Cornerstone Calvary Chapel • Passion Week at Home
We invite you and your family to join with Cornerstone Calvary Chapel for Passion Week at home! We will journey together through Jesus’ last days on earth with prayer and worship, Scripture readings, activities, and reflection. Easter week is typically a time when churches and homes are bursting with people and activities, and we realize things look very different this year. The churches may be empty, but so is the tomb! Jesus is alive, and we can celebrate that together!
Our prayer is that this Passion Week guide will help connect you with each other and with Jesus as we celebrate His journey to the cross and the miracle of His resurrection. The Scripture readings and reflections are for you to complete on your own or with your family, and the participation activities are ways for you to connect with the church body. A few days throughout the week contain family activities for you to complete with your kids!
We love you and miss you all! May our hearts worship our Risen Savior this week and always!
Share your daily experiences with us! Post your photos and encouraging Scriptures.
Tag Cornerstone on social media and hashtag #cstonepassionweek
Here are the details of the week:
SUNDAY: Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey.
READ: Matthew 21:1-11
People responded in celebration when they saw Jesus enter Jerusalem. They proclaimed His name in the streets!
PARTICIPATE: Celebrate Jesus by making His name known to your neighbors, families, social media outlets, & community workers! Share how you did it with us. Tag us on social media and hashtag #cstonepassionweek.
SOME IDEAS:
Drive around with encouraging signs on your car
Decorate your windows or sidewalk with Scripture
Send cards or text messages of Scripture and hope
Invite your family, friends, & neighbors to online church
REFLECT: The Israelites shouted "Hosanna", which means "Save us!" They were living in difficult times, and we can relate! Journal your own "Hosanna" prayer to the Lord, our Savior.
MONDAY: Jesus cleanses the temple.
READ: Matthew 21:12-17
Jesus cleansed the temple because the things going on there were sinful and distracting from true worship. It is also good for us, the temple of the Holy Spirit, to be cleansed.
PARTICIPATE: Today will be a day of reflection, prayer, and fasting. Ask Him to cleanse your heart of the things that hinder you from true worship. Choose something to fast from today and commit extra time to personal prayer.
REFLECT: Pray this Scripture: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Ps. 139:23-24) Journal how God is answering this prayer for you personally: what is God asking you to be cleansed of?
TUESDAY: Mary anoints the feet of Jesus.
READ: Matthew 26:6-13
Mary poured out all she had to worship at the feet of Jesus.
PARTICIPATE: Join us on Facebook live today at 7pm for a time of worship.
REFLECT: What is something of great value to you? How can you lay it at the feet of Jesus? Journal your thoughts.
FAMILY FUN: Make your own resurrection eggs.
Fill 12 plastic eggs with the following household items to tell the story of Easter!
Egg 1: A Small Leaf: Jesus’ Triumphal Entry (John 12:12-15)
Egg 2: Three Dimes: Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus (Matt. 26:14-16)
Egg 3: Piece of Bread: the Last Supper (Matt. 26:26-28)
Egg 4: Photo of Praying Hands: Jesus’ Prayer in Gethsemane (Matt. 26:36-38)
Egg 5: A Small Whip (made from rope/yarn): Jesus Being Beaten (Mark 15:15)
Egg 6: A Crown (made of paper or twigs): Jesus Crowned King of the Jews (Matt. 27:29)
Egg 7: Three Nails: Jesus Being Nailed to the Cross (John 19:18)
Egg 8: A Die: the Soldiers Casting Lots for Jesus’ Clothes (John 19:23-24)
Egg 9: A Toothpick or Small Sword: the Soldier Plunging His Spear Into Jesus’ Side (John 19:33-34) Egg 10: A Cloth: Joseph Wrapping Jesus for Burial (Matthew 27:57-59)
Egg 11: A Rock: Jesus Being Sealed in the Tomb (Matthew 27:59-60)
Egg 12: An Empty Egg: The Tomb is Empty; Jesus Is Risen! (Matthew 28:6)
WEDNESDAY: Jesus celebrates Passover and institutes the Lord's Supper.
READ: Matthew 26:17-30
Jesus celebrated the Passover meal with His disciples and explained the meaning of communion.
PARTICIPATE: Join our livestream service tonight at 7pm. If you're able, prepare bread and juice for your family to partake in communion with us.
REFLECT: Communion is a time to remember the work that Christ has done for us on the cross. Read and reflect on Isaiah 53. 1 Peter 2:24 speaks of Jesus: "who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed." How has Jesus saved you? How can you now live for Him and proclaim His death until He comes?
THURSDAY: Jesus prays in the garden.
READ: Matthew 26:36-46
Jesus prayed in the garden in pain and anguish. He asked God to let the cup of suffering pass from Him, but He submitted to the will of the Father.
PARTICIPATE: Join us for a video prayer meeting on Zoom tonight at 7pm. We will pray as Jesus did, asking God for His will to be done on earth and to empower us for whatever lies ahead.
FAMILY FUN: Make a prayer jar (or box).
Write prayer requests or people's names on popsicle sticks (or notecards). Put them in a jar (or box) and pick one out each day to pray over with your family.
REFLECT: Journal and pray over the answers to these questions: Are you committed to prayer, as Jesus was? What do you struggle to submit to God? Will you pray that His will be done above all else?
FRIDAY: Jesus dies on the cross.
READ: Matthew 27:27-56
Jesus was crucified, dying a criminal's death. He sacrificed Himself for our sins. He took our place.
PARTICIPATE: Join our livestream Good Friday service tonight at 6pm.
Talk about what sacrifice means with your family. Follow Jesus' example and find ways today to make sacrifices for the people you love.
REFLECT: Think about: What is the greatest sacrifice you have ever made for someone else? What is the greatest sacrifice anyone ever made for you? What does the cross- the ultimate sacrifice- mean to you?
SATURDAY: Jesus is buried.
READ: Matthew 27:57-66
Jesus is buried. The disciples are in hiding, grieving and afraid. The leaders fear the prophecy that Jesus would rise, and they set a guard around His tomb.
PARTICIPATE: Spend today alone with God or with your family, reflecting on all we read this week. Take time to re-read Matthew 21-27.
FAMILY FUN: Make "resurrection rolls" to symbolize the empty tomb.
You'll need: one package refrigerated crescent dough, 8 marshmallows, cinnamon, sugar, butter. Dip marshmallows into melted butter then in cinnamon sugar. Place a marshmallow in the center of each triangle of crescent roll dough and carefully wrap the dough around the marshmallow, pinching the seams together tightly. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes. The marshmallow will "disappear" when baked, reminding kids of the empty tomb!
REFLECT: We know the story's end. God's word is true; His promise was fulfilled. Jesus didn't stay in that tomb- He rose! But think about what the disciples were going through at this time. They didn't know the end; they were afraid. They were waiting for a promise that they didn't know would be fulfilled. What promises has God fulfilled in your life? Did you have to wait for them? What was it like in the waiting, and how did God minister to you during that time?
SUNDAY: Jesus is risen!
READ: Matthew 28:1-10
Christ is risen from the dead! He has conquered sin and death forever!
PARTICIPATE: Celebrate with us for Easter Sunday Online at 10am. Send us a photo of your family this Easter morning! Tag us on social media and hashtag #cstonepassionweek.
REFLECT: Celebrate the resurrection today!
List of items needed for activities:
Communion (Wednesday): Bread and juice
Resurrection Eggs (Tuesday): 12 plastic eggs, egg carton
Prayer Jar (Thursday): mason jar or small box, popsicle sticks or notecards
Resurrection Rolls (Saturday): refrigerated crescent roll dough, marshmallows, cinnamon & sugar
