April is one of my favorite months of the year - fresh buds, flowers beginning to bloom, warmer days, Easter Sunday and my birthday - all wrapped up into one month! And Holy Week is one of my favorite weeks.
Growing up, Easter morning began early with an Easter sunrise service led by the church youth, followed by a church family breakfast, then running home to get ready and return to church for Easter Sunday service.
I have fond memories of Palm Sunday with the children carrying and waving palm branches while we sing, remembering the day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem as the crowds shouted:
This week I would usually be coloring eggs with my nieces and nephews - lots of eggs. Some years we might attend a Maundy Thursday service on Thursday evening, remembering the Last Supper Jesus had with His disciples. Or a Good Friday service the following night, remembering the day Jesus was betrayed, arrested, and crucified on the cross.
"Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!"
Growing up, Easter morning began early with an Easter sunrise service led by the church youth, followed by a church family breakfast, then running home to get ready and return to church for Easter Sunday service.
I loved walking into church on Easter Sunday - the sanctuary surrounded by the sweet fragrance and colorful site of white Easter lilies, tulips, hyacinths and more as sunlight poured through the colorful stained glass windows. There was much fellowship and rejoicing, singing beloved Easter hymns of Jesus' resurrection and victory over death!
After church it was on to hiding candy filled eggs with my sister around the farm for my nieces and nephews to hunt, followed by a family dinner to celebrate Easter and April birthdays. (This year I was especially looking forward to Easter as it falls on my birthday!) Sunday evening I typically collapsed with a sweet sense of exhaustion from a very full but memorable day, and week.
This year it will be different. No attending church services, egg coloring with my nieces and nephews, or gathering for an Easter egg hunt and large family dinner. But that doesn't mean I need to be distant from the purpose and meaning behind all the activities of the week.
In fact, maybe this year gives me an opportunity to focus MORE on the events of Jesus' life that Holy Week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday without all the extra activities. Maybe this is a chance to connect more deeply with the Lord as I follow His steps through that week in His Word.
I will be using the following reading plan, to read through the events of Jesus life this week:
I invite you to join me! Whether you choose to use this plan, or another, join me for an incredible journey following the footsteps of Jesus in His last days on earth!
I invite you to join me! Whether you choose to use this plan, or another, join me for an incredible journey following the footsteps of Jesus in His last days on earth!
We may be physically distant from one another this year, but it doesn't mean we have to be distant from God's Word or from meeting with the Lord or even from sharing what we are learning with others!
As we enter into this Holy Week, I pray that you will experience the presence of Jesus in a fresh way. I pray that you will gain fresh new insights from His Word this week. I pray that you will have a rich and wonderful Holy Week, focused on the One who made it Holy.
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