“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins[a] and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?  And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

When you say yes do you really mean it?  Today we would be looking at following through on our yes in  Matthew 21:28-32

The text is a parable:

What is a parable? A parable is a story with an heavenly meaning

A parable is a succinct made up story designed to illustrate a lesson through comparison. Parables have human characters. When you hear the story, you can relate it to your own life. A parable conveys a message of truth.

Are events really unprecedented?

Who do you get alongside with? Who gets alongside you? What are the qualities of an ally?

Exploring the life of Achsah, the only daughter of Caleb. We see how she persuaded her father with appreciation and strong reasons among other things  to get what she wanted.

Have someone done something for you or have you received something that was so on point that you can't but think I have to repay this person one way or the  other. This was exactly how Prophet Elisha felt. In episode “116_ A gift with no strings attached” we see how prophet Elisha became a beneficiary of a great gift from the Shunamite woman. In our study today, we would look at Elisha’s reaction.

A journey of purpose begin but with the instructions not complete. How will you handle the journey

Jesus said to do good and invite to our parties those who will not be able to return the favour. A gift with no string attached. We would be exploring a lady who gave such a gift in this 1st part of this 3 part series on the Shunammite woman.

In this study, the tools we would use for this study are

So let's dig in and turn the bible to 2 Kings 4:  8 - 13

But Jesus died last year during Easter. Why does he have to die again this year? This was a question put to me by one of the under 5 years children in Sunday school. Today let’s discover why we have Easter every year from Exodus 12: 26-28

So let's turn the bible to Exodus 12: 26-28

Here God instituted the Passover feast which is a parallel for the Easter celebration of the redemption of mankind to God for as many as believed and acted.

In the Passover, the children of Israel had to use the blood of lamb on their doors and windowsill to be part taker of the redemption God was bringing. In Easter we have to believe in the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. However, this was a feast the Israelites were to celebrate annually.

In the bid to explain the annual remembrance of important things in our lives like Easter, the annual celebration of birthdays. Other celebrations we do annually are Anniversaries, Christmas, independence day etc. If it's important we tend to recall it and the importance of it remains fresh in our mind.

Leviticus 23 shows the 7 feasts the Lord instituted for the Israelites. These feasts were to be carried out annually except the sabbath which is weekly. Have you ever wondered why we need to celebrate these feasts annually?  It serves 2 purposes

One it is as a reminder for the adult generation and a learning for the children. With each year, there is a consolidation of the knowledge of the reason for Easter celebrations.

Looking at our text Exodus: 12: 26

26 And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ 27 then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’” Then the people bowed down and worshiped.

Children will always ask question after question when something is happening around them. The celebration of this season is a teachable moment for all involved, both the children and the adults. As we see from Exodus 12 one of the reasons for the annual celebration of the feast is because God knew that the children would ask questions which would make the reason for the celebration alive and active in the minds of both the adult and children.

As I do a throwback of different Easter celebration I remember,

There was a year when it was the activities of the event leading to the cross that took my attention. In my teenage years it was the words on the cross that took my attention. At another time it was the persons mentioned. As a young adult it was the crowd in Jerusalem who shouted “crucify him”.

As a child I didn't just discover the different elements of Easter, rather it was my Sunday school teachers and adults around me that pointed out different things about Easter from questions asked. And with each year even to now God unfolds the mystery of Easter each year to me and to you.

As you   celebrate Easter this year, remember to point out the different elements of the season to the younger ones around you. I pray as we read and celebrate Easter May we receive a fresh revelation from Jesus Christ. The Lord our redeemer about Easter

Amen.

Psalm 84