Maundy Thursday Guide

WHAT IS MAUNDY THURSDAY?

Maundy Thursday is the Thursday before Good Friday. It marks the final night that Jesus gathered with His disciples before His crucifixion. On that night He explained the meaning of His death through a modified passover feast, He gave some of his final teachings, and He washed the feet of His disciples teaching them a “new commandment”—to love one another just as He has loved us.

Traditionally, the church has gathered on this night to remember the Lord’s Last Supper and His commandment (latin: mandatum) to “love one another.” We do this by reading Scripture, praying, sharing a meal, and celebrating communion. This is a night of both remembrance and preparation. We slow down on Thursday night to remember the love of Jesus our Suffering Servant, and we prepare our hearts to feel both the sorrow and the gratitude that should particularly mark Good Friday.

WHAT SHOULD WE DO?

READ & PRAY

Prior to the meal, read aloud John 13:1-20 and 33-35. Then take a few minutes to pray around these themes:

  • Give thanks for the death and resurrection of Jesus, and the real life community borne in this death and resurrection and seen gathered.
  • Ask for help to remember and give weight to the events that this weekend memorializes.
  • Ask for help to believe that the death and resurrection of Jesus really grants all that the New Testament claims (forgiveness, adoption, union with Jesus, and new life).
  • Pray that God would move through our time together on Friday night and Sunday to help us believe and celebrate all that God has given us in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

EAT & DISCUSS

Share a meal together, discussing the importance of Holy Week. Here are some questions that may help spur on conversation:

  • What is the significance of Jesus’ triumphal entry (Palm Sunday)? How was the way in which Jesus the king presented himself surprising to people? How is it surprising and/or difficult to accept for you?
  • What took place during the Last Supper? What do we learn about the character of Jesus from that evening? How does this bring joy to you? How is it challenging?
  • Why were the events of Good Friday necessary? For what reasons do you think it is hard for us to consider sin and its consequences? How do we see the glory of God in the crucifixion?
  • What might prevent us from deep and full celebration on Easter Sunday? In what ways does Easter inspire joy, comfort, and hope? What are ways you can prepare your heart for Good Friday and Easter Sunday?


CELEBRATE THE LORD’S SUPPER

On the night before His death, Jesus taught His disciples the meaning of His death through a modified passover meal that He instituted as a perpetual reminder for all who would follow Him. While celebrating Communion weekly in our gathered worship is a vital practice for our church, celebrating in homes with smaller communities can also be a powerful practice that can help us remember and celebrate what Jesus did for us on the cross. Here are the basic elements involved in celebrating Communion with your community:

  • Prepare: To celebrate Communion, you will need wine, grape juice, and bread.
  • Remind: Remind your community that we are truly grateful for everyone who is present, but that Communion is a covenant meal that is intended for followers of Jesus.
  • Read: Ask someone read 1 Corinthians 11:23-26.
  • Serve: Ask two people to serve Communion by offering the bread and the cup, saying:
    • “The Body of Christ, broken for you.”
    • “The Blood of Christ, shed for you.”
  • Sing (Optional): You can sing a simple and well-known hymn like The Doxology.
  • Pray: Ask someone close in prayer, thanking Jesus for the love that He has shown us through His sacrificial death on the cross.

PREPARE FOR GOOD FRIDAY

Give some instructions in preparation for Good Friday. Our Good Friday service is very different from what many people have experienced. Encourage your community to arrive early. The service is very dark and is a service of remembrance and mourning. We will read together through the last hours of Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion. We will sing about the cross. At the end, we will – in silence and darkness – receive the Lord’s Supper and leave.

For many the service is a disorienting one. It is designed to break us from the banality of much of our lives, immerse us in the gravity and sadness that marks Good Friday, and stir in us a longing to see the fruit of this night on Easter. The closing silence is particularly poignant for people as we ask that the whole congregation leave the building and parking lot in silence. Pray for this night. Pray that the Gospel would be clear. Pray that non-Christians, on Good Friday and Easter, would be given faith to believe.

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Holy Week Day-by-Day

The 40-day season of Lent culminates in Good Friday and Easter, but before there is Good Friday, there is Palm Sunday, Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, Spy Wednesday, and Maundy Thursday; before Easter Sunday there is Holy Saturday. Just as we can’t leapfrog Good Friday to get to Easter Sunday, we can’t leapfrog these other days either. Each tells an important part of the story of Jesus’ journey toward the cross and eventual resurrection that we so need, and as Robert Webber said, “the Christian year is a gospel superstructure.” These 8 days that precede and include Easter are known as “Holy Week.” While we are “informed not ruled by tradition,” Holy Week can serve as a helpful discipleship tool as it asks us to slow down and immerse us in the days of Jesus just before His death and resurrection.

Looking at individual days, we will ask the same question: if this particular day of Holy Week’s seed were to be planted in our hearts, what might spring up from this day’s ground? How is this day a lens into Jesus’ life and how is this day a mirror to your own life? While we can’t full take in every day, remember that we return year after year. Over time, each day’s meaning and depth will increase!

Day 1: Palm Sunday

While Jesus picked a donkey to ride into Jerusalem (representing humility and peace, thus fulfilling Zechariah 9:9), the people interestingly picked palm branches (representing victory) to welcome Jesus. They assumed that Jesus was coming in as the new king/sheriff who would kick out the evil Roman oppressors similar to Simon Maccabee a generation prior. This reveals that people were still interpreting Jesus through their lens of expectations at this moment: the Messiah vanquishing their enemies. Ironically many of the same people shouting “Hosanna” will be shouting “Crucify him” a few days later, revealing themselves to be Jesus’ enemies… The same crowds who took over their cloaks to make way for Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem would have Jesus stripped of His clothes to be crucified days later outside of the city.

In Luke’s account, we’re told that Jesus weeps over Jerusalem. What a powerful image, not of a distant ruler but one who’s near enough to feel pain, grief, and anger over sin, death, and its effects on our lives. He’s the humble, weeping King who refuses to conform to our expectations. At the end of this day, He briefly stops by the Temple.

Reflect:
Comparing your heart to Jerusalem, what is your “city” like if Jesus were to come and enter it? Are there gates? What is the response to Him?

Day 2: Holy Monday

On Jesus’ first day on the job as king, He heads back to the temple but this time with a whip and some words. Jesus knew His kingship was directly tied to worship, the Temple, and prayer. God’s heart was for the Temple to be a house of prayer for all nations. As king, He would tear down any barriers keeping people from coming to God! While Jesus is gentle and lowly, He is also appropriately and measuredly angry and confrontational. He’s not emotionally flat or one-dimensional but robustly complex: the humility and weeping of Palm Sunday are held side by side with Holy Monday’s righteous anger. Both are expressions oi the Father’s heart! In Jesus, we see the Father in real time. Jesus’ brief interruption of the buying and selling of sacrifices pointed to His impending death and sacrifice a few days later as the perfect Lamb of God forever doing away with the sacrificial system. On the way to cleanse the temple, Jesus also curses a fig tree because of its fruitless state. This might seem like a random story, but fig trees often represented the nation of Israel in the Old Testament (see Jeremiah 8:13 and Hosea 9:10). In doing this, Jesus was pronouncing judgment on Israel who was out of step with God’s original purposes for her as His people.

Reflect:
Now imagine Jesus came to the “temple” of your heart. What worship might He find? Are there any tables He would flip over in His love and passion? Have any “vendors” set up shop?

Day 3: Holy Tuesday or Fig Tuesday

As Jesus and the disciples return to the temple the next day, they walk by the fig tree cursed by Jesus and find it “withered away to its roots (Mark 11:20-26). This interaction has led some traditions to call this day Fig Tuesday. Just as the fig tree was destroyed, so too would Israel and the temple be facing impending destruction in 70 AD. Though the fig tree symbolically withered, and soon the Temple would be destroyed, Jesus was coming to us as the new Temple where we could meet with God. Through the work eventually accomplished on Good Friday and Easter, we too would be filled by His Spirit that we might bear the fruit that God originally intended for His people, becoming temples of the Living God ourselves!

Reflect:
If your life was a fig tree, what kind of “season” would it be in? Where do the roots run into? By what power will it bear fruit?

Day 4: Spy Wednesday

This day has been dubbed by some as “Spy Wednesday” which reminds us of the evil scheming behind the scenes by Judas agreeing to work with the chief priests to trap and kill Jesus at the right moment. It’s also on this day that we remember Jesus’ anointing in Bethany at dinner by Mary. It’s a picture of extravagant, almost “wasteful” worship of Jesus (“Could this perfume have not been sold to give to the poor?!”) and yet Jesus commends the act… As we begin to see Jesus for who He truly is, we become less like Judas and more like Mary! We realize He’s the greatest treasure and worth laying down anything for… Instead of taking money from the chief priests like Judas, we pour out our most valuable possessions on Jesus. He saw this as a preparation for His burial and this anointing was an additional sign pointing to Jesus as our Messiah, our “Anointed One” (Isaiah 63:1-3). Many think this fragrance lingered with and on Him throughout the next couple of days! Jesus’ life being poured out as a fragrant offering would have been witnessed by Judas, Pilate, the soldiers, and even the thieves crucified at his side… Mary’s worship would have been the last thing Jesus smelled before He took His last breath.

Reflect:
Where in your life have you been most like Mary?

Day 5: Maundy Thursday

On this day begins what’s known as the final three days before Easter known as the Easter Triduum or the Paschal Triduum. These are called Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. Maundy Thursday gets its name “Maundy” from the Latin word for “mandate.” Jesus gave His disciples a new commandment or “mandate” on this evening: to love one another. This last day that Jesus spent with His disciples is understandably chock-full of powerful interactions and conversations: they include Jesus washing His disciples’ feet, establishing the Lord’s Supper, the Upper Room Discourse, the High Priestly prayer, singing with the disciples, and then heading to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray.

Reflect:
The washing of feet can be hard to picture in our current context. Imagine that Jesus wanted to serve you by helping with something unpleasant but necessary. Maybe it’s cleaning out your car or scrubbing a bathroom floor. How does your heart respond? Will you let Him?

Observe:
For an extended guide on observing Maundy Thursday with others, please click here.

Day 6: Good Friday

It’s on this day that the Son of God was crucified. How is this day “good”? Shouldn’t it be “Bad Friday” or “Worst Friday?” Some traditions call it “Sorrowful Friday.” Others think Good Friday stems from the name “God’s Friday.” We’re not sure, but we know that in order for the goodness of Easter to be accomplished, all the events of Friday had to take place as well. Resurrection doesn’t come apart from death. Just as things accelerated on Maundy Thursday so we’re overwhelmed by the cascading events that lead us to Jesus’ death: The betrayal by Judas, abandonment by His disciples, denial by Peter, Jesus’ appearance before the Sanhedrin as well as Pontius Pilate and Herod, the release of Barabbas, the mocking and beating and torture of Jesus before Him marching to Golgotha and being nailed to a tree. A few hours later (and many details and interactions excluded here), Jesus declares “it is finished” and breathes His last and the Temple curtain tears from top to bottom. Good Friday ends with Jesus’ burial in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb.

Reflect:
Imagine walking away after seeing the tomb closed. What are you thinking?

Day 7: Holy Saturday

Between the cries of agony of Good Friday and festive shouts of Easter Sunday is Holy Saturday. Apart from soldiers being issued to guard Jesus’ tomb on this day, the only other thing we’re met with on this day is silence. Deathly uncomfortable silence. Jesus laid to rest, along with all the hopes and dreams that dwelled in Him. There’s no easy fix, no band-aid, no immediate eject button to get us out of this hell. Just sitting in our grief and confusion. Holy Saturday invites us to both grieve the realities we’re confronted with but also turn to God as we wait. In his book “Lent,” Esau McCaulley comments about this day, “This is how the season of Lent concludes. Things are quiet. We are quiet. We stand at the tomb wondering what God will do next. Whether we have kept our fasts or failed has no bearing on the final outcome. God either has the power to raise Christ from the dead, or he does not. We are Christians because we have concluded that he does. That means we can rest.”

Observe
For an extended guide on observing Holy Saturday with reading and reflection, please click here.

in Blog • Joel Limpic

Brooke Frazier on Parenting Safe Children

A word from a Park Church parent and leader on why to consider joining us for Parenting Safe Children, a one-day workshop to train parents and those who work with kids in how to prevent the sexual abuse of children in our homes and church.

 

Parenting Safe Children Seminar

Sunday, January 27 • 9am–3pm

RSVP Now

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World Vision Impact Update: 2023

On Sunday, January 14, we were joined by Dave Wagner from World Vision for an update on Park Church’s impact through World Vision in 2023 (including our Colfax Marathon team!). If you missed that, use the video above! To keep up with World Vision’s ongoing work in Morungatuny, Uganda, bookmark this page.

2024 Colfax Marathon Team

We’re running for World Vision again on May 19, 2024. To learn more or to sign up to join us, click here!

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Christmas Day Devotional Guide

As you celebrate today, we wanted to share a few tools for individual or family worship. Everyone observes this day differently—fit as much or as little of this into your day as you’d like!

Read or Watch

Luke 2:1–20

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
(ESV)

KIDS: Jesus Storybook Bible Christmas Story

Pray

“Celebrating Together on Christmas Morning” from “Words for Winter” by the Austin Stone

LEADER/PARENT:
Wonder upon wonder, Christmas morning is here:
tree trimmed, decorated, and gifts in tow.
We gather together, anticipating delights and traditions,
preparing our hearts to both give and receive.
Let the symbols and celebration of Christmas morning-exchanging gifts,
opening stockings, and reading about Santa-
turn our heads and hearts to the better story of Jesus birth and eminent reign.

PEOPLE/OTHERS:
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
for His steadfast love endures forever.

LEADER:
We give to each other with generosity,
like the bishop Saint Nicolas did to the poor and needy.
For we were once poor and needy,
but now are rich in faith and heirs to God’s kingdom.
Because God sent Jesus, born of woman, born under the law,
so our status as poor and needy orphans might change to righteous, adopted children.

PEOPLE:
We love each other in generosity because You first loved us.
For the Lord takes thought of us.
You are our Help and our Deliverer, O Lord.
Your generosity toward us
is abundant and immeasurable.

LEADER:
We recount the nativity and remember with all the saints
how from the foundation of the world,
You, O Lord, have been weaving a glorious story, reconciling a people to Yourself:
how Mary and Joseph trusted You,
how the angels declared the good news to the shepherds,
and how the wise men brought gifts to Jesus, because He is King and worthy of worship.

PEOPLE:
For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given.
His mercy is for those who fear Him from generation to generation,
and His kingdom will know no end.

LEADER:
He is calling a people to Himself,
from every tribe, tongue, and nation,
and while we celebrate His kingship around a Christmas tree this morning,
we will celebrate with final rejoicing around His throne when He returns again.

PEOPLE:
So, until we see Him face to face, we will give thanks to the God of Heaven,
for His steadfast love endures forever.

ALL:
Amen.

Sing

Pick a Christmas song or two from this playlist to sing through as a family, or just listen through in the background.

in Advent 2023: Aching for Advent • Blog

Prayer: Asking Through Scripture

When we ask things of God in prayer, praying with and through God’s Word helps us be in line with God’s will. Though in some traditions it appears “fake” to have a written prayer that isn’t “straight from the heart,” many Biblical examples of petitions before God show careful structure and deliberate thought. While God certainly hears our prayer whether we speak stream-of-consciousness or take the time to write our prayer, pleading our case with more intentionality, using patterns of prayer from Scripture can guide our thoughts and instruct us toward a healthy posture before God.

With the work of Rebecca Olsen from our Storytelling Team, we’ve created a guide for anyone who would like a resource for writing their own prayers of petition from Scripture. Additionally, we’ve written and collected similar prayers from members of our community, demonstrating from our own stories how Scripture can guide us in our asking, from the biggest requests to our everyday sustenance.

Download Guide (PDF)

Scriptural Prayers of Petition from our Community

Madelyn St Clair: On Homelessness

Psalm 91, 136; Matthew 10

Sovereign God, would You save Your people living in the streets?
Keep the darkness from surrounding them,
We beg for Your light to shine through

Hear our prayer Lord
See Your people

Would Your people know You love them:
You’ve numbered all the hairs on their head
Your steadfast love endures forever

They have a home in You
Would that feel true

Your Word says we will not fear the terror of the night
For we are hidden under the shadow of Your wing.
Would we find refuge in that?

Lord, do what only You can do
Would You shelter them
Would You save them
Would You bring them into Your family?
You’re the only one who can

Father of orphans, Prince of peace, God With Us,
You are our Sovereign God and Sovereign over this too.

Rebecca Olson: For a Friend in Perpetual Seasons of Challenge

Luke 9

Father, my heart breaks for my friend who has experienced so many difficult seasons. It seems she never gets a break from one great sorrow or stress to the next. Like the man in Luke 9, I ask that all of her hardship would be for the purpose of displaying your works in her life. May her life shine brilliantly with the goodness of your hand guiding her in her hardships.

Rebecca Olson: General Asking from the Lord’s Prayer and High Priestly Prayer

Matthew 6, John 17

Our Father in heaven, we praise your holy name. You, in your kindness and goodness, have taught us to pray in this way, and so today we ask that your kingdom come, and your will be done on earth, amongst Park Church, as it is in heaven.

Lord, just as Jesus prayed for us, we pray that we would know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent, that by knowing this we would glorify you for all eternity.

Oh Father, but yet for a little while we are still in this world, and we ask for your protection. Protect us by the power of your name so that we might be one. The evil one comes to steal and kill and destroy, and we need your protection. Save us from lies that steal our joy, kill our hope, and destroy our love for one another. Teach us more of your word, which is truth, and make us holy, set apart for you through that Truth.

Father, give us our daily bread. We have nowhere else to go for our daily bread, for you are our bread of life. Give us everything we need for today; patience in traffic, gentleness with our loved ones, peace about the week to come, and self-control tonight when we’ve allowed our exhaustion to weaken our reserve to get to bed on time.

Forgive us our debts, the things we have done and the things we have left undone. As we remember the grace we have received from you, remind us to give grace generously to those around us, even to those who have sinned against us.

Father, we are but little children, so please deliver us from temptations and crippling doubt. We want to be known in our homes, our church, and our community for our love that comes straight from you.

For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.

Gary McQuinn: Petition for Unity in the Body of Christ

John 17, Matthew 6, Ephesians 4

Father, Son, Spirit. One God in three Persons. You exist in perfect Unity. You’ve created us to reflect Your communal love and harmonious unity in diversity. But in sin and selfishness we are prone to divisions.

Jesus, You laid down Your life to show us love and to bind us together in covenant love. You said the world will know that we are Your disciples by our love for one another. And You said that our oneness would help the world know that You were sent by the Father to restore the kingdom.

Help our church to be one. Even as You and the Father are one. (John 17)

Deliver us from the evil one; his schemes and his designs to divide and destroy what You are building. (Matthew 6)

Help us to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4)

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Prayer: A Liturgy of Rejoicing

Although there is so much to rejoice in together, we chose a handful of truths and stories from our community that cause us to remember characteristics of God. We celebrated with this call-and-response liturgy, led by Kira Lang from our Storytelling team.

Leader:
For the colors, climate, mountains, and meadows of our state all declaring the handiwork of God, for the rain this summer, and the opportunity to see the bounty of flowers and plants in our backyards.

Congregation:
We rejoice in God’s delight in beauty!

Leader:
For the many groups at Park Church that focus on loving and sharing the Gospel with their communities:

For the numerous volunteer leaders at Park Kids, Park Students, and Park College who enthusiastically give to the next generation, bearing the image of God in love.

For the 16 people this spring who joined Alpha—a safe space to discuss what it means to follow Jesus—wherein two made decisions to follow Him. For the GCs and individuals who supported Alpha though providing meals and more.

For the consistency and support MomLife has provided in serving the moms of our church and our neighborhoods, and for the selfless and passionate moms who have made MomLife happen.

Congregation:
We rejoice in God’s pursuit of people He loves through volunteer leaders in our community!

Leader:
Because, after many years of prayer and faithful work, last Sunday the Bartol family celebrated the first gathering their long-dreamt church plant in Olomouc, in the Czech Republic, which is the only country in Europe where the majority of people identify as non-religious.

Congregation:
We rejoice in God’s pursuit of people He loves through missionaries abroad!

Leader:
Because a member of our congregation who came to know Jesus several years ago has now had the opportunity and support systems to walk with his brother as he’s turned from drug addiction, causing a chain reaction in their family.

Congregation:
We rejoice in God’s rescuing love, both for this family and for each of us who are in Christ!

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Prayer: How Do You Pause? Why Do You Pause?

On Sunday, August 13, we began a mini-series on prayer. Although there is no “right” way to structure a prayer time, we’re using the helpful acrostic P.R.A.Y. (Pray, Rejoice, Ask, Yield) as a sort of framework throughout the series. Our first stop is “pause”—the act of creating space to give attention to the presence of God.

Before we discussed this practice in service, we asked you how and/or why you choose to pause. Special thanks to Steve Vanderheide for his videography!
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