In the Christian community, the week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday is referred to as Holy Week or Passion Week. The commemoration of this week dates back to the 4th Century church when Athanasius, the Bishop of Alexandria wrote about the Holy Week activities.

Whether you have been anticipating Easter through the 40 days of Lent or if this is your first time learning how special this holiday truly is, I want to invite you into a time of worship this week. Will you take some special time out of your schedule to meditate, pray, and anticipate the importance of Easter for the Christian believer?

1) Worship in the Scriptures

Reading the Scripture is always a good thing, but have you ever thought about taking a Scripture journey through Jesus’ final days? Here are specific scriptures to study and meditate on each day this week in preparation for Easter Sunday.

Palm Sunday | Jesus’ Triumphant Entry

Matthew 21:8-9 NLT – Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD! Praise God in highest heaven!”

Monday | Jesus Cleanses The Temple

Mark 11:17 NLT – He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”

Tuesday | Jesus Grieves over Jerusalem

Matthew 23:37-38 NLT – “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. And now, look, your house is abandoned and desolate.

Wednesday | The Plot Against Jesus

Mark 14:1-2 NLT – It was now two days before Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The leading priests and the teachers of religious law were still looking for an opportunity to capture Jesus secretly and kill him. “But not during the Passover celebration,” they agreed, “or the people may riot.”

Thursday | The Passover Meal

Luke 22:20 NLT – After supper, he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.

Friday | Crucifixion of Jesus

John 19:16-18 NLT – Then Pilate turned Jesus over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus away. Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha). There they nailed him to the cross. Two others were crucified with him, one on either side, with Jesus between them.

Mark 15:37-39 NLT – Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. When the Roman officer who stood facing him saw how he had died, he exclaimed, “This man truly was the Son of God!”

Saturday | The Tomb is Secured

Matthew 27:63,66 NLT – They told him, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise from the dead. ’So they sealed the tomb and posted guards to protect it.

Easter Sunday | Jesus is Risen!

Matthew 28:5-6 NLT – Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.

If you are looking to go even deeper here are 3 books I would recommend:

“The Final Days of Jesus” by Andreas J. Kostenberger & Justin Taylor
“Raised? Finding Jesus by Doubting the Resurrection” by Brad Watson & Jonathan K. Dodson
“Surprised by Hope” by N.T. Wright

2) Worship in Prayer

We often want our prayer life to be a priority, but what if we use the anticipation of Easter to be the challenge we need to see it changed. What would it look like to pray more this week? Maybe it would be taking some time to pray for people that we know need to know Jesus? Maybe you can pray for those attending church for the first time on Easter Sunday? If you don’t know what to pray for, visit the Prayer Wall and encourage someone by praying for their prayer request!

I want to share with you a prayer from the Book of Common Prayer:

Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first, He suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the Cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

3) Worship in Song

Music is a fantastic tool to draw your heart into worship and focus your mind on the incredible sacrifice through Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. Consider taking this entire week to only listen to Christian music in your home. Consider these three powerful songs to meditate on this week.

Death Was Arrested by North Point InsideOut

Because He Lives by Matt Maher

House of The Lord by Phil Wickham

As believers, we talk about Palm Sunday and resurrection week in this season…but what about everything that came before?

The Road to Easter: God’s Eternal Plan is a devotional Bible study that traces God’s redemptive story from creation through the first Passover to the cross and resurrection. It reveals how every step was intentionally woven into His eternal plan for salvation – to rescue you!

Start the FREE Road to Easter Bible Study!