Easter – Family Faith Companion

Who me? Deny Christ?

Posted on April 27, 2022August 22, 2022 by Carol Hulbert

a person writes a to-do list Do you start off your day with a list of what you need to do? I do!

But I wonder… in all of my busy, everything must be perfect, planning… have I left room for God?

Is “cultivate my faith” on my to-do list?

Am I denying God entry into my life?

Peter pretended like he didn’t know who Jesus was. Now, that is denial. But do my choices make me just as guilty?

Paraphrased from John 18:16-18, 25-27, Peter said…

Are you talking to me? I don’t know who that man is!

What does denying Christ look like for us today?

Here’s a discussion for your family, at the family dinner table (or wherever your family is gathered together).

What does it mean to deny that something happened? (It means saying that something is not true, when in fact, it is true!)
Tell about a time when someone pretended like they didn’t know you—they denied that you were their friend.
What do you suppose it would feel like to have someone say, “No, I don’t know that person?”
Have you ever denied knowing someone?
Adults: share a story from your growing-up years. And then share Peter’s story.
It is easy to see that saying you don’t know someone is denial. Do you suppose that we ever deny Jesus? How about when we…
- speak harshly?
- are quick to follow the crowd – trying to make them like us?
- forget to pray?
- turn the other way when someone needs our help?
- are mostly concerned about our needs?

All of us, through our lifestyles, actions and attitudes, have denied Jesus. But, be reassured, there is hope!

So turn to God! Give up your sins, and you will be forgiven. Acts 3:19

I am thankful for God’s grace!

Stay tuned for the rest of the story: Forgiveness!

Photo credits…
To-do lists by John Athayde, originally licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0).
The Denial of Saint Peter by Caravaggio, circa 1610; in the Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Darkness and light; so goes life

Posted on April 20, 2022August 22, 2022 by Carol Hulbert

Dark and light. Polar opposites, yet we can’t have one without the other.

I remember a picture book that I used to “read” to my kids when they were young: Fast-Slow High-Low, by Peter Spier. It was a book of few words, inviting discussion over the meaning behind its numerous artful drawings.

Cover of the book Fast-Slow High-Low We often would make-up lively stories about the various opposites portrayed—leading to interesting tales! (I love wordless books for young children. They invite imaginative thinking.) Light and dark were illustrated in an expected way: with a lamp “on” and “off.”

I don’t recall that dark and light were depicted beyond the brightness of bulbs; it would be hard to sketch light and dark as a way to describe life circumstances!

The contrast of light and dark is evident when one does a Rotation on Peter’s view of Easter. (This story is a good one to do post-Easter, as a follow-up to other Easter stories.) It’s about Peter, who was one of Jesus’ disciples, the one Jesus called the “Rock.”

Peter had reason to want to hide in the dark.

Our story starts off in the dark. Well, sort of—it did take place in the evening. There is probably some light as the disciples gathered with Jesus in the Upper Room to share the Passover meal; the one that we call the “Last Supper.”

Jesus and his disciples recline at the table during the Last Supper

Peter tells Jesus I'll never deny you But there were “dark” moments during that gathering. Like when Jesus tells his disciple Peter that he will soon deny him. Can you imagine Peter’s shock? “Who me?, Peter says, “Never! I am ready to die for you.”

“Really?” (Can you imagine the incredulous tone of voice that Jesus uses?) “Really? You’ll lay down your life for me? The truth is that before the rooster crows, you’ll deny me three times.” John 13:38

Peter denies knowing Jesus

Then there is the dark moment in our story when Peter does deny Christ. (John 18:15-18 and 25-27) Let alone the darkness that envelopes Jesus’ followers to see their beloved Jesus hanging on a cross.

But on the third day, morning comes, and with it, light! Great light!

Moments before sunrise

Jesus is alive! He visits his disciples, several times over the next few days.

But how is Peter feeling? Luke’s Gospel has Peter weeping bitterly. (Luke 22:60-62)

We will find out that Jesus forgives Peter (John 21:1-17). But it brings to mind an apply-it-to-our-life question:

What do you do with failure?

Pass it off as I’ll do better next time, or continually beat yourself up?

Thankfully, Jesus offers forgiveness!

Photo credits…
First image, from my archives—a photo of the book.
Story images by artist Paula Nash Giltner, from Free Bible Images, licensed under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND 4.0). Photos are here and compiled from here, offered by a joint venture of Good News Productions & College Press Publishing Co.
Moments before sunrise by Vincentiu Solomon, released under Unsplash License.

Easter has come: Now run towards Jesus!

Posted on April 17, 2022August 22, 2022 by Carol Hulbert

Mary Magdalene has reported that Jesus’ tomb is empty! Disciples John and Peter waste no time in quickly running towards the tomb; wondering what they would find (John 20:1-4).

Disciples John and Peter on their way to the tomb on Easter morning

Of course, they didn’t find his body at the tomb, because Jesus is alive!

Later they would see the risen Jesus several times. And once more Peter would find himself “running” towards Jesus. (Okay, there was probably some swimming involved, more than running, see John 21:7.)

How often do you find yourself wishing for an opportunity to run to Jesus?

When things are rough.
When it seems like everything is turning against you.
When you are ready to give up…

What is holding you back? Don’t walk—Run!

When was the last time you reminded your family members, your friends, and even yourself, that running towards Jesus is always an option?

When you are weary.
When it looks like there is no hope.
When you can’t think of a better way…

What is holding you back?

So turn to God! Give up your sins, and you will be forgiven.
Acts 3:19

But the people who trust the Lord will become strong again.
They will be able to rise up as an eagle in the sky.
They will run without needing rest.
They will walk without becoming tired.
Isaiah 40:31

An Easter blessing:

On this day and every day,
regardless of where you are at,
or how you are feeling,
may you turn and run to Jesus.

Happy Easter !
— Carol

Photo credits…
Disciples John and Peter running on their way to the tomb on Easter morning, a painting by Eugène Burnand. Offered by crazyapplefangirl, on Flickr licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-ND 2.0). Palm-tied cross is from my archives, offered here.

Preparing for Easter: Telling the story

Posted on April 13, 2022August 22, 2022 by Carol Hulbert

Got any of these around?

I figured you might.

That’s good because they can be useful… to tell the Easter story… and I don’t mean the Easter bunny version! These eggs can be filled with symbols of the story from Palm Sunday to Easter. Use them to help children to learn and re-tell the story of Easter.

First, shoo away the chickens and gather some eggs
You’ll need some plastic, separating eggs – 8, or perhaps 12, or more! It all depends on how detailed you’d like to get in telling the tale. This is a project where creativity can reign!

It should be noted that you can buy a set of 12 pre-filled eggs (do a Google search on “Resurrection Eggs”). But where is the fun in that?

If you have young children perhaps you’d like to make a set of 8 eggs and open one every day from Palm Sunday to Easter; a sort of “advent calendar” for Easter week! (Though the elements inside the eggs, except for the two Sundays, don’t really relate to the days of what we call “Holy week.”)

If you’ve got readers in your family, add slips of paper with the Bible verses written on them (as indicated below). Include reading the verses as part of the daily opening of an egg.

For older children perhaps you’d like to elicit their help in preparing the eggs. Ask them which details to include in the story, thus determining how many eggs will be used.

Keeping your ~~ducks in a row~~ eggs in order!
Whatever the number of eggs you create, you’re going to want to keep track of the order in which they should be opened. Use a permanent marking pen to number each egg or use different colors of eggs, or different color combinations of eggs (maize and blue is my favorite combination). If you go the color route, create a numbered list of the objects placed in the eggs and write down the color of the egg next to each object.

Following are some ideas of what to include in your eggs…

The 8 egg version – open one a day between Palm Sunday and Easter

Palm Sunday – a piece of palm branch (that you brought home from church, or cut one out of green paper) – Mark 11:1-10
Judas Iscariot betrays Jesus – a couple coins – Luke 22:1-6
The Last Supper – a cup (use a small bottle cap) or a piece of bread – Luke 22:7-20
The Garden of Gethsemane – a twisted pretzel (because pretzels were first made in this shape to represent someone praying), or perhaps a drawing of praying hands – Matthew 26:36-46
Jesus is arrested – A slip of paper with a lip print – Matthew 26:47-56
Jesus is killed on a cross – use a bread twist-tie to wire together two small twigs as a cross – Luke 23:26, 32-49
Jesus is buried – a rock (to cover the tomb) – Matthew 27:57-60
Jesus is risen (the tomb is empty) – an empty egg! – John 20:1-20

If you’d like… Add more story details and more eggs! (You’ll have to re-number your list!)

Mary anointed Jesus’ feet – a cotton ball with some vanilla extract or some perfume on it – John12:1-8 (Make this a new egg #1)

Split Palm Sunday into 2 eggs… Procuring a donkey – A picture of a donkey, or a piece of fake fur, or even dog hair!  – Mark 11:1-6, and the palm branch portion of the story – Mark 11:8-10

Then come eggs #2, 3, 4 and 5 from the list above.

Next, add Peter’s denial with a feather or a picture of a rooster – Matthew 26:69-75

Then add Jesus being bound – a piece of rope – Matthew 27:1-2

Pilate washing his hands – a small piece of soap – Matthew 27:15-24

Jesus beaten with whips – a piece of leather cording or a shoe string – Matthew 27:26

A crown of thorns is placed on Jesus – a piece of a rose bush  or a drawn crown of thorns – Matthew 27:27-31

Change the cross egg (the tied together twigs) to Matthew 27:31-32

Add an egg with a slip of paper saying “JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” – John 19:19-22

Then add an egg for the dividing of Jesus’ clothing – A dice or two – John 19:23-24

Add a piece of cloth ripped in half – Mark 15:38-39

Finish with eggs #7 and #8 (from the list above).

Have fun telling, and re-telling, the Easter story!

Photo credits…
From Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0):
Easter eggs by Jeff Petersen, and Lips by Jan McLaughlin.
And from Pixabay:
Rooster by OpenClipart-Vectors, released under Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Public Domain.

I love a parade, don’t you?

Posted on April 8, 2022April 27, 2022 by Carol Hulbert

It’s Lent!
Rather than giving something up, how about adding daily family faith discussion.
Make it your Lenten investment!

Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey on what we now call Palm Sunday

If you are doing a Rotation on the events of Holy Week, you are covering a lot of scripture! So this post will be the start of several which will provide mini reading plans for small portions of each story in the “Events of Holy Week.”. Included are discussion questions for use around the family dinner table. (Or wherever your family is gathered together—perhaps in the car on the way to soccer practice?) Use the chart below to read and talk about this portion of our story… in stages… over the course of several days.

First up: What we now call Palm Sunday!

If you’d like to print out this reading plan/discussion guide, click here.

Read	Talk about or do…
Matthew 21:7-9	This is like a parade! Describe a parade you’d like to be in. What town is Jesus entering? (Jerusalem) Why is this first event in Holy Week called “Palm Sunday?” How do you plan to celebrate Palm Sunday?
Matthew 21:8-9	Imagine the excitement! Does the Bible you are using have a footnote that explains the meaning of the word “Hosanna?” In Hebrew Hosanna means “save us now,” although over time it had come to be an exclamation of praise. What words do you shout when you are excited and full of appreciation? Shout some worshipful words!
Mark 11:1-6	Take a look at a Bible map (here’s one). Find Jerusalem, Bethany, and Bethphage. Jesus and his disciples walked everywhere. How far did they walk between those towns? What is the furthest you’ve ever walked?
Luke 19:28-34	What would you think if someone asked you to do what Jesus asked? Would you wonder how you’d ever find this colt? Would you be afraid of being accused of stealing?! Would you be anxious to see Jesus riding a never-been-ridden-before, animal? I wonder why Jesus felt that these details were important?
Matthew 21:1-5	Does the Bible you are using help you to discover which prophet said these words? (Hint: Look at Zechariah 9:9) What sort of king were the people expecting? +++++A) a riding-on-a-giant-horse, ’m-going-to-whip-everybody-into-shape sort of a king OR +++++B) a gentle-loving riding-on-a-donkey king? What sort of king did Jesus turn out to be?
Matthew 21:10,11	Obviously not everyone knew about Jesus! The people had been waiting for hundreds of years for the Messiah! Look up the word “Messiah” in a he dictionary (there is usually one in the back of a Bible).
Matt 21:8,9 Mark 11:8-10 Luke 19:36-38 John 12:12-16	What differences do you notice between these four accounts of this story? Why do you suppose these differences exist? What do you make of John’s reference to looking back on this story after Jesus’ resurrection?

How does it feel to add faith talk for Lent?

Photo credits:
Palm Sunday, originally posted by Waiting For The Word on Flickr under a Creative Commons license.

How to prepare for Hosanna-ing with a bit of make-believe

Posted on April 5, 2022April 27, 2022 by Carol Hulbert

I like this painting that depicts the inaugurating event of Palm Sunday, because it includes children. Look over on the upper, right-hand side. Notice the man holding a baby(!) up over his shoulders? (One can easily miss seeing!)

Show this picture to your kids and point out the taking-flight toddler.

There are other kids. Can you find them?

Notice this child in particular… (The one designated with the red arrow in the close-up shot.

Have your child pretend that they are that kid. Place yourself in the painting!

You are witnessing Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem!

What do you see?

What do you smell?

What do you hear?

There were of course, lots of people. Some happy and others not. And probably the usual noise a loud crowd makes.

(“Is he coming yet?” “I can’t see!” “Excuse me, you are stepping on my foot!”)

palm waving-2 The Bible tells us there were loud cries of “Hosanna!” (John 12:13). Which was like saying “Save us!”

Go ahead and shout some Hosannas!

Practice for this coming Sunday at FUMC.

Do you suppose there were people at this “parade” who wondered what the Hosanna hoopla was all about?

Why do we celebrate Palm Sunday? (If you’re not sure, go ahead and click on that link to learn more.)

Why did the people greet Jesus with such enthusiasm?

How would you greet Jesus today?

Photo credits:
Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem by Hippolyte Flandrin, 1842, from FreeChristImages.org, used under license.
Palm Sunday photo copyright from my archives.

What’s the scoop from the Garden of Gethsemane?

Posted on February 28, 2016March 25, 2016 by Carol Hulbert

This Rotation is producing lots of media: movies of drama skits and photos of Lego-creations that tell our story of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Take a look and see!

In the Art/Photography Workshop…

Kids started off hearing the story and creating a garden of olive trees (from paper lunch bags!)

In the Art Workshop, 1st students created trees for the garden scene

Then they re-created the story using their trees and Lego™ people. (Click on a photo to see a larger view.)

The 1st and the 4th graders worked in groups to each create a scene:

Lego creations of the Garden of Gethsemane — Jesus and his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane: Stay here while I go over there and pray.

The 3rd graders were a small group that week (it was the start of a school break week):

3rd graders construct with Legos — 3rd graders hear the portion of the story about a scene and then construct it with Legos

A Lego scene in the Garden of Gethsemane — Jesus says: “Stay here while I go over there.”

The 2nd grade creations:

2nd grader ponders the story Hmm… Let’s see. First they went to the garden of olive trees…

(Remember, you can click on the smaller photos to make them appear larger.)

And finally, the 5th grade creations:
(This class also worked in groups.)

In the Drama Workshop…

The 5th grade puts on a humorous skit:

Watch the 3rd grade version:

Watch the 1st & 4th grade version:

In the Cooking Workshop…

The 2nd grade made (and ate) prayer pretzels. They are so eager to learn how to twist a pretzel. (Yes, there is a technique.) As your kids visit the Cooking Workshop, ask them to tell you the story of how the pretzel ties to prayer.

Cooking - making prayer pretzels

Making Prayer Pretzels Forming Prayer Pretzels

In the Prayer Yoga Workshop…

prayer yoga Kids learned about praying with your body.

Watch the video that they followed in class. It includes yoga poses and prayer. We started at the 1:30 mark and only watched about 25 minutes of this video. There is more! Try it out with your family at home.

Join us for the fun! See the schedule of workshops here.

Photo credits:
Photos by Tom Gardner & myself.

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What sort of fascinated fan are you raising?

Posted on February 17, 2016February 20, 2016 by Carol Hulbert

Are you raising a “Go Blue” sports fan? (Or perhaps a “Go Green”?) If you are a fan of a certain team, it’s very likely that your kids are too.

You are probably not intentionally raising such a child – drilling the Michigan fight song every night or teaching them player nuances – it just sort of happens doesn’t it? Because you are interested, they become predisposed.

What about raising a Jesus fan?

Is that just “happening” in your household without any effort on your part?

I’ll admit, when my kids were young, I did not focus much on raising them to be disciples of Christ. My thinking went along the lines of:

Who me? I can’t do that. (That’s the church’s job.)
I don’t know enough. (I didn’t go to Bible school.)
I’ll screw them up / turn them off to religion. (I’ll probably say something wrong!)

Raising a Jesus fan takes some intention.

Does it help you to know that Jesus struggled with the role he was to play in God’s plan of redemption for the world?

We see it prominently in the Garden Of Gethsemane, the spot where Jesus and his followers went after the Passover meal (the one we now call the Last Supper). Jesus knew he faced imminent distressing events — arrest, torture, and death on a cross. At this critical juncture, Jesus is compelled to spend time with God in prayer.

Spend Time in Prayer.

Share your feelings of uncertainty with God. Jesus did. Matthew describes a time of intense agony in amongst the olive trees, with Jesus’ words expressing his anguish:

My Father, if it is possible, take this cup of suffering away from me.

This is like Jesus saying: “If it is possible, can’t we do this in some other way?”

Christians believe that in Jesus, God became fully human; he was a human being who faced temptations and feelings of anxiety! Isn’t it freeing to realize that we don’t have to stand up to pressures and trials with super-sized strength? It is okay to be fearful, questioning, angry, and to feel agony.

It is okay to struggle!

We know from the prayer that Jesus prayed in the garden, that in the very same sentence of asking for a different path, Jesus turns and submits completely to God, “I want your will, not mine.” This is not an admission of defeat; he says it with a cadence of perfect trust.

Acting as Jesus did can be a tough pill to swallow. Here’s what I tell myself when faced with something I’m unsure I really have the guts to do:

Do the next thing. Do it with prayer.

a blue line

Here’s something to pursue this week: Be on the lookout for a “trigger” which prompts a short burst of prayer.

A collage of green things Taking a cue from the Garden of Gethsemane, when you see something green (a houseplant, some produce, a stray toy) thank God for the ability to speak openly with him in prayer!

Try this out yourself for a couple of days. Then report back to your kids. Get them onto the hunt for a little green prompting.

What spiritual practice can you include in your family’s life this Lent? How will you plant seeds of faith in the lives of your Jesus fans?

Stay tuned for other Lenten prayer hints.

Photo credits:
Young sports fan by PublicDomainPictures, and the collage of green things – from other artists – all who licensed these photos on Pixabay under a Public Domain Dedication.