Monday, March 25 2013

Weekly Challenge

Seek to start conversations with those around you about Jesus in the lead up to Easter this week and share what Easter is really about. Invite them to come and hear about it at church this week.

 

Read: Psalm 41:4-9, John 13:18-30

It is hard to read the words of David in verse 9 of Psalm 41. Not only do his enemies wish him dead, his own friends who he trusted have betrayed him and seek to harm him. Imagine that for a moment. Imagine that one of your closest friends has betrayed you and is seeking to bring great harm to you.

 

Jesus shows us in John 13 that these words are in fact a prophesy about Him. Jesus is the one whose close friend who He trusted turns against Him and seeks to harm Him. It is so easy for us, with the benefit of hindsight, to see Judas Iscariot as a villain throughout the whole of Jesus’ life but by doing so we gloss over the tragedy of his betrayal and the emotions that Jesus must have felt. We forget that Jesus spent three years in close community with Judas, training him in ministry and sharing the ups and downs of his ministry with Him. Judas’ betrayal must have hurt Jesus deeply

 

As we lead up to Easter this week and consider how the Old Testament prophesies about Jesus were fulfilled in the Passion week consider how we too were enemies of God. Adam betrayed God in the garden and we have been rebelling against Him ever since. Take a moment to praise God that while we were still His enemies He endured betrayal, suffered and died for us.

 

Prayer:

Write down your prayer points in the space provided. Use today’s reading to help you get ideas.

 

Adoration:

 

Confession:

 

Thanks:

 

Supplication:

¥ Praise God that He endured the betrayal of friends and suffered at the hands of His creatures for our sake. Praise God that He has borne the consequences of our sin at the cross and makes a way for us to have relationship with Him.

¥ Pray that all those in the congregation would take advantage of every opportunity to share about Jesus in the lead up to Easter this week. Pray for many people who don’t know Jesus to come and to know Him.

 

My Additional Prayer Points.

1/.

 

2/.

 

Discussion Questions For Families and Groups

1. Have you ever been betrayed by a close friend? How did you react?

2. Based on the way that Jesus reacted to being betrayed how should Christian’s respond if they are betrayed by someone close to. them?