Easter Preparation
by Kristen Terrette
As a child, I never understood Passover, Palm Sunday, and
Holy week. They were concepts and words I couldn’t grasp. I remember palm
branches being everywhere at my church, and I remember a story about people placing
blood on doorframes (thinking that was a very strange thing to do, but knowing
God told them to do this), but not understanding why.
So with Palm Sunday approaching, I am always drawn to the
Scriptures about Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish tradition
of Passover (Exodus 12:1-30). This was the beginning of the first Holy week, for in only seven days
Jesus’ would become our Passover Lamb
(1 Corinthians 5:7) and have risen
victorious over death, providing a way for us to enter through heaven’s gates.
This was the beginning to the ultimate sacrifice and act of redemption… the
last one we would ever need.
When Jesus entered the city on a donkey, which symbolized a
triumphant King, a huge crowd was there to watch him pass by. Imagine thousands
of people seeing him approach from off in the distance or hearing that Jesus,
the King of Jews, was on His way, and moving into action. They rushed to
prepare for Him. They cut palm branches from the fields and laid them on the
road so even His donkey’s hooves wouldn’t touch the dirt. They took the very
coats off their backs and laid them in road too… remember this would have been
thousands of people. Thousands of branches. Thousands of cloaks. Thousands of
people shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the
Lord!”
If the people of the first Holy week prepared for Jesus, and
coincidently what He was about to do for us, then shouldn’t we be doing the
very same thing? Preparing for the
day we celebrate His resurrection?
I find myself preparing for the cul-de-sac egg hunt, the big
meal my extended family will enjoy together, and the Easter baskets I will put
together for my kids… But what I should be preparing is my heart, and helping
to prepare the hearts of my loved ones. I don’t want them growing up not
learning about Passover, Palm Sunday, and Holy week. I want them to enter into
Holy week with a Divine fascination and anticipation of what is coming. For the
next Sunday, only seven days later, we celebrate the risen King! The mighty act
of the Holy Spirit who raised Christ from the dead, defeating the grave once
and for ALL!
Each day this coming week, I will be reading some of the Easter
passages (below) with my children to help us understand and prepare our hearts
for what Jesus has done for us. I challenge you to do the same with your loved
ones!
Sunday- Palm
Sunday-Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-38, John 12:12-19
Monday- Religious
Leaders Challenge Jesus’ Authority- Matthew 21:23-27, Mark 11:27-33, Luke
20:1-8
Tuesday-
Religious Leaders Plot to Kill Jesus & Judas Agrees to Betray Him- Matthew
26:1-5, Mark 14:1, 2, Matthew 26:14-16, Mark 14:10-11, Luke 22:3-6
Wednesday- Last
Supper- Matthew 26:35, Mark 14:17-31, Luke 22: 14-38, John 13:21-38
Thursday- Garden
of Gethsemane & Jesus is Arrested- Matthew 26:36-56, Mark 14:32-51, Luke
22:39-65, John 18:1-11
Friday- Tried and
Crucified- Matthew 27:11-56, Mark 15:1-41, Luke 22:66- 23:49, John 18:28-37
Saturday- Jesus
Laid in the Tomb- Matthew 27: 57-66, Mark 15:42-47, Luke 23:50-56, John
19:38-42
Sunday- Jesus is
ALIVE!- Matthew 28:1-15, Mark 16:1-13, Luke 24:1-35, John 20: 1-18
Monday- Jesus
Appears to the Disciples and His Ascension into Heaven- Matthew 28:16-20, Mark
16: 14-19, Luke 24:36-53, John 20:19-31, John 21
Kristen's Latest RElease:
Eva
Elliott is left with a jaded heart after the death of her boyfriend while she
was pregnant. She pushed away the idea of God and love, focusing solely on her
daughter, Willow. She accepts an offer from her mom to move to Moanna Island,
off the coast of Georgia. She hopes the move will help her tuck away the guilt
for the role she thinks she played in her boyfriend’s death.
Thad Smith is the local youth mentor and football coach,
who’s finally recovered from his fall from grace when his NFL career ended. The
day Eva arrives, Thad saves her daughter from drowning in the ocean the day,
instantly connecting the pair. Eva stubbornly fights the stirring in her heart
the moment Thad smiles, but since Thad coaches the football team where Eva
teaches, and lives down the street, God continues to intertwine their lives.
Eva will not agree to a date, so Thad uses his adventurous spirit to his
advantage.
She doesn’t expect Thad’s ex to throw a kink in the
fragile plan, nor for Thad’s relationship with God to convict her own shame and
brokenness. Just when she opens the door to God, finally ready to make things
right, an accident occurs that could leave Willow an orphan and Thad all alone
again.
Kristen
Terrette has been an avid reader since childhood, a self-confessed book nerd,
and always had characters running through her mind- ones she made up. She went
back to s
chool years ago to obtain a Master's degree in Theological Studies
because she felt God's tug towards ministry, but she didn't know then what God
had in mind. After five years on staff at her church, she followed God's
leading to a different kind of ministry- one with words, love, pain, and
real-to-life characters. She now stays at home during the day while the house
is quiet writing stories she hopes will bring readers to a stronger
understanding of how God works and His love for sinners like us. She always has
contemporary romance characters and plots running through her mind and
considers romance her first love...but she has a few amazing literary fiction
novels up her sleeve as well. Both genres fight for time occupying her mind.
Links to purchase Safe Harbor:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Safe-Harbor-Moanna-Island-Book-ebook/dp/B01NANUJAW/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Safe-Harbor-Moanna-Island-Book-ebook/dp/B01NANUJAW/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
Where to find Kridten:
Twiiter: https://twitter.com/KTerrette
I hope to join you in reading this next week. I did not grow up in a church, but became a Christuan as an adult. I've worked for a Church 24 years now... it's never too late to re-read this story
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