A gift of
Easter
40 days and 40 nights
Lent is a time to prepare for
Easter – it represents the 40
days and nights when Jesus
was tempted in the desert.
40 days and 40 nights
During this time he didn’t eat
or drink anything and the
Lenten tradition of abstinence
is continued today by many
who choose to give up
something specific such as
chocolate or alcohol.
40 days and 40 nights
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the
Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the
wilderness, where for forty days he was
tempted by the devil.
Luke 4:1-2a (NRSV)
40 days and 40 nights
Jesus, tempted in the desert,
lonely, hungry, filled with dread:
‘Use your power’, the tempter tells him;
‘turn these barren rocks to bread!’
‘Not alone by bread’, he answers,
‘can the human heart be filled.
Only by the Word that calls us
is our deepest hunger stilled!’
Herman G Stuempfle (1923-2007)
© 1993, GIA Publications, Inc. Used with permission
Shrove Tuesday
Lent always starts on a Wednesday,
so people went to confession on the
day before.
The old middle English word
‘Shriven’ meaning to go to
confession gave the day its
Name of Shriven Tuesday
Which became Shrove Tuesday.
Shrove Tuesday
This was the last chance to indulge
yourself and to use up the foods
that were not allowed during Lent
so pancakes became a tradition
– using sugar, fat and eggs.
Ash Wednesday
The first day of Lent is called
Ash Wednesday - the name
comes from the tradition of
putting a small cross of ash
on people’s forehead at
church services.
Ride on, ride on in majesty
Holy Week commemorates
the last week of the earthly
life of Jesus before his
crucifixion on Good Friday
and his resurrection on
Easter Sunday.
Ride on, ride on in majesty
It begins with Palm Sunday
which celebrates Jesus’
triumphal arrival in
Jerusalem for the Jewish
festival of Passover.
Ride on, ride on in majesty
Ride on, ride on in majesty!
Hark, all the tribes Hosanna!’ cry;
your humble beast pursues its road
with palms and scattered garments strowed
Henry Hart Millman (1791-1868)
Welcome him into your life
Then they brought the colt
to Jesus and threw their
cloaks on it; and he sat on it.
Many people spread their
cloaks on the road, and
others spread leafy branches
that they had cut in the fields.
Mark 11:7-8 (NRSV)
Welcome him into your life
So they took branches of
palm trees and went out to
meet him, shouting,
‘Hosanna! Blessed is the one
who comes in the name of
the Lord - the King of Israel!’
John 12:13 (NRSV)
Welcome him into your life
Make way, make way, for Christ the King
In splendour arrives.
Fling wide the gates and welcome Him
Into your lives.
Graham Kendrick
Copyright © 1986 Thankyou Music
tym@kingsway.co.uk Used by permission
The Last Supper
Thursday of Holy Week is known as
Maundy Thursday. On that day, Jesus had
his last meal with his friends and
followers – this meal is known as ‘The
Last Supper’.
The Last Supper
Jesus and his friends would have followed
the Jewish Passover custom of eating
roast lamb and bread and drinking red
wine.
The Last Supper
Then he took a loaf of bread,
and when he had given thanks,
he broke it and gave it to them,
saying, ‘This is my body, which
is given for you. Do this in
remembrance of me.’
Luke 22:19-20 (NRSV)
The Last Supper
And he did the same with the
cup after supper, saying,
‘This cup that is poured out for
you is the new covenant in my
blood.
Luke 22:19-20 (NRSV)
Bread is blessed
and broken, wine
is blessed and poured:
take this and remember
Christ the Lord.
John L Bell and Graham Maule
©Wild Goose Resource Group
There in the garden of tears
Then Jesus went with
them to a place called
Gethsemane; and he
said to his disciples,
‘Sit here while I go
over there and pray.’
Matthew 26:36 (NRSV)
There in the garden of tears
There in the garden of tears,
My heavy load He chose to bear;
His heart with sorrow was torn,
‘Yet not My will but Yours,’ He said.
Graham Kendrick
© 1983 Thankyou Music tym@kingsway.co.uk Used by
permission
Suddenly a crowd came...
While he was still speaking, suddenly a crowd
came... Then they seized him and led him away,
bringing him into the high priest’s house.
Luke 22:47a,54a (NRSV)
Suddenly a crowd came...
Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus...they
stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and
after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it
on his head... Then they led him away to crucify
him.
Matthew 27:27a,28-29a,31b (NRSV)
It was nine o’clock in the morning when they
crucified him. And with him they crucified two
bandits, one on his right and one on his left.
Matthew 15: 25,27 (NRSV)
My Lord, my Love is crucified
O look on him, as you pass by;
the wounded Prince of life and peace!
Come, sinners, see your Maker die,
and say, was ever grief like his?
Come, feel with me his blood applied;
my Lord, my Love is crucified.
Charles Wesley (1707-1788)
Joseph of Arimathea...
asked for the body of
Jesus. Then Joseph
bought a linen cloth,
and taking down the
body, wrapped it in the
linen cloth, and laid it in
a tomb that had been
hewn out of the rock.
He then rolled a stone
against the door of the
tomb.
Mark 15:43,46 (NRSV)
They did not find the body
They did not find the body
But on the first day of the
week, at early dawn, they
came to the tomb, taking
the spices that they had
prepared.
They did not find the body
They found the stone
rolled away from the
tomb, but when they went
in, they did not find the
body.
Luke 24:1-3 (NRSV)
They did not find the body
Angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away,
kept the folded grave clothes where thy body lay.
Thine be the glory, risen conquering Son:
Endless is the victory, thou o’er death hast won.
Edmund L Budry (1854-1932)
They did not find the body
And he departed from
our sight that we might
return to our heart, and
there find Him.
For He departed, and
behold, He is here.
St Augustine (354-430)
Alleluia! Christ is risen
...On the third day he rose again,
he ascended into heaven, he is
seated at the right hand of the
Father...
The Apostles’ Creed
Alleluia! Christ is risen
What shall I give you, Lord,
in return for all Your kindness?
Glory to You for Your love.
Glory to You for Your mercy.
Glory to You for Your patience.
Glory to You for forgiving us all our sins.
Glory to You for coming to save our souls.
Glory to You for Your incarnation in the virgin’s womb.
Alleluia! Christ is risen
Glory to You for Your bonds.
Glory to You for receiving the cut of the lash.
Glory to You for accepting mockery.
Glory to You for Your crucifixion.
Glory to You for Your burial.
Glory to You for Your resurrection.
Glory to You who were preached to men and women.
Glory to You in whom they believed.
Alleluia! Christ is risen
Glory to You who were taken up into heaven.
Glory to You who sit in great glory at the Father’s
right hand.
Glory to You whose will it is that the sinner should be
saved through Your great mercy and compassion.
Ephraem of Syria (ca. 306-373)
The great gift of Easter is hope
“The great gift of Easter is hope –
Christian hope which makes us have
that confidence in God, in his ultimate
triumph, and in his goodness and
love, which nothing can shake.”
Basil C. Hume (1923-99)
The great gift of Easter is hope