Today we have the privilege of hearing from our Children’s Minister, Rhonda.
So, Rhonda, I am very glad that you are here with us today. I actually have some questions for you pertaining to Good Friday. As you know, I am a new father and all of a sudden I am thinking about things I would have never considered before. For example, as my son grows older, how do I talk about Good Friday? How do I talk about death? How do I talk about it being a “good” day? And when is an appropriate time to introduce what ideas? And how can I actually learn from my son and try to understand Good Friday from a child’s perspective?
So, if it’s okay, I’m going to launch some of these questions to you
Keith: If Good Friday is the day that we observe Jesus’ death, why do we call it a “Good Friday”?
Rhonda:
It doesn’t seem like a very good day when you first think about it
We want to talk about Good Friday in a way that is appropriate for our kid’s age level
Might seem like a sad day at first, but for Christians it is the story about how Jesus saved us
Keith: What are some of the results of exposing children to emotional stories like Jesus’ death?
Rhonda:
Reading/watching emotional stories with kids can give them a chance to experience hard things in a safe way
Of course the story of Good Friday is even more emotional for all of us because it really happened
Some kids will easily separate themselves from stories they hear while some will internalize the feelings of the characters and need more time to talk about/process their thoughts and feelings
When Caleb was ~5 yrs old we read the story of Jesus’s crucifixion leading up to Easter and when we were finished he said “That is the saddest story I have ever heard.”
It is a very sad story, Jesus was innocent and he suffered terribly and gave his own life to save people who may or may not accept Him.
But, it's certainly not the saddest story we’ve ever heard! That’s not the end of the story.
Jesus is the hero that rescued the whole world from destruction and two days later He will be alive again!
Keith: What are some of the ways we can talk to our children about heavy subjects like death?
Rhonda:
The Jesus Storybook Bible is my very favorite children’s Bible because I love the way it talks about some of the harder things that happened in the Bible, but it's always pointing every story back towards Jesus and God’s plan to rescue the people He loves through what Jesus did on the cross.
Keith: I notice in my life that the older I get and the busier I get, the less I am likely to spend time reading stories. I think a lot of people are in the same boat as me. And I think we lose something important when we stop taking in stories. Can you share with us a little from your perspective about what we can learn from our children and how they take in stories?
Rhonda:
The way you know that a story is really great is when you want to hear it again and again, even when it is sad or scary and even when you already know what happens.
When Lucas was young we read “Charlotte’s Web” together, which is also a sad story, and at the end he cried. I felt bad and I asked him if the story was too sad. He just said “No, I want to read it again!”
Every time you read a great story like that, I feel like you notice something about the story that you might have missed before.
For me, that’s what the story of Jesus’s crucifixion is like. Every version of it, every person that retells it has a little different emphasis, and every time I read it or hear it, I notice something different that I hadn’t thought about before.
Prayer for Good Friday
Holy and loving God, as we prepare to set aside our busyness and to focus intently on Jesus’ suffering and death, we ask for eyes to see all of the amazing things that Jesus’ death means for understanding you, your love, and your salvation. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12
See, my servant will act wisely;
he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
Just as there were many who were appalled at him—
his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being
and his form marred beyond human likeness—
so he will sprinkle many nations,
and kings will shut their mouths because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
and what they have not heard, they will understand.
Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
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