This is an audio companion guide to the Passion Week Experience at Second Baptist Church, Houston, TX

It was a weekend unlike any other...

which included a walk so momentous that it will never be equaled; it can only be remembered. For two thousand years Christians have observed the “Stations of the Cross,” or the Via Dolorosa (“The Way of Sorrow”), a devotional exercise to reflect on the importance of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and all the events surrounding it.

Once inside, you will find nine areas commemorating the events surrounding the betrayal and crucifixion of Jesus. If you wish, please feel free to walk up and touch each item. Use this guide to reflect on each element’s relevance to the story of Good Friday, and how its truth can impact your life today.

Before you begin, we invite you to wash your hands as a symbol of your desire to cleanse your heart and mind from all worry, anxiety, and busyness so that you can be fully present. Take a deep breath and ask God to open your soul to whatever He might wish to communicate to you today. Pray that He will make this experience more than a remembrance, but also an act of revelation whereby He helps you more fully understand and appreciate the events surrounding Good Friday.

We believe God has something very special planned for you this day. Our hope is that more than just commemorating a weekend in Jesus’ life, this will redefine for you what following Jesus means for the rest of your life.

Station 1 - The Garden

“And He came out and proceeded as was His custom to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him. When He arrived at the place, He said to them, ‘Pray that you may not enter into temptation.’ And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, saying, ‘Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.’ Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.” 

Luke 22:39-44

Station 2 - Betrayal and Denials

“Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, ‘What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?’ And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him. From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus.”  Matthew 26:14-16

“And He said, ‘I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.’”  Luke 22:34

“All the disciples left Him and fled.”  Matthew 26:56

Station 3 - The Trials

“Those who had arrested Jesus took Him to Caiaphas the high priest, in whose house the scribes and the elders had gathered…Now the chief priests and the whole Council were looking for fake testimony against Jesus so that they might put him to death.”  Matthew 26:57, 59

“When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus in order to bring about his death. They bound him, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate the governor.”  Matthew 27:1-2

Station 4 - Pilate's Judgement

Matthew 27:22-26

“Pilate said to them, ‘What shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ? They all said, ‘Let him be crucified!’ And he said, ‘Why, what evil has he done?’ But they shouted all the more, ‘Let him be crucified!’ So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this Man’s blood; see to it yourselves.’ And all the people answered, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’ Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.”

Station 05 - Via Dolorosa

“They seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus.”  Luke 23:26

“A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him. But Jesus turned to them and said, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children….For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?’”  Luke 23:27-28, 31

“They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha.” John 19:17

Station 6 - Instruments of Suffering

“They pierced my hands and my feet.”  Psalm 22:16

“But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.”  Isaiah 53:5

“After twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on Him.”  Mark 15:17

Station 7 - Torn Curtain

“And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook, and the rocks were split.”  Matthew 27:51

“Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a [a]sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”  Hebrews 10:19-22

Station 8 - Oil and Spices

“Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.”  John 19:39-40

Station 9 - Our Cross

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”  Galatians 2:20-21