Mission-Minded Ideas for APRIL - He’s Our Passover Lamb!

Spring is in the air! It’s a great time to focus on God’s new life and our need to “plant and water seeds” of God’s Word, and to share the Gospel with others. From April Fools Day (click here for April 1st ideas) to Good Friday, this month has an abundance of mission-minded opportunities to pray for the lost and to focus of the needs of world missions.

Enjoying Missions Throughout the Year: APRIL

Passover, Israel (April 9-15, 2009)

This Jewish celebration is to remember how God delivered the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt and how the death angel “passed over” their homes. A special dinner called “Seder” includes unleavened bread (Matzah), lamb, and bitter herbs. Jesus celebrated the Passover every year, and through His death on the cross, He fulfilled it. God has provided freedom from the bitterness of sin and eternal death, for “. . . Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7 NLT).

Passover Prayer Focus:

Pray for God’s blessing and peace for the people of Israel, and for Jewish people from all over the world. Pray for Jewish families, especially as they are celebrating the Passover, that they would recognize Jesus Christ (Y’shua) as their promised Messiah.

Thank God for the blood of Jesus Christ, our Lamb of God. (And isn’t it amazing how Jesus Christ is the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” Rev. 13:8. Even before God created our world, He knew there would be sin, and the need for the Cross. Yet out of His incredible love, He chose to create us anyway . . . and to die for us.

Holy Week, Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Resurrection Sunday, International (April 5- 12)

Christians around the world celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In many Latin American countries, such as in Antigua, Guatemala, huge processions with large statues of Jesus and other religious relics are carried through the streets.

In many of these places, there is little or no mention of the resurrection. In other places (such as in the Philippines, in Asia) men allow themselves to actually be nailed to a cross – stopping just short of death – all done as “penance” (a religious self-effort to pay part of the punishment for their sins).

10 Mission-Minded Family Ideas for EASTER WEEK:

1. Pray for families you know who are thinking about Easter eggs and baskets for their kids, but who have no thought about the real meaning of the Cross and the Resurrection. Brainstorm a few specific ways that your family make an impact, this week, for Jesus.
2. Think of the families in your neighborhood, and pray about who you could invite to church. Walk through your neighborhood, and pray for these families specifically. Make a simple effort (perhaps with a phone call, a stop at their house with a plate of cookies or a simple basket with Easter treats and a church bulletin or handwritten card) and INVITE them to come.
3. Have your kids make simple hand-drawn pictures about the cross of Jesus Christ and the resurrection, with an invitation to your church’s Sunday Easter Service; bring the drawings with you the next time you are in the vicinity of your home church, and have your kids look for someone specific they can invite to church.
4. Read the Biblical account of the Passion Week.
5. Read aloud from Christian children’s books which focus on the true meaning of the Cross and the Resurrection of Christ, such as any Bible storybook. Two of our family favorites are The Tale of the Three Trees, or The Little Rose of Sharon.
6. If you decorate Easter eggs, include pictures of the cross and the empty tomb, and words such as “JESUS IS ALIVE!” (You can write these with color crayon, before you put the eggs in the dye.)
7. Celebrate communion together as a family or even all by yourself during a quiet time – perhaps on Thursday (to remember the Last Supper) or on Good Friday. Play a CD, or sing together a simple song you know about the cross or the blood of Jesus, read aloud I Cor. 11:23 – “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread…”
8. Watch the classic film, The Ten Commandments, starring Charlton Heston, and especially focus on the scene of the Passover and the blood of the Lamb
9. Watch a film about the Cross and the Resurrection - The JESUS Film by Campus Crusade for Christ (from the Gospel of Luke, translated into about 1000 languages and is utilized in missions and evangelism throughout the world), The Matthew Video, The Gospel of John, or The Passion.
10. Look on-line to get a glimpse of Holy Week celebrations throughout the world (such as the links above about Guatemala and the Philippines) – to focus your prayers on other nations and people who need to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

This post is adapted from Ann’s new book, The Mission-Minded Family - Releasing Your Family to God’s Destiny.