There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends
(John 15:13; NLT).
1. Welcomed by the crowds,
Who later jeered.
2. Kissed; betrayed;
Arrested, Lord, at night.
3. Deserted by your friends;
Alone; bereft.
4. Spat on, mocked, and whipped;
Accusers lied.
5. Judged unjustly;
Sentenced, and condemned.
6. Burdened by your cross,
As women grieved.
7. Crucified by guards,
Whom you forgave:
8. In agony, and anguish, Lord,
You died.
💛
References
1. The next day, the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!” (John 12:12-13; NIV).
The people passing by shouted abuse, shaking their heads in mockery. “Look at you now!” they yelled at him. “You said you were going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. Well then, if you are the Son of God, save yourself and come down from the cross!” (Matthew 27:40; NLT).
2. The traitor, Judas, had given them a prearranged signal: “You will know which one to arrest when I greet him with a kiss” (Matthew 26:48; NLT).
Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested him (Matthew 26:50; NLT).
3. Then all his disciples deserted him and ran away (Mark 14:50; NLT).
4. They spat on him and took the staff and struck him repeatedly on the head (Matthew 27:30; NET).
Then they knelt before him in mockery and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!” (Matthew 27:29; NLT).
He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip (Mark 15:15; NLT).
Many false witnesses spoke against him, but they contradicted each other (Mark 14:56; NLT).
5. The leading priests stirred up the crowd to demand the release of Barabbas instead of Jesus. Pilate asked them, “Then what should I do with this man you call the king of the Jews?” They shouted back, “Crucify him!” (Mark 15:12-13; NLT).
He […] turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified (Mark 15:15; NLT).
6. Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called Place of the Skull (John 19:17; NLT).
A large crowd trailed behind, including many grief-stricken women (Luke 23:27; NLT).
7. Then the soldiers nailed him to the cross (Mark 15:24; NLT).
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34; NLT).
8. My life is poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, melting within me. My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth (Psalm 22:14-15; NLT).
My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? (Mark 15:34; NLT).
Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last (Mark 15:37; NLT).
Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us
(Colossians 3:11; NLT).
1. Christ, the light within us all,
You make our nights
As bright as day.
2. Christ, the peace within us all,
You hear our sighs,
And help us pray.
3. Christ, the truth within us all,
You cleanse our sins,
And heal our shame.
4. Christ, the love within us all,
We lift our hearts
To praise your name.
💙
References
1. God is light (1 John 1:5; NIV).
I am the light of the world (John 8:12; NLT).
You, Lord, are my lamp; the Lord turns my darkness into light (2 Samuel 22:29; NLT).
2. The Lord is peace (Judges 6:24; NLT).
Peace I leave you; my peace I give you (John 14:27; NIV).
The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words (Romans 8:26; NRSV).
3. The Spirit is truth (1 John 5:6; NKJV).
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6; NLT).
Through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins (Acts 13:38; NLT).
On that day you shall not be put to shame because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me (Zephaniah 3:11; ESV).
4. God is love (1 John 4:16; NLT).
No power in the sky above or in the earth below – indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:39; NLT).
I will praise the Lord, and may everyone on earth bless his holy name forever and ever (Psalm 145:21; NLT).
Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven (Lamentations 3:41; NLT).
1. This little cross
Is soaked in prayer.
I wear it day
And night.
2. Washed with tears,
And kissed with love:
In darkness,
It brings light.
3. Held fast in joy,
In fear, and pain;
With me
In all I say, and do.
4. Just as this cross
Is dear to me,
I, Lord, am dear
To you.
🧡
References
1. Pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17; NIV).
Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23; NLT).
2. She knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet (Luke 7:38; NLT).
The Lord, my God, lights up my darkness (Psalm 18:28; NLT).
3. Hold fast him (Deuteronomy 11:22; NIV).
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me (Psalm 23:4; KJV).
4. The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18; NLT).
“Don’t be afraid,” he said, “for you are very precious to God” (Daniel 10:19; NLT).
1. Father,
May I turn to you
When I am feeling low.
2. Jesus,
May I turn to you
As I receive each blow.
3. Spirit,
May I turn to you
In sorrow, fear, and pain.
4. So, Lord,
May I turn to you – Again, again, again.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them (Isaiah 55:7; NIV).
🍁
References
1. When you are in distress, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the Lord your God and obey his voice (for the Lord your God is a merciful God), he will not forsake you (Deuteronomy 4:30-31; NKJV).
2. They spit on him and took the staff and struck him on the head with it again and again (Matthew 27:30; NLT).
He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman Soldiers to be crucified (Mark 15:15; NLT).
When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there [and] Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:33-4; NIV).
3. They will turn to the Lord and he will respond to their pleas and heal them (Isaiah 19:22; NIV).
4. Turn me again to you and restore me, for you alone are the Lord my God (Jeremiah 31:18; NLT).
Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly. Repent and turn to me again (Revelation 3:3; NLT).
Everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him (Philippians 3:8-9; NLT).
1. Unite with Christ,
The Lord of lords,
And with all those
Who offer prayer.
2. Unite with Christ,
The Son of Man,
And with all those
Who love, and care.
3. Unite with Christ,
The King of kings,
And with all those
In want, and fear.
4. Unite with Christ,
The Son of God,
And with all those
Who suffer here.
May the Lord make your love for one another
and for all people grow and overflow
(1 Thessalonians 3:12; NLT).
🤎
References
1. They all met together and were constantly united in prayer (Acts 1:14; NLT).
2. Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them (Romans 12:9; NLT).
3. Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me (Matthew 25:40; NIV).
4. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us (Colossians 3:11; NLT).
I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one – as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me (John 17:21-3; NLT).
