Elmhurst CRC

Gregg

Gregg

Jeff

Gregg

Gregg + Cecilia

Jeff K.

Gregg

He is risen. He is risen indeed! Christians all the over the globe (and realms unknown to us!) will greet each other with these words today. From the womb of a rocky tomb, God has brought the miracle of new life, a resurrection!The large stone that had been placed in front of Jesus’ tomb was rolled away by the power of God. The seal of the Roman government, the authority of the Roman guards, the watchfulness of the Pharisees could not stand in the way of God’s good work. Who would have guessed that new life could emerge from that cold, stone tomb?If God’s power was able to bring the ultimate life from the grave, what might he do with the stuff of your life - even the parts that may seem stony and lifeless? He is risen indeed!Activity: God raised his beloved Son, Jesus, from the tomb and rolled away the large stone that kept the tomb closed. Arrange your rocks in the shape of a circle to symbolize the opening in the empty tomb. Remember the moment where the resurrected Jesus stepped out into the bright light of that first Easter morning. Wonder about what new thing God is desiring to bring to your own life and family. He is risen indeed!

Have you ever had to wait for something? Waited for spring break to start? Waited to hear if you got the job? Waited for a baby to be born? These are all exciting things to wait for. But have you ever waited with a sense of dread? Like waiting in a hospital room or waiting for test results?Jesus said that “the sign of Jonah” would be offered to his contemporaries as a miraculous sign from God. Just like Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days, so God’s Messiah would die and be consigned to the belly of the earth for three days. But here’s the thing, the Jewish people kept time like car rental companies! That is to say, any portion of a day counts for an entire day. Jesus died on Friday, was in the tomb all day on Saturday, and remained there until his resurrection on Sunday morning. Three days: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday... they all count!So today, on Saturday, we wait. Saturday of Holy Week is the special day of silence and grave solemnity for Christians. The Son of God is in the ground. Humanity has seemingly snuffed out the divine among us. But we need not wait in dread. We wait in hope and it is fitting to wait in the quiet, silent as a stone. Activity: Take your rocks and turn them over. Hide whatever writing you have previously added to them. Cover the rocks with a piece of cloth or a coat or put them away in a closet or a drawer.Spend some time (as a family) in silence out of respect for Jesus who died. Set an appropriate time (maybe only a few minutes for young children!) to break the silence, perhaps with the Bible reading for today.

There’s not much good that happened on this particular Friday. Upon leaving the rented upper room after their Passover meal, Jesus and his disciples went out to the Mount of Olives.Jesus prayed and became so distressed at what lay in front of him that he literally sweat blood from his pores. The disciples did not understand... and fell asleep. Judas had chosen this moment to betray his master into the hands of Jesus’ accusers. Panic and desertion ensued. Jesus was tried, mocked, beaten and ultimately crucified. Where is the “good” in any of this on Good Friday? We can perhaps whisper only, on this dark day, that what others intended for evil, God intended for good. That is why we call this Friday, “good.” The Roman symbol of the cross - an emblem of criminals and capital punishment - has been transformed through time into the ultimate symbol of God’s grace and selfless sacrifice.Activity: Gather a rock for each family member and write a sin or a burden you want to give to Jesus. Then take the rocks and create the shape of a cross or if you have a cross make a path out of the rocks leading to the cross. As you do this activity take a moment to know the truth about the cross and what the sacrifice of Christ means for you. The weight of that sin, that burden, it is taken away and you no longer have to bear it! Spend a moment in prayer for what make this Friday “good” to you.