As a church leader, the week leading up to Easter can be one of an ever-growing to-do list, last minute details and long days as you head towards Sunday.
You’re checking in on your staff. You’re double checking you have enough volunteers. You’re thoughtful of the visitors coming for the first time. You desire for people to meet Jesus.
Have you ever been so busy doing ‘Jesus-y’ things that spending alone time with Jesus falls to the bottom of the list?
You have so much on your plate that you skip over your quiet time. You are so focused on setting up the moment for other people to experience Jesus that you experiencing Jesus falls by the wayside.
I'm sure you've been there. We have too.
As you spend your week preparing and leading others, may these daily guided prayer prompts be used to fill you up before you pour into others.
Would you join us? Follow along here or with us each day on social media.
Sunday, April 2: Palm Sunday
- “‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’ ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ‘Hosanna in the highest’” - Matthew 21:9
- Take a moment to picture the scene - Jesus on the donkey, his disciples, his followers, those he has healed and the Pharisees …
- “When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, ‘Who is this?’” - Matthew 21:10
- Dear Church Leader, may God deepen your love for him and these stories that are sometimes all too familiar.
- God, stir us up this week.
Monday, April 3
- Monday - the day tables are overturned at the temple …
- Can you see the commotion? The hustle and bustle, and then silence, everyone staring at everyone else, a hush falls over the crowd.
- “ … all the people hung on his words.” - Matthew 19:48
- Dear Church Leader, in the midst of the hustle and bustle of this week, may you have slow moments to breathe deep of God’s presence.
- God, we want to hang on your words.
Tuesday, April 4
- Tuesday of Holy Week - Jesus spends his day teaching and being questioned by the Pharisees.
- “Jesus replied, ‘“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” - Matthew 22:37-39
- Love God. Love People.
- Dear Church Leader, look at your never-ending to-do list and remember that you do this because you love God and you love people. Take a moment and think about your attendees and first-time guests that are coming this weekend.
- God, we are desperate for people to come and know you this weekend.
Wednesday, April 5
- On Wednesday, Jesus continues to teach in the temple and plans are made to kill Jesus.
- “Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives, and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple.” - Luke 21:37-38
- The Mount of Olives … a spot where Jesus retreated to often.
- Dear Church Leader, don’t forsake spending personal time with Jesus in the midst of doing very ‘Jesus-y’ things this week. Get quiet before the Savior of the world. Fill up before you pour out.
- God, speak to us in the stillness.
Thursday, April 6: Maundy Thursday
- A lot happens today - foot washing, the Last Supper, Jesus praying in the Garden, betrayal and arrest.
- “It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.” - John 13:1
- Dear Church Leader, you get the opportunity to point people to how Jesus showed the full extent of his love. But first, let’s pause and reflect on how He has worked in our own lives.
- God, thank you for showing us the full extent of your love.
Friday, April 7: Good Friday
- The torture. The mocking. The suffering. The agony.
- The despair.
- “It is finished.” - John 19:30
- “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds we have been healed.” - 1 Peter 2:24
- Dear Church Leader, quietly sit and ponder the weight of Good Friday and what Jesus did for you and for the world. Sunday is coming, but for now, stay with Friday.
- God, where would we be without you?
Saturday, April 8:
- Saturday … the day that is silent.
- Imagine yourself as a disciple. They didn’t know what Sunday would hold.
- They didn’t know the hope that was coming.
- Dear Church Leader, as you show up and shepherd your people through their silent situations, may you be kind to yourself as you process your own seasons of silence.
- God, thank you Silent Saturday is not the end of the story.
Sunday, April 9: Easter Sunday
- “While it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance …” - John 20:1
- “The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said’” - Matthew 28:5
- Dear Church Leader, today we get to praise the One who paid our debt and gave us life.
- God, thank you for being our Savior.