Sunday, May 3
By, Confirmation class

Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them;
for they do not know what they are doing.”
And they cast lots to divide his clothing.
Luke 23:34

Even as Jesus was suffering on the cross, he asked his Father to forgive the people who crucified him. Jesus was willing to forgive them even though they didn’t acknowledge that what they were doing was a sin. They did not acknowledge that they were crucifying the Son of God and the Son who was God.

Jesus’ prayer was not just for those people who were present and had no real clue as to the extent of their sins, but for us who most often fail to recognize our own sinful nature. His prayer was that we might all be forgiven even though we will never fully comprehend how sinful we really are, even though we may never fully comprehend or know that he died for ours sins as well as those who surrounded him that day. His being willing to forgive the ones who caused his death is pure mercy and grace. Can we forgive those who persecute and would destroy us?

Let us pray: Thank you Father, for sending Jesus that we might be forgiven our sins, both known and unknown. Amen

Monday, May 4
by, Katelyn Haataja

He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
Luke 23:43

The lesson today reminds me that no matter what we may have done wrong, no matter how we may have sinned against God, if we have faith we will be forgiven. Just as Jesus welcomed the criminal on the cross, Jesus welcomes us into His Kingdom, now and forever.

Let us pray: Dearest Jesus, thank you for receiving us into your Kingdom. Amen

Tuesday, May 5
By, Winter Keefer, 7th Grade

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. John 19:26-27

Within the church, we are one family. We are all the children of one heavenly Father. We love one another as brothers and sisters. Jesus presenting John to his own mother and his mother Mary to John reminds us that the mother of one child in the church loves all the children as if they were her own.

Let us pray: Father, help us to accept everyone in our lives as part of one family, your family. Amen.

Wednesday, May 6
By, MacKenzie Keefer, Grade 7

At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice,
“Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?”
which means,
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Mark 15:34

Many times we feel forsaken by God, all alone, as we suffer the consequences of our own deeds. As Jesus suffered on the cross for our sins and not his own, he felt forsaken, all alone. But, all is not lost. The story is not over. As he ascended, so shall we.

Let us pray: Thank you, God, for not forsaking us, but sending your Son, Jesus Christ to die for us that we might live with you in your eternal kingdom. Amen

Thursday, May 7
By, Confirmation Class

After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished,
he said (in order to fulfil the scripture), “I am thirsty.”
John 19:28

How many times after finishing a strenuous job like mowing the lawn or shoveling snow have you gone straight to the kitchen sink for a glass of cold water? Jesus’ work on earth is finished. He is thirsty. In this we see the true humanity of Jesus. Jesus is not only true God he is at the same time true man. He feels and experiences the same pain and sorrow that we feel. While on the earth, he walked, talked, ate, cried, laughed just like all human beings. And now at the hour of his death, his work on earth finished, he is thirsty.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, may you always remind us of the work that Jesus accomplished for us, completed in his work on the cross. Keep us ever mindful that you took on our humanity in the person of Jesus Christ that you might take away our sin. Amen

Friday, May 8
By, Brandon Scroggs, 7th grade

Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said,
“Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”
Having said this, he breathed his last.
Luke 23:46 NRSV

Into your hands we commend our Spirit. The lesson today reminds us that anyone and everyone is welcome to place their lives into God the Father’s hands by faith in the one who died on the cross for us. No matter how bad things might get in our lives, we know that we are cradled in the hands of God.

Let us pray: Into your hands, heavenly Father, we commend our spirits, now and forever. Amen

Saturday, May 9
By, Confirmation Class

When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished.”
Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
John 19:30

It is Friday and our last day of confirmation class for the year. It is a relief to be finished with the testing, as we had to memorize parts of the catechism. But, that is nothing compared to the testing that Jesus, as true man, endured throughout his life, ending with his suffering on the cross for us. We can’t begin to imagine what a relief it was for Jesus to be finished with his work on the cross, as he gave us his spirit into the hands of His heavenly Father.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, no matter what tests or trials or work that lays before us, help us always to remember the much harder and greater work of the cross that was accomplished by Jesus for us. Amen.