We asked some of our leaders involved with Women’s Ministry what they took away from Easter and the Passion week messages, and here were their responses. We encourage you to do some of your own reflections with the questions we ask after each thought.
#1 - It’s personal; He died for Me so I can have eternal life but also a better life now. And I now have His Spirit within me. – Deborah J.
Am I allowing Him to give me that better life now?
#2 - His forgiveness. Remembering how I’ve hurt Jesus and how He bore all that pain for me, He loves me regardless of what I’ve done. – Ariel
Can I forgive those that have hurt me?
#3 - I was involved in a situation with some people who were visiting for the first time but a bit upset about where to sit. I offered them seating closer to the front and their whole countenance changed. Engaging with kindness made a huge difference! – Theresa A.
Am I doing all I can to respond to others with kindness even when they may appear to be rude?
#4 - How much God endured because of his love for us. – Vanessa R.
Can I then endure or longsuffer with difficult personalities in my life?
#5 - Jesus is my friend, and my friend was crucified and beaten for me. It is always extremely hard for me to watch any footage from The Passion Movie and when Pastor Tracie sang “Via Delarosa” that’s all I could think…“My friend walked that road for me.” – Michelle V.
Do I realize how much He did this all for me?
#6 - It’s so much more fun to celebrate Jesus with church family—to celebrate how good God is together! – Beth
How can I truly celebrate the love of God with others?
#7 - I was truly blessed by the outpouring of love from the Rock volunteers. They stepped up to the plate and knocked the ball right out of the park! The love of God was shown in everything they did to make this the best Easter ever. They truly put their hearts into it. – Barbara
Is my whole heart into serving others?
#8 - Honestly, one thing that has been tugging at my heart is that when Jesus “died” on the cross and took the keys of death and darkness from Satan, it looked all dark and things looked bad, everybody has those “Saturday” seasons where everything looks dark and like there’s no way out but Sunday comes! Resurrection comes! – Pam
If you are in a “Saturday” season, are you allowing the Holy Spirit to encourage you, that Sunday is coming?
#9 - One of the main things I got this year was how women were very important to what took place during Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. In years past I sometimes would feel guilty after the movie and I would ask the Holy Spirit why I felt that way and to help me understand why I felt more of Mary’s pain, watching her son Jesus. This year I got more of a revelation of why and how important women are to their spouses as helpmates and why God made women sensitive but strong. – Isabelle
Where can I be most effective in the world you’ve place me in, Lord, to be sensitive, yet strong?
#10 - I was fortunate enough to witness the cross in a whole new light this year, the light of relationship. Vertically, the cross symbolizes our relationship with God. Horizontally it represents our relationship with others. Jesus risked, sacrificed and laid His life down so we could have an intimate relationship with the Trinity. As His followers, we too must be willing to risk and make sacrifices in our earthly relationships. If we are to be a reflection here on earth, He will require us to display “laid down” lives for others, as well! – Vanessa A.
How can I lay down my life more for others in my world?
