Sunday, 3/28, will begin what is known to Christians as Holy Week. Holy Week tells the epic story of Jesus’ life from the triumphal entry to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, through his arrest and torture and crucifixion, to his resurrection on Easter morning. The events that happen during Holy Week are pivotal to our Christian faith. We need to grasp the happenings of Holy Week, but we also need to understand the heart of Holy Week. We need to understand who Jesus is, what He so willingly offered us, and why He gave Himself as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.
As parents, it can be hard to teach our children about Holy Week, but we cannot give them an appreciation of the miracle of the resurrection without giving them an understanding of what led to the resurrection. When my little brother was not yet 3, our family went to see The Great Passion Play. It was an amazingly realistic performance, particularly to a small child, so when the soldiers began to “flog” Jesus, Aaron jumped out of his seat and cried out in panic, “They’re hurting Jesus!” The Easter story for Aaron at that moment became real.
A member of our congregation who has a heart for faithfully and clearly sharing Jesus with children has published a family Easter devotional for Holy Week titled He Has Risen. Katie Nettles writes the books she wants to have as resources for teaching her own three children, so they are filled with sound theology broken down for young minds. He Has Risen is 8 days of readings for your family to do together. She has also created a bookmark with easy ideas for activities to go along with the readings. You can read more about Katie’s ministry and the book on her website simplefamilyfaith.org.
Exodus Church, in addition to several other churches, are using this book with their family ministries this Easter season. If you are an attendee of Exodus, we will have free copies of the book available at The Mill the next two Sundays. If you are not a part of Exodus, you can also purchase the Kindle version or more copies of the paperback through Amazon here.
