holy week at home
HOLY WEDNESDAY
Take a minute or two to center yourself by praying Isaiah 40:29 as you breathe:
—breathe in
He gives
—hold breath
power to the weak
—breathe out
and strength to the powerless
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader:
Bend down, O Lord, and hear our prayer;
All:
Answer us, for we need your help.
OPENING PRAYER
Ask that God would reveal himself in this time and in this place.
If you’re in a group, consider asking different people to pray each day.
Today's scripture text:
Matthew 21:28-32
select one (or all) of the following formats:
Matthew 21:28-32 New Living Translation (NLT)
28 “But what do you think about this? A man with two sons told the older boy, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 The son answered, ‘No, I won’t go,’ but later he changed his mind and went anyway. 30 Then the father told the other son, ‘You go,’ and he said, ‘Yes, sir, I will.’ But he didn’t go.
31 “Which of the two obeyed his father?”
They replied, “The first.”
Then Jesus explained his meaning: “I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do. 32 For John the Baptist came and showed you the right way to live, but you didn’t believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to believe him and repent of your sins.
New Living Translation (NLT)Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Matthew 21:28-32 (NLT)
After the text is presented, someone says:
The Word of the Lord
and everyone responds:
Thanks be to God!
Response to the Word
Build Your Family Altar.
01.
MEMORY
What are some things that you know would be good to do, but you don’t always feel like doing? When in the Bible did God’s plan not go how he wanted and yet he kept loving his people? Why would he do this? If you’re in a group, share these answers out loud.
02.
SYMBOL
Find a cup, or a mug, and place it on your family altar. May it symbolize God’s forgiveness—his cup of the new covenant—for those that “go out and work in the vineyard” (Mt. 21:28).
03.
HOPE
What is one thing you find difficult that you could do for someone else this week? How would our lives be different if we were ok with not getting our way all the time, but sought to help make someone else’s life easier?
Want more to do?
Additional activities
TRANSPOSING SCRIPTURE
Have you ever tried to sing along to a song and thought, “This is too high” or, “This is too low”? We all have different comfort levels when it comes to how high or low we sing. This is why transposing is so helpful.
To transpose something is to use the original content of something and transfer it to a different function or context. So, what if instead of music, we tried transposing scripture into the sound of prayer?
Take, for example, the text from today’s breathing prayer (Isaiah 40:28-31). Read through the text a couple times and then transpose the text by considering how you might use some of the words and phrases to write your own prayer for someone. If you need some guidance to start, you could even use the invocation formula from yesterday’s additional activities.
Everlasting God,
you created all the earth.
Give my friend strength today,
so that by your power, he could then, in turn, strengthen others.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
—Transposed from Isaiah 40:28-31 (in invocation format)
A DEEPER LOOK
Jesus told the Pharisees, “John the Baptist showed you the right way to live, but you didn’t believe him, while [others] did” (Mt. 21:32). What is the “right way to live”—especially when you’re living among people who aren’t seeking this same “right way”?
