The Parent Weekly for May 21st, Remember and Celebrate God’s Righteousness
What we learned today
Big Idea: Remember & Celebrate
Festival of Atonement: Celebrating God's Righteousness
Where we're headed next time
Big Idea: God's love compels.
Jesus' Anointing, Last Supper, Betrayal. Matthew 26v1–56; Luke 22v1–53. Just before His death, Jesus shared a last supper with His disciples, prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, and was betrayed by one of His followers.
Did you know?
Share these facts to get the conversation started:
In this part of The Big God Story, we see the only time a disciple took up arms to defend the cause of Christ.
We also see Jesus do something in this story that we see nowhere else in God’s Word. Jesus agonized. While still trusting everything to the will of His Father, Jesus agonized over the upcoming ordeal He would face.
This scene in the garden offers us a view of unprecedented, unique events that, although described in an understated manner, help us to grasp, if only in part, the magnitude of the happenings that were about to transpire.
Connect as a family
One evening, after sunset, take your Bible, some blankets, and a flashlight out to the backyard. Listen to the night noises. Notice the plant silhouettes against the night sky. Then read Matthew 26v36–50. Explain that Jesus prayed in this garden the night before He died on the cross. Talk about the grief He felt over what He knew He needed to do. Together, thank Jesus for His great love for us—love that compelled Him to die on the cross for our sins so we can be in relationship with Him forever.
After reading the Scripture passage, discuss these questions together:
How do you think Jesus felt in the garden?
How do you think His disciples felt?
How does it feel to know God’s love compelled Jesus to die on the cross?
These questions can easily extend into the rest of the week. Look for opportunities to bring conversations about how God's love compels into your everyday life as a family.
Blessing
Blessings are often used in the Bible. A blessing can be a prayer of commission, a portion of Scripture, or words to encourage and guide.
A blessing to pray over your child: (Child’s name), may you know that God is love. May His love compel you to love others.
