Good Friday...

  Good Friday - the day we remember that Christ died on the cross.  Sometimes its a day that we can let pass us by without thinking about it.  I didn't want that to happen to our family this year.  We cleared the table, put down some black material and scattered one big candle and 7 smaller candles around the table.  We then set up a cross at the other end, which incidentally was made from some scraps of barn wood from my grandparent's barn that's over 100 years old.
​We sat down at the table and we read the 7 sentences that Jesus spoke while on the cross.  We would read one, discuss it, then blow out one of the smaller candles.  The kids took turns blowing out the candles. We had some interesting conversations - while they knew the story more or less, interesting things came up.

Luke 23:33-34 "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing."
​We asked "Why would Jesus say that?" We talked about how Jesus prayed for His enemies, rather than cursing them or attacking them.

​Luke 23: 39-43 "I assure you: Today you will be with me in Paradise."
​What assurance that is - the thief knew he had done wrong, and Jesus gave him assurance that he would die and go to heaven.  The man knew his wrong and admitted it.  One said "He was a thief."  We said the Bible doesn't tell us what he did. That was news to him.

John 19:25-27 "Woman, here is your son. Here is your mother."
​We brought home the point that Jesus still took care of his mom.  One asked "Where was his dad?"  We said we don't know, but most likely Joseph had died by that time.  As the eldest son, Jesus was to take care of his mother.  At his death, he made sure that his mother would be taken care of.

​Mark 15:33-34 "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
​If you read the verses, you will see that they were recorded in Jesus' language.  "You mean when he spoke it sounded like gibberish?"  "Yes, and our language would sound like gibberish to them."  It gave us a chance to talk about how people died when trying to translate the Bible into other languages.  We discussed how Jesus felt separated from God and how that hurt.

John 19:28 "I'm thirsty"
​We were able to emphasize his humanity, and how it was hard to die on the cross. 
​One asked: "How can it be hot if it's dark?"  The other said: "Maybe it was a solar eclipse!"  Me: "A solar eclipse lasts only a few minutes."  "How do we know?" Me: "You saw one in August."

John 19:29-30 "It is finished!"
​He paid the price for our sins.  His job was completed.  One said "Oh, that's what we will observe on Sunday."  We replied "No, we celebrate that He rose from the dead."

​Luke 23:46 "Father, into your hands I entrust My spirit."
​We talked about how even though Jesus felt separated from the Father, He still said 'God, I will trust You with everything."  

​When we finished, all the candles were blown out except for the big one, and we discussed the Passover and its meaning and how Jesus was the Son of God.  We then took time to pray together and just thank God for the sacrifice of Jesus.  Simple, yet so meaningful looking at it together. 

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