An Easter Week devotional for your family.

April 5 – 12, 2020

First Baptist Church 40 Whig Street

Newark Valley, NY 13811 www.fbnv.org

Sunday April 5th - Palm Sunday Scripture Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-40; John 12:12-19 Sermon Notes:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Discussion Questions: What details were found in Mark, Luke, and John’s accounts of this story that Matthew did not cover? From the sermon: What frustrates you and what does this reveal about your faith?

Monday April 6th - Jesus Cleanses the Temple Scripture Matthew 21:12-17 “He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers” (13).” John 2:13-22; Isaiah 56:7; Jeremiah 7:11 From Expositors Bible Commentary: “Temple service required provision to be made for getting

what was needed for the sacrifices—animals, wood, oil, etc.—especially for pilgrims from afar. The money changers converted the standard Greek and Roman currency into temple currency, in which the half-shekel temple tax had to be paid (cf. 17:24–27). But letting these things go on at the temple site transformed a place of solemn worship into a market where the hum of trade mingled with the bleating and cooing of animals and birds. Moreover, especially on the great feasts opportunities for extortion abounded. Jesus drove the lot out... Jesus here (13) refers to Scripture, much as he did when confronted by the devil (4:1–10). His first words are from Isaiah 56:7. Isaiah looked forward to a time when the temple would be called a house of prayer.”

Discussion Questions: 1. Jesus cleansed the temple twice in His ministry in an aggressive way. What do you think this means? 2. Today, our body is the temple of God (1 Corinthians 6:19). How does the above story, and this truth,

make clear what you need to do?

April 7- Faith and the Fig Tree Scripture Matthew 21:19, “And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, ‘May no fruit ever come from you again! ’And the fig tree withered at once.” Matthew 21:18-22; John 15:1-8; Galatians 5:22-25; Hebrews 11:11 This is undoubtedly one of the more confusing events of the Passion week as the meaning Jesus’

cursing of the fig tree is often lost. To understand what is happening here, it is important to understand this event as a sort of parable acted out. In the same way that parables are earthly stories with heavenly meanings, so this was an earthly action with a spiritual principle behind it. By the barren fig tree’s withering, Jesus was making a point to his disciples - that a relationship with God without the fruit of faith is ineffective. Like the tree that bears no fruit and withers away, so are those who claim a relationship with God yet don’t live like it. With true faith in God, we have the ability to accomplish great things for him and with faith we have access to God through prayer. A religion, like that of the Pharisees, that looks alive on the outside, but bears no spiritual fruit, will wither away.

Discussion Questions: 1. What is faith? 2. What are some “spiritual fruits” that we should see from those who are Christians?

April 8- Part of the Plan Scripture Matthew 26:14-15, “Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, ‘What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?’ And they paid him thirty pieces of silver.” Genesis 50:19-21; Job 42:2; Matthew 26:1-5; 14-16; Acts 4:27-28 Romans 8:28; Colossians 1:16-17 Wednesday is a relatively silent day as far as Jesus’ teaching and actions are concerned, but the

major event of the Wednesday of the Passion week was Judas’ betrayal of Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. While Judas’ betrayal of Jesus was horrible, and to the disciples would come as a shock that one of their own would betray the man who they had spent so much time with over the last few years, Judas’ betrayal wasn’t a surprise to Jesus. Jesus on multiple occasions and very specifically in Matthew 26:2 says that he will be delivered up to be crucified in two days. Crucifixion was always a part of the plan and despite Judas trying to use Jesus for his own personal gain and the chief priests trying to use Jesus’ death for their own religious and political advancement, God remained (and remains) in control. No matter what may happen in the world, God is sovereign over all things and uses the evil of this world for our good.

Discussion Questions: Why did Jesus have to die on the cross? How have we seen God use evil things for good throughout the Bible? How do you think God is using the evil of COVID-19 for good even now?

April 9- Communion Scripture Mark 14:25, ‘“Truly I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.’” Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:14-20; 1 Corinthians 13:12; 1 John 3:2 One of the last things Jesus did with his disciples is something that we still do today in

remembrance of Him: communion. As Jesus and his disciples ate the bread and we eat the crackers, we are reminded of Jesus body that was broken on the cross. As Jesus and his disciples drank the wine and we drink the grape juice, we are reminded of Jesus’ blood which was shed for our sins. All three of the gospels which speak of Jesus’ institution of the communion end with Jesus reminding his disciples that they would not eat together like this until heaven. This is a part of communion that we often forget; not only are we remembering what Jesus did in the past on the cross and enjoying the fellowship we have with Him in the present, but we are also looking forward to the day when we will have ultimate fellowship or communion with Jesus face-to-face in heaven.

Discussion Questions: 1. Why do we often refer to the Lord’s Supper today as “communion”? 2. What are some aspects of being in heaven that you are most looking forward to?

April 10- The Love of God Scripture Romans 5:8 “But God shows his love towards us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Matthew 27:45-54; Mark 15:33-39; Luke 23:44-47; John 3:16; 15:13; 19:28-30; 1 John 4:9 On a Friday afternoon on the hill Golgotha, Jesus breathed his last breath and died on the cross. In

this single act, Jesus showed the depth of His love for us by dying for those who hated him and nailed him to the cross and those who would never meet him because they were born centuries later. Through His death, Jesus communicated the value of our souls and God’s ultimate desire for humanity to come to repentance. As we remember Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, we should be taken aback at the radical level of love God has shown to us. As the hymnist Fredrick Lehman wrote, “Could we with ink the ocean fill,/ and were the skies of parchment made;/ were every stalk on earth a quill,/ and every man a scribe by trade;/ to write the love of God above,/ would drain the ocean dry;/ nor could the scroll contain the whole,/ through stretched from sky to sky.”

Discussion Questions: How should God’s love for us change how we live? How can you practically show God’s love to those around you?

April 11 - Waiting and Mourning Scripture John 20:19a “On the evening of that day the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews...” Matthew 27:62-66; Isaiah 53:4-5; Romans 8:15-17 The gap in between Jesus’ death and resurrection must have been horrific for the close family and

followers of Jesus. We look back on them and say, “oh you of little faith, Jesus told you over and over again what was going to happen!” We have to remember there was no Biblical precedent for this. No one died and rose again on their own! For the disciples their reaction to their Teacher and Friend being brutally murdered was natural. At this point they didn’t know what to do next, and they locked themselves in a room out of fear that the Jewish authorities would send an arresting detachment for them. You and I go through loss on a consistent basis. We grapple with the fact that a sovereign God allows, and even participates in, the death and sadness of this broken world. As we wait for Christ’s return, let us not lock ourselves away living in fear. Let us embrace a broken world by sharing the message of hope. Let us trust what God is doing even when we don’t understand it.

Discussion Questions: 1. Why is death so difficult to understand and move on from, even for a Christian? 2. What are the fears we often have as Christians living in 2020?

April 12 - HE IS RISEN! Family Sunrise Devotional As soon as your family gets up, read the following passages of scripture together. Have each person in your family look up and read a separate passage of scripture. Matthew 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-12; John 20:1-18; 1 Corinthians 15:1-19 Questions: 1. What is one detail from the gospel accounts of Jesus’ resurrection that you didn’t know, or stuck out to

you? 2. Based on what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15, why is the resurrection so important? 3. Based on what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15, what should we focus on when we share the gospel with

those who are far from God? Read: Christ’s resurrection shocked everyone. The followers and family of Jesus knew that Jesus

predicted this, but until it happened they had trouble believing it. By rising again Jesus proved once and for all that He was truly the Son of God! He conquered our greatest fear! Because of what Jesus did for us we do not have to fear the end of our life, we embrace it knowing that death now is our victory! Today is a day of celebration. We are to focus not on the misery of death, the bondage of sin, or the struggles of this life. We are to take today and celebrate the fact that we serve a God that has conquered death and guarantees for us an eternal life!

Questions: 1. How does the fear of death affect us? 2. What are you looking forward to in heaven? Pray: Go around the room and have each person just praise God! Whatever comes to mind, praise God for that!

Easter Livestream Service: What Scripture was used: ___________________________________________________________________ What were some of the big ideas:

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• _______________________________________________________________________________________ What was the main thing that stuck out to you? Go over the discussion questions from the sermon and pray together.

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