Holy Week Stations

Introduction

Thank you for coming to our Holy Week Stations. This is a time for you to reflect on the Gospel message quietly. At each station, you will be prompted with a passage to read and a time to reflect and respond. As you reflect and respond, use this time to look at the different visuals at each station. After you are done, follow the path to the next station. Please be considerate of others around you and keep a space between groups. All children need to be accompanied by an adult for the duration of the stations. We have a children's guide designed for younger kids to help them follow along. We ask that you wait here; someone will tell you when it’s time to begin. Use this moment while waiting to ask God to prepare your heart to focus on Him and the Gospel message.

Station 1 – The Creation

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth…. Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness…” So God created man in His own image; He created Him in the image of God; He created them male and female…God saw all that He had made, and it was very good indeed. – Genesis 1:1, 26-27, 31

Everything that exists was created by God. At the beginning of time as we know it, when God created the universe, every bit of it was good. It was good because it was the handiwork of a good God, with whom there is no fault or wrong. The perfect, sovereign Creator made everything perfect according to His perfect will. Everything was just as God designed and functioned as He had planned. There was no sickness, suffering, or death. There was no envy, fighting, or hostility. The man and woman knew no shame, fear, or guilt. Everything was good, operating in perfect peace and harmony.

At the pinnacle of this creation was a man and woman, created in the image of the Creator, who were made in a special way. God fashioned the man from the dust of the earth and then breathed the breath of life into him, placing him in the center of this perfect garden. Later, he would form a helper for the man from him; this woman would walk hand in hand with the man. God blessed their union and gifted them marriage. They were made to rule over the creation, caring for it, and were told to multiply, all while walking in harmony with the Creator. Together, they would know God in a special and unique way. God blessed them, giving them the entire creation to rule over, asking only that they would love and follow Him. The man and woman were together, one with each other and God in paradise. They were naked and unashamed; everything was good indeed.

Walk around and view each day of creation represented on the tables and imagine what life in this garden would be like. Stop and thank God for the goodness He has bestowed on us. Consider all the good things we have in this life and offer a prayer of thanks as "Every good and perfect gift is from above.” (James 1:17a).

Station 2 – The Fall

The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work and watch over it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die…The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at…so she took some of it and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves." – Genesis 2:15-17, 3:6-7

Sadly, what was good didn't stay that way. The man and woman rebelled against God by eating from the tree they were forbidden to eat from. In that moment, sin entered the world, and with sin came a fracturing of everything. The man and woman both experienced shame for the first time. They tried to make coverings for themselves to hide their shame, but it didn’t work. Instead of running to God, they now hid from God. Instead of loving each other, they now blamed each other. This reveals that sin harmed their relationship with God and each other. From now on, sin would affect all creation and everyone born. All of mankind would be separated from their Creator.

God told them that they would die when they ate of the tree, and while their physical death wasn’t instant, their spiritual death was. With sin came consequences, so now even the good things that God had given them would come with pain and frustration attached. In mercy, God expelled them from the garden, and in grace, He covered their nakedness with the skins of an animal. Paradise was lost, and things would never be the same.

In what ways can you see the effect of sin in your life and in the world? How do you know your relationship with God is broken? Take a few moments to think about how sin has affected your life.

Station 3 – The Old Covenant - Sacrifices, the Law and Prophets

God, however, did not leave man alone. He continued to make a way for man to know and walk with Him. Under the Old Covenant (Old Testament), God prescribed a list of things man must do to know and follow Him. These can be summed up as Sacrifices, the Law, and the message of the Prophets.

For sin to be forgiven, it had to be atoned for. This means that something had to die and pay the price for sin. Just as God told Adam and Eve that they would die if they sinned, God, in grace, provided a way for man to be forgiven through faith. In order to be forgiven, a man would have to offer a sacrifice for his sins. The sacrifice (typically a spotless lamb) would serve as a substitute and would die in the place of the sinner. Throughout the Old Testament, animal sacrifices were required to pay the price (atone for) sin. These sacrifices were given to foreshadow a greater sacrifice that would come and pay the price for sin once and for all.

God also gave His people the law. The law, given by God through Moses, included a list of commands to follow in faith and obedience. The law served multiple purposes. It gave mankind a code of conduct to make life better for those who followed it. Because God knew His people couldn't follow it, it also included a list of punishments for the lawbreaker and the required sacrifices needed to bring about forgiveness. However, there was a deeper purpose to the law. It also revealed the holiness of God. The law revealed God's standard of perfection that He expected His people to live by. The problem is that none of us could keep it. In this, the law revealed that we needed someone to do what we could never do on our own. We needed someone to fulfill the law for us and pay the price for our sins that we could never pay.

God would send messengers known as prophets to speak on His behalf to the people. While these prophets provided different messages at different times, the most important messages they delivered concerned a Messiah who would come and rescue the people from their sins. Throughout the Old Testament, God's people awaited this anointed one who would rescue them from their sins.

Look around the room and imagine how much work it took every day and every year for God’s people to try to fulfill the Old Covenant Law. Say a prayer of thanksgiving to God for sending His son, Jesus Christ, to be the ultimate sacrifice to fulfill the law we could never fulfill!

Station 4 – The Incarnation & Jesus’ Ministry

After thousands of years of waiting, God sent the Messiah into the world. He didn’t come in the way that most would expect. He came as an infant, born to a young virgin, in a stable. This baby was no ordinary child, however. This child was God's own son; He was both fully God and fully man. He came to do what we were incapable of doing. He identified with us through His humanity and defeated sin through this deity. He lived a sinless life, fulfilling all of God's law. He died the death we deserve, paying the price for our sins. This Messiah's name was Jesus, and He came to save the world from their sins.

Jesus grew and became a man, living an ordinary life as a carpenter’s son. However, there came a time when He set out to accomplish all God had sent Him to do. During this time of ministry, He performed countless miracles that revealed that He had the authority of God himself. He made blind people see, sick people well, and lame people walk. He calmed storms, turned water into wine, walked on water, and even brought people back to life. Each of these revealed that Jesus was indeed the promised Messiah. These signs were given to validate the message He would preach - the coming of the kingdom of God and the forgiveness of sin. In teaching, He would reveal God's heart and the good news of the Gospel. This Gospel message is that sinners could be forgiven and have their relationship with God restored. Each of these moments led to the point that Jesus would accomplish what was necessary to make us right with God.

Jesus was fully God, yet fully human. Like you, He experienced life's joys and struggles here on earth. Take a moment and think about how Jesus can relate to you in your life. What are some high and low moments He must have experienced while being human? What temptations did He face during His ministry that you also face today? How did He overcome those temptations and how can you apply that to your life?

Station 5 – The Triumphant Entry

There came a time when Jesus would fulfill God's plan for His life. He would enter Jerusalem to be the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. Just as under the Old Covenant, a sacrifice would have to be made; Jesus would lay down His life as the final sacrifice for our sins. Jesus did everything the Old Covenant required. He fulfilled the law of God, having never sinned. He fulfilled the message of the prophets coming to bring salvation.

Imagine the excitement and joy the crowd experienced when they saw The Messiah coming to save them! Join in their celebration and say a prayer of praise to God, thanking Him for your salvation in Jesus Christ!

Station 6 – The Upper Room

Jesus gave us a reminder of what He would do for us. He met with His disciples in the upper room to share in the Passover, a meal that Israel celebrated every year. This meal served as a reminder of how God spared Israel and delivered them from slavery in Egypt. Jesus would give this meal a new meaning, however. He took a piece of bread and a cup of wine and gave it to His disciples to remind them of His body that would be given and His blood that would be shed to earn our salvation. They didn’t fully understand it then, but this would later be called the Lord's Supper and serve as a reminder for everyone who trusted in Jesus for salvation and what He did for them.

Jesus did something else in the upper room that is not to be missed. Something unthinkable. Before He shared the Passover meal with His disciples, He took a basin of water and a towel and went around the room washing His disciples' feet. This act of humility was the last thing that a man of Jesus' status would ever do. He modeled the servant nature that He lived by and set an example that we, too, should serve others. One of the most amazing moments of this act was when Jesus also washed Judas's feet, the one He knew would betray Him. This reveals the heart of Jesus to all sinners and that our willingness to serve should extend to even those who wish us harm and would seem unworthy of our service. This proves that Jesus truly came in the form of a servant.

Take a moment and think about whom you can show that same kind of humble service to in your life.

Station 7 – The Garden

After Jesus shared the Passover with His disciples and before being arrested and crucified, He went to the garden to pray. The time for His sacrifice had come, and He was full of grief. He knew what God had sent Him to do, yet He asked the Father if there was any other way. However, His heart in all of it was to submit to the will of the Father. In the garden, Jesus was in such anguish that as He prayed, blood dripped from His body. The cruel death of the cross awaited for Him. However, this was not the reason for Jesus' anguish. His anguish came from the fact that for the first time, as He prayed, He did not find comfort; instead, the reality was that He would be forsaken by God and absorb His wrath for sin. The sinless, perfect son of God would have to become sin for us so that we might be made righteous. This time in the garden shows us how to pray and willingly submit to God's will and the lengths that Jesus went to ensure our salvation.

Take time and pray that God will give you the strength to choose His will for your life. Write your prayer on a card and put it on the cross using a magnet to symbolize your commitment to His will in your life.

Conclusion

Thank you for participating in the Holy Week Stations. We pray that this helps prepare your heart as we continue to reflect on what Jesus did for us this week over 2,000 years ago. We encourage you to come this Friday to our Good Friday Service in the Atrium at 6:30 pm. This will be a time of worship and reflection on the cross, including a unique communion experience.