the Cross

read Mark 15:16-20

tuesday

THIRD WORD “Woman, behold your son! Behold, your mother!” John 19:26-27

read John 13:23; 20:2

Is there someone you could love as though they were a member of your family? Besides family members, who has influenced you greatly in your life?

THIRD STATION Simon helps Carry the Cross

read Luke 23:26

wednesday

FOURTH WORD “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” Mark 15:34

read Psalm 22:1

Have you ever cried out to God and asked “why”? When have you felt alone or abandoned?

FOURTH STATION Jesus is Stripped

read Matthew 27:27-31

thursday maundy

FIFTH WORD “I am thirsty.” John 19:28

read Psalm 22:15

When in your life did you feel like you needed someone or something? Did you feel God’s Presence at that time? If so, how?

FIFTH STATION Jesus is nailed to the Cross

read Mark 15:22-28

friday good?

SIXTH WORD “It is finished.” John 19:30

read John 21:25

When your life on earth is finished, what do you think people will say about you? Are you casting a shadow or projecting the light of Jesus?

SIXTH STATION Jesus dies read Luke 23:44-46

SEVENTH WORD “Father, I trust my spirit into your hands!” Luke 23:46

read Psalm 31:5, John 19:30

What should we do when we want things our own way? What happens when everybody wants their own way? When is it hardest to let go and let God have His way?

SEVENTH STATION Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross and Buried read Mark 15:42-46

saturday

REVIEW, CONTEMPLATE, AND FAST

monday Jesus chased the money changers out of the Temple. Tuesday and wednesday Jesus preached and taught in Jerusalem. thursday Jesus and His disciples had the Last Supper. Jesus prayed before He was arrested. friday Jesus was crucified. saturday everyone rested, because it was the Sabbath.

Fast from something today (food, tv, phone, computer, etc.). Think about Jesus and consider your emotions. How would you have felt that day if you didn’t know the rest of the story. How do you think Jesus felt? How does it make you feel now knowing what you know? What do you think you would have felt like if you had been there during that time?

sunday easter!

resurrection

from the dead

He is alive! The tomb is empty! Jesus is alive!

read John 20:1-18, Acts 10:34-43, Colossians 3:1-4

He has appeared to Mary Magdalene at the Tomb. She thought He was the gardener at first. Jesus told her to go and tell the others. Peter and John ran and searched and found no trace of the body of Jesus, besides his death linens, neatly folded, the scent of frankincense and myrrh still lingering in the air. The guards had fled, and left the tomb unguarded. Something amazing has happened. What does this mean? How does this information change our lives? Knowing that Jesus has been raised from the dead is an amazing revelation. What does this say about God and our place in His mission? What is God’s mission, in light of what we now know about this redemptive work in the world? Why did God choose to do this, and what does it mean?

He is alive! Jesus Christ lives! Alleluia, and Amen.

Green? How 'bout Spectacular?

I am humbled and enriched by a broader, all-encompassing view of the redemption of all creation. Our theological and ethical views are often so limited, even when we think we are moving in direction which challenges the status quo. From the conservation movement to the rights of future generations to animal rights to biocentrism to the wilderness movement to the land ethic to a deep ecology; all of our attempts to understand God's creation and work in the world fall short. When I approach God with humility, seeking to know Him more, God continues to expand my discernment of the breadth, height, width, and depth of His love for His creation. How much farther can this go? What must it be like to see our Creator Redeemer face to face rather than through a lens or mirror darkly? Oh the light of New Jerusalem, the Presence of our Almighty God, His Shekinah glory! Wow!

Good ecological theology read from evangelical point of view: Bouma-Prediger, For the Beauty of the Earth

RECOVER PRAYER

Ephesians 1:10-23 And this is his plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ-- everything in heaven and on earth. Furthermore, because of Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us from the beginning, and all things happen just as he decided long ago. God's purpose was that we who were the first to trust in Christ should praise our glorious God. And now you also have heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God's guarantee that he will give us everything he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. This is just one more reason for us to praise our glorious God. Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for Christians everywhere, I have never stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the wonderful future he has promised to those he called. I want you to realize what a rich and glorious inheritance he has given to his people. I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else in this world or in the world to come. And God has put all things under the authority of Christ, and he gave him this authority for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is filled by Christ, who fills everything everywhere with his presence.

What an honor and privilege to be able to engage in prayer. Knowing that Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father interceding on our behalf, constantly, makes our prayer life all the more important. We are called into prayer as we commune with Christ through His Spirit, and even when we aren't sure how to pray, the Holy Spirit prays for us and through us in accordance with the will of the Father. Moving mountains is God's work, and yet we are called to cooperate in some mysterious way in making those mountains move. There is power in all prayer, individual and corporate, but truly amazing things happen, I think, when two or more are gathered together in the name of Jesus Christ, praying in accordance with His will for others. We in the West need to recover a supernatural understanding of faith in general, and prayer in particular.