Egg #3 Cup

Matthew 26:27-28

And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks He gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you, for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for the forgiveness of sins."

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Jesus had a special dinner with His disciples-twelve of His closest friends who traveled with Him and learned from Him. During the meal, Jesus stood up and held out a cup and gave everyone a drink. Then He said something that was hard for them to understand. He said that the wine in the cup was His blood. He didn't mean they would actually be drinking his blood, but that the wine was a symbol (or picture) of His blood. He wanted them to remember this special night and the promise He was making to them and to all people.

Now let's open egg #3!

Egg #2 Silver Coins

Matthew 26:14-16 (following)

Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What will you give me if I deliver Him over to you?" And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray Him [to hand Jesus over to his enemies].

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Not everyone was happy to have Jesus as their king. Some people only pretended to be happy, but on the inside they really didn't want anything to do with him. One of those pretenders was a man named Judas Iscariot.

Some other men hated Jesus so much that they wanted to kill Him. But they needed the help of someone who could get them close to Jesus. Because Judas Iscariot was a pretender, and because he was greedy for money, he told these men that he would help them capture Jesus if they would pay him thirty silver coins.

Now let's open egg #2!

 

 



Egg #1 Little Donkey

I encourage everyone to follow along with as we countdown 12 days to Easter. I know that my family looks forward to this special tradition each year. We use the Lifeway Resurrection Eggs, and I will capture each egg in picture and post it each day.

Matthew 21:1b-3, 6-8 (following)

Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them "Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to Me. If anyone says anything to you, you will say, 'The Lord needs them,' and he will send them at once."

The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and He sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

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In Jesus' day, most people walked everywhere. Sometimes, kings rode on donkeys or horses when they entered a city. The people would stop what they were doing and watch as the king rode by. On the day that Jesus rode into the city, the people were thrilled to see Him. They believed that He was their new king who had come to save them and to fill their lives with joy. (Family Life Resurrection Eggs, egg #1)

Let's Open the Egg!

 



Hippety Hoppety Easter's on its Way!

Look for something fun to start on Tuesday; an Easter countdown. It will be something new each day. I encourage every one to spend a few minutes each day with their family sharing the real reason for Easter. Until then, remember God is Good!

HW

David - Loving Your Enemy - Wednesday April 2, 2014

What person, or type of person, do you find it difficult to like or love?

1 Corinthians 13 says If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.  Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child; I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love

What Paul is saying here is that without love our Christian lives amount to nothing. Jesus said “Love one another . As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples” (John 13:34-35)

It is difficult to love those who have hurt us deeply.  Going back to Saul and David, Saul slandered and falsely accused David.  He hated and feared him because God had anointed David to become king in his place.  Trying to protect his power and position Saul would keep on trying to kill David.  Look at 1 Samuel 24 and let us see what David’s response was.

If you were in David’s position might you have been tempted to kill Saul?

Why do you think David was “conscience-stricken” after cutting Saul’s robe?

How can viewing our enemy from god’s perspective enable us to have a change of heart like David’s?

How can this situation help us to understand to love more freely? How is David’s understanding help set him free to love his enemy?

What kind of effect did David’s actions have on Saul?

The person we identified in the beginning, why is it hard to act lovingly toward them?

What practical steps can we take to serve God’s love to the person identified?

Read Luke 10:25-37

What instructions does Jesus give about loving our neighbors through the parable of the Good Samaritan?

God's Not Dead!

If you have not seen this amazing movie I encourage you to get to a movie theater. I saw it twice in a week, and I would gladly see it again. 

Traditionally movies with an overtly Christian message do not do well in the mainstream media. When I opened my Entertainment Weekly, God's Not Dead ranked #4 for its opening weekend.

 

Is it religiously cliché'? Yes.

Is the acting going to blow you away? Nope.

Will it be up for an Oscar next year? Never going to happen.

 

What is so encouraging about this movie is not its storyline or acting. It is not its over usage of spiritual conflict and resolution. What is encouraging about this movie is the packed movie houses. The fact that I watched it for the second time from the front row of the theater, because that was the only seat available. The fact that God's Not Dead in this increasingly secular world.

 

It is refreshing to see all the Facebook commentary on its positive message.  It is a security to know that I live and thrive in a world where most of us not only know Christ, but openly engage His Grace.  I openly applaud the actors, the musicians, and the production company that produced a movie that seeks to provide us with such a simple, yet amazingly real and powerful message.

God is Good, All the Time and All the Time, God is Good!

 

 

Blessings to all!

HW

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pre-Sunday Study Guide

Sunday Morning Family Circus Class

Growing With God I.C.F.C.

April 6, 2014

 

“Growing Spiritually as a Couple:  Intentional Ideas and Activities to Build a Stronger Marriage

 

We will discuss some helpful ideas to build stronger more spiritual marriages.

 

We will also further our discussion from last week and work toward completing our study on couples.