Services abound for Good Friday, but we do this one at home.
We use the Easter Cookie Recipe that you can find many places on the internet
Easter Story Cookies
1 cup sugar
1c whole pecans
1tsp vinegar
3 egg whites (room temp)
pinch salt
zipper bag
wooden spoon
tape (duct tape or masking)
Bible (or just this format)
and some of the coloring pictures from this site...I think it is actually a PDF file. (the site address is www.christiancoloring.com/cmpdf2006/stations/stations_booklet.pdf.
If it doesn't work, go to the main site and search for Stations of the Cross. We use pages 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. Yes, it's the Stations of the Cross, but we don't do all the falling down pictures or the one with Veronica. The one of Jesus being nailed to the cross is very effective.
So here is our order for the home service tonight.
Good Friday “Service”
· Preheat oven to 300(this is important-don't wait until you're half done with the recipe)
Station 1 Jesus Is Condemned to Death
Pilate announced, "Here he is: the Man." 6When the high priests and police saw him, they shouted in a frenzy, "Crucify! Crucify!" Pilate told them, "You take him. You crucify him. I find nothing wrong with him."
7The Jews answered, "We have a law, and by that law he must die because he claimed to be the Son of God." 8When Pilate heard this, he became even more scared. 9He went back into the palace and said to Jesus, "Where did you come from?" Jesus gave no answer.
10Pilate said, "You won't talk? Don't you know that I have the authority to pardon you, and the authority to--crucify you?" 11Jesus said, "You haven't a shred of authority over me except what has been given you from heaven. That's why the one who betrayed me to you has committed a far greater fault."
12At this, Pilate tried his best to pardon him, but the Jews shouted him down: …..Pilate said, "I am to crucify your king?" The high priests answered, "We have no king except Caesar." 16Pilate caved in to their demand. He turned him over to be crucified. They took Jesus away. John 18:5-12, 15-16
Has anyone ever said mean or hurtful things to you or about you? Think of how you felt. Maybe you were scared, hurt, or really angry.
It is really the bad things that we have done that You are being punished for, Jesus. Please forgive us for the bad things that we say and do to others, and help us to be more like You, by loving people even when they are unkind and always remembering that You paid for our sins on the cross.
Station 2 Jesus Takes His Cross
So Pilate took Jesus and had him whipped. 2The soldiers, having braided a crown from thorns, set it on his head, threw a purple robe over him, 3and approached him with, "Hail, King of the Jews!" Then they greeted him with slaps in the face. John 19:1-3
· Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces.
He has been laughed at and spat upon. Now He must pick up the heavy cross and carry it while the crowd yells. He is so tired and sad, but no one cares.
We care that You were tired and hurting, Jesus. We are sorry that You were sad. We know that You didn’t want this to happen, but were obeying Your Heavenly Father. Help us to be more like You by not always having to have things our own way, but God’s way.
Station 3 Simon of Cyrene Carries the Cross
There was a man walking by, coming from work, Simon from Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. They made him carry Jesus' cross. Mark 15:21
The soldiers are in a hurry. They grab Simon of Cyrene out of the crowd to carry the cross and make Jesus go faster. Jesus was grateful to Simon for his help.
Help us to remember that carrying our crosses honors You. Also, help us to remember that it is OK to have help when we need it and that when we help others, we are doing it for You, Jesus, like Simon did.
Station 4 Jesus Speaks to the Women of Jerusalem
A huge crowd of people followed, along with women weeping and carrying on. 28At one point Jesus turned to the women and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, don't cry for me. Cry for yourselves and for your children. Luke 23:27-28
Jesus, You told the women of Jerusalem to weep for us. Even in Your pain, You remembered us. Thank You. Help us to remember to pray for others and not only think of ourselves.
Station 5 Jesus Is Stripped of His Clothes
Dividing up his clothes, they threw dice for them. 35The people stood there staring at Jesus, and the ringleaders made faces, taunting, "He saved others. Let's see him save himself! The Messiah of God--ha! The Chosen--ha!"
The soldiers also came up and poked fun at him, making a game of it. They toasted him with sour wine:
· Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp. vinegar into mixing bowl.Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross he was given vinegar to drink.
"So you're King of the Jews! Save yourself!"
It is hard for us to share or give things away with a good attitude. Sometimes we even have bad feelings when we have to share things we don’t want to share. Jesus, even wounded, bleeding, roughly treated by the guards and mocked by the crowds. You did not have to do this, but You did it to pay the penalty for our sins. Help us to remember that You may ask us to do things that might be embarrassing sometimes for You and help us to do them willingly.
Station 6 Jesus Is Nailed to the Cross
When they got to the place called Skull Hill, they crucified him, along with the criminals, one on his right, the other on his left. 34Jesus prayed, " Father, forgive them; they don't know what they're doing." Luke 23:33-34
39One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don't you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
42Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.[f]” 43Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:39-43
Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” 27and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. John 19:25-27
Is this the worst? The feet that carried the message of God's love and the hands that healed are pierced with nails as Jesus is nailed to the cross. More wounds, more pain and more humiliation for Jesus.
Jesus, they tried to stop Your hands and feet from doing Your Father's work by nailing You to a cross. You endured the pain of it for us, as You gave Your whole life for us. Help us to have a forgiving heart when others hurt us. Help us to think of others, like You did when You comforted the thief and made sure Your mother had someone to care for her. We thank You and we love You.
Station 7 Jesus Dies Upon the Cross
The whole earth became dark, the darkness lasting three hours-- 45a total blackout. The Temple curtain split right down the middle. 46Jesus called loudly, " Father, I place my life in your hands!" Then he breathed his last. Luke 23:44-46
· Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life.
The sword that Simeon prophesied has pierced Mary's heart.
This child of yours will cause many people in Israel to fall and others to stand. The child will be like a warning sign. Many people will reject him, 35and you, Mary, will suffer as though you had been stabbed by a dagger. But all this will show what people are really thinking." Luke 2:34-35
The hopes of the Apostles are crushed. The veil of the Temple, symbol of the old covenant of God, is torn in two as Jesus' death opens a New Covenant with God.
Jesus, You spoke lovingly to everyone gathered at the foot of Your cross. You knew the new life that Your death would made possible for those who accepted You as their Savior. Help us to always know when we should be telling someone about this wonderful thing that You did for us.
Station 8 Jesus Is Taken From the Cross
When the captain there saw what happened, he honored God: "This man was innocent! A good man, and innocent!"
48All who had come around as spectators to watch the show, when they saw what actually happened, were overcome with grief and headed home.
· Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus's followers, and the bitterness of our own sin.
· Add 1c sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him.
God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die. 17God did not send his Son into the world to condemn its people. He sent him to save them! John 3:16-17
Beat with a mixer on high speed until stiff peaks are formed (12 to15 minutes. Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus.
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Isaiah 1:18
50There was a man by the name of Joseph, a member of the Jewish High Council, a man of good heart and good character. 51He had not gone along with the plans and actions of the council. His hometown was the Jewish village of Arimathea. 52He lived in alert expectation of the kingdom of God. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Luke 23:50-52
Now, all that is left is to take Jesus' body down from the cross. All the gentleness, reverence and love that those who loved Jesus wanted to give Him through this terrible day is possible now.
Jesus, with our prayers, we join in taking Your body down from the cross. We touch You; take the nails out, wash your wounds, take off the crown of thorns, with love and sorrow. We are sad, like the disciples and the women who were there, because this was a terrible thing to happen. Help us always to remember that this gift that You gave us was hard for You to do.
Station 9 Jesus Is Laid In the Tomb
Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet.
Taking him down, (Joseph) wrapped him in a linen shroud and placed him in a tomb chiseled into the rock, a tomb never yet used. 54It was the day before Sabbath, the Sabbath just about to begin. Luke 23:53-54
Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF.
Even in this time of sorrow, there is help. Joseph of Arimathea arranges for Jesus to be buried in a nearby tomb. His body is wrapped in clothes and sealed away. Everyone walk away, weeping.
Jesus, we have all had to say goodbye to someone, whether for a long or short time. Saying goodbye makes us sad. Thank You that You can always be with us, because of dying on the cross for our sins.
62After sundown, the high priests and Pharisees arranged a meeting with Pilate. 63They said, "Sir, we just remembered that that liar announced while he was still alive, "After three days I will be raised.' 64We've got to get that tomb sealed until the third day. There's a good chance his disciples will come and steal the corpse and then go around saying, "He's risen from the dead.' Then we'll be worse off than before, the final deceit surpassing the first."
65Pilate told them, "You will have a guard. Go ahead and secure it the best you can." 66So they went out and secured the tomb, sealing the stone and posting guards. Matthew 27:62-66
Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door.
Leave until Sunday morning...
