Chapter 1 (5 - 25)

When Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth who were really good people,
but they were childless

Once when they went to the Temple in Jerusalem, Zechariah entered the inner sanctuary to burn incense, while all the people prayed outside

An angel appeared and said "Zechariah, your prayer has been heard. Your wife will have a son and you must name him John.
He will prepare the way of the Lord"

Not long after this, Elizabeth conceived, and for 5 months she kept to herself, thanking God for taking away her humiliation at not being able to have a baby

Jesus, please help childless couples to have a baby

The angel said to her "Rejoice! You have been greatly blessed by God.  You are to conceive and have a son whom you must name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of God"

Mary said to the angel, "How can this happen since I am a virgin?"

The angel replied "The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will specially bless you. Know this too: your cousin Elizabeth has, in her old age, conceived a son, and is now in her sixthth month"

"I am the handmaid of the Lord", said Mary, "let what you have said, be done for me".  And the angel left her

God the Son, thank you for becoming a baby in Mary's womb

Elizabeth said to Mary "Of all women, you are the most blessed,
and blessed is the baby in your womb.  Why should I be honored with a visit from the mother of my Lord?  Blessed are you for believing God's promise"

Mary, blessed are you among women,  and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus

Mary stayed with Elizabeth about 3 months and then went home

Elizabeth gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives shared her joy. When the child was circumcised on the 8th day, he was given the name John

Jesus, please bless all women who are having a baby today

When John grew older, he lived in the wilderness until the time came for him to begin his ministry

Jesus, please help me prepare your way
by helping people to know you

So Joseph set out from Nazareth in Galilee and traveled to Galilee,
to the town of David called Bethlehem, with his pregnant wife Mary

While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary to have her child. She gave birth to a son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes
and laid him in a feeding box for animals, because there was no room for them at the local inn

Baby Jesus, born in Bethlehem,
please bless all babies born in the world today

An angel appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them. The angel said "Do not be afraid.  I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by everyone.

Today in the town of David, a savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord. Look for a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger"

Suddenly with the angel there were many other angels, praising God and singing "Glory to God in heaven, and peace to people on earth"

"O come let us adore him, O come let us adore him, O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord"

So they quickly went and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. People who heard the shepherds talk about the angels were amazed

As for Mary, she treasured every moment of what had happened
and pondered the whole event in her heart

The shepherds went back to their fields glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen

Jesus we adore you, Jesus we adore you, Jesus we adore you, 
Christ the Lord

When Jesus was 40 days old, his parents took him to the Temple in Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, as the Law required

In Jerusalem there was an old man named Simeon. The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that before he died,  he would see the Christ of the Lord

Prompted by the Spirit, he came to the Temple, took Jesus in his arms and praised God, saying

"Now, Master, you can let your servant go in peace, for my eyes have seen the Savior. He is a light to enlighten the pagans, and he is the glory of your people Israel"

Jesus, true Light of the world, we praise you Lord

Each year  Joseph and Mary would take Jesus to Jerusalem for the celebration of the  Passover. When Jesus was 12 years old, they went to Jerusalem as usual

But when their traveling group left Jerusalem, Jesus stayed behind without his parents knowing it.  They presumed he was somewhere with the group . When they couldn't find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him

After 2 days, they found him,  in the Temple, listening to the religion teachers and asking them questions. People who heard him were astounded at his intelligence

His mother said to him "My child, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been really worried about you"

Jesus replied "Why were you looking for me? Didn't you know that I must be concerned with my Father's work?"  But they didn't understand what he meant

He went with them to Nazareth and lived under their authority.
His mother stored all these things in her heart

Jesus, please help all "lost children" to be found!

John went through the whole Jordan River area proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins

This had been foretold by the prophet Isaiah when he said
"A voice cries in the wilderness:
Prepare a way for the Lord"

Jesus,  help us prepare your way, like John 

Tax collectors asked John what they should do.
He replied "Don't cheat anyone"

Soldiers asked him "What about us? What must we do?"
He replied "No bullying. No extortion. Be content with your pay"

Jesus, what about me? What should I do?

Jesus then came and was baptized by John. While Jesus was praying after his baptism, heaven opened and the Holy Spirit came down on him in the shape of a dove.

And a voice came from heaven "You are my Son, the Beloved. My favor rests on you"

Jesus, Beloved Son, please baptize me with your Holy Spirit.
Holy Spirit, please increase your influence in my life

The Devil said "If you are the Son of God, turn a stone into bread".
Jesus replied "Scripture says we do not live on bread alone"

The Devil took him to a high place and showed him all the kingdoms of the world. "Worship me and they will all be yours" he said.
Jesus replied "Scripture says we must worship only God"

Then the Devil took him to the top of the Temple in Jerusalem and said "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down and let the angels protect you"

Jesus replied "Scripture says we must not put the Lord our God to the test".   The Devil then left him

Jesus,  protect  us from the Devil and all evil

He came to his home town of Nazareth and went to the prayer hall
on the Sabbath day as he usually did

He stood up and read these words from the prophet Isaiah:
"The spirit of the Lord has been given to me. He has sent me
to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to prisoners,
to give sight to the blind, to set the downtrodden free"

Jesus then sat down and said to the people in the prayer hall "These words from Isaiah are being fulfilled today even as you listen"

Jesus, please help me be more open to the power of your Spirit.
O Holy Spirit, please increase your influence in my life

People in the prayer hall rejected Jesus. "Who does he think he is?" they asked. "He's just the son of Joseph"

Jesus replied "No prophet is ever accepted in his own country"

The angry people then took Jesus by force to the edge of the hill on which  Nazareth  was built. They planned to throw him down the cliff.
But Jesus escaped from them and went away

Jesus, please forgive people who reject you.
Please help them accept you

In the hall there was a man possessed by a devil which shouted "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God"

Jesus said sharply "Be quiet! Come out of him".
And the devil left the man without hurting him

People in the hall said "He gives orders to unclean spirits and they obey him". Jesus' reputation continued to spread through the district

Jesus, please protect my family from evil

After the Sabbath finished at sunset, everyone who had sick friends brought them to Jesus. Laying his hands on each of them, he healed them

The next morning Jesus got up early and went to a lonely place to pray.  People found him and asked him not to leave the area. But he replied "I must proclaim the Good News of the kingdom of God to other towns too, because that is what I was sent to do"

Jesus,  heal my friend ... (name)... who is sick

One day when Jesus was standing near the Lake of Gennesaret, with people pressing round him listening to the word of God, he saw two fishing boats near the bank

He got into one boat, it belonged to Simon Peter, and taught people from the boat, away from the shore a little distance

When he'd finished speaking he said to Simon "Go out further to deep water and use your nets for a catch of fish"

Simon replied "Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but if you say so I'll lower the nets"

They soon caught so many fish that the nets began to tear. They called to their friends in the second boat to come and help. Both boats were soon filled with fish

Peter fell at Jesus' knees and said "Leave me, Lord, I am a sinful man", for he was overcome by the catch they had made, as were James and John who were his partners

But Jesus said to Simon "Don't be afraid. From now on, you will be fishers of men".  Simon and his friends then left everything to follow Jesus

Jesus,  bless and protect  all "fishers of men"

Jesus stretched out  his hand, touched him, and said "Of course I want to!  Be healed!"   And the leprosy left him at once

Jesus' reputation continued to grow.  Large crowds gathered to hear him speak and to have their sicknesses cured. But afterwards Jesus would always go to a quiet  place where he could be alone and pray

Jesus, please help me understand
that you want sick people to be healed

One day some people carried  a paralyzed man through a crowd to Jesus. The man was on a stretcher

Jesus knew that these people believed he could help them,
so he said to the paralyzed man "My friend, your sins are forgiven"

Some religious leaders in the crowd were thinking to themselves
that Jesus was wrong to say he could forgive sins

So Jesus said to the leaders "Which is easier:
to say 'Your sins are forgiven', or to say 'Get up and walk'?"

Then to prove that he had authority to forgive sins, he said to the paralyzed man "Get up, pick up your bed and go home"

The man got up, picked up his stretcher and went home.
The crowd praised God for what they had seen

Jesus, please give me more faith
 in your power to forgive,  your power to heal

Jesus said to him "Follow me".  Leaving everything, he got up and went with Jesus. In Jesus' honor Levi held a banquet in his house. Many  tax collectors and social outcasts were present

The religious leaders complained "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and outcasts?" 

Jesus replied "It is not those who are well who need the doctor, but the sick. I have come to call sinners, not the virtuous, to repentance"

Jesus, thank you for befriending people who were looked down on.
Please help me do likewise

Picking corn on the Sabbath was regarded as unlawful by the Pharisees.  So the Pharisees said to Jesus "Your disciples are breaking the Sabbath law"

Jesus replied "Don't you remember what King David and his followers once did when they were hungry? They ate the Temple bread which only the priests were allowed to eat

The Son of Man  is master of the Sabbath"

Jesus, Son of Man, please help me understand
 that love is more important than law

Some religious leaders were watching to see if Jesus would heal the man (since no work was allowed on the Sabbath, and they regarded healing as work)

Jesus knew what they were thinking,  so he said to the man with the withered hand "Stand up! Come out into the middle of the hall".
He came out and stood there

Jesus then asked the leaders "Is it against the law on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil; to save life or to destroy it?"

Then he said to the man with the withered hand
"Stretch out your hand". He stretched it out. It was healed.

The leaders were very angry. They left the prayer hall
and began plotting how to get rid of Jesus

Jesus, pleases stop bad religious leaders from misleading people

Jesus went to the hills to pray. He spent a whole night praying.
In the morning he called all his disciples together. He chose 12 of them and called them "apostles":

Peter and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon, Judas son of James - and Judas Iscariot who became a traitor

Jesus and the 12 came down from the hill to a place of level ground.
Gathered there were his many disciples and a large crowd of people from all over the country who had come to hear him and to be healed of diseases

People in the crowd tried to touch Jesus because power came out of him that cured everyone

Jesus, please bless modern day apostles who pray for the sick to be healed

Blessed are you when people hate you because of me:
your reward will be great in heaven

But alas for you who are rich: your consolation is only in this world.
Alas for you who have plenty to eat: you shall go hungry.
Alas for you who laugh now: you shall mourn and weep"

Jesus, please help me to give more time and importance to the things that really matter

Be compassionate as your heavenly Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned

Grant pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and there will be gifts for you. The amount you measure out is the amount you will be given back"

Jesus, bless ....(name)....who was unkind to me

A good tree does not produce bad fruit. A bad tree does not produce good fruit. The fruit tells you what sort of tree it came from

So with people: their words and actions tell you what their heart is like - good or bad

Jesus, please help me be a good person, producing good fruit

Anyone who comes to me and listens to my words and puts them into practice is like a man who built his house on a solid foundation. That house was so well built that even floods could not damage it

But anyone who listens and does not put my words into practice is like a man who built his house without a foundation. As soon as floods came, the house collapsed"

Jesus, please help me put your words into practice; help me apply them in my daily life

Having heard about Jesus, the centurion sent some Jewish friends to ask Jesus to come and heal his servant

The Jewish friends said to Jesus "He deserves this of you. He is friendly to our people. He is the one who built our prayer hall"

Jesus went with them,  but before they reached the house the centurion sent some servants with the message "Sir, I am not worthy to receive you into my house. This is why I didn't come to you personally.  Just say a word, and my servant will be healed"

When Jesus heard these words, he said to the crowd following him
"I have not found faith as great as this man's"

When the messengers got back to the house,
they saw that the servant was healed and in perfect health

"Jesus,  I am not worthy to receive you.  Say but the word and I shall be healed"  (prayer from Communion service)

When the Lord saw her, he felt sorry for her. "Do not cry" he said. Then he said "Young man, I tell you to get up"

The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him to his mother

Everyone was filled with awe and praised God saying "A great prophet has appeared among us. God has visited his people"

Jesus, please give me the faith to pray that dead people will come back to life - you who once told your disciples "to raise the dead"

Jesus replied "Go and tell John what you have seen today: the blind see again, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is proclaimed to the poor"

Jesus then spoke to the people about John: "Everyone who accepted baptism from John acknowledged God's plan. But by refusing baptism from him, the religious leaders thwarted what God had in mind for them"

Jesus, please don't let me do anything to thwart your plan for my life

So Jesus said to the leader "I came into your house and you did not follow the custom of pouring water on my feet. But this woman has poured out her tears on my feet

You gave me no welcoming kiss, but she has been covering my feet with kisses. You gave me no welcoming oil on my head, but she has anointed my feet

And I tell you that her sins must have been forgiven, or she would not have shown such great love. People who are forgiven little, show  little love"

Jesus, please forgive my sins. Help me show great love

Jesus, thank you for all the women who support the spread of the Good News in today's world

A farmer was planting seeds in his field.
Some seeds fell on the path. Birds ate them

Some seeds fell on rocky ground.
They became sickly plants, without roots, and died

Some seeds fell among thorns.
When they became plants, they were choked by the thorns

Some seeds fell on good soil
and produced a rich harvest

People who hear God's word without good will
are like the seeds on the path.
They are easy prey for Satan

People who hear God's word only superficially
are like the seeds on rocky ground.
As soon as difficulties come, such people easily give up

People who hear God's word with one ear
but with the other are listening to the call of greed and pleasure
are like the seeds among thorns. Greed kills the word

People who hear God's word with good will and put it into practice
are like the good seeds which produced a rich harvest

Jesus, please help me be good seed!

Jesus was told "Your mother and brothers want to see you"

Jesus replied "My mother and brothers are people who hear the word of God and put it into practice"

Jesus, please help me put your word into practice in my daily life

Jesus and his disciples got into a boat to cross the lake

Jesus was so tired that he went to sleep in the boat.
Then a sudden storm caused big waves to lash the boat

Jesus' friends woke him up  and said
"Master,  we are sinking".

Jesus  ordered the wind and sea to be calm.
Straight away the wind and sea were calm.

The disciples said to each other
"Who is this? Even the wind and sea obey him."

Jesus, please calm the storms in my life

Jesus heard these words and said to the official "Do not be afraid. Have faith, and she will be ok"

At the house Jesus allowed only Peter, James, John and the girl's parents to go with him inside

To the mourners Jesus said "Stop crying. She is not dead, but asleep".  They laughed at him, since they knew she was dead

Jesus took the little girl by the hand and called to her "Child, get up".  Her spirit returned and she got up at once

Jesus, please increase my faith in your power to heal sick people

So they set out and went from village to village proclaiming the Good News and healing sick people

Jesus,  help me understand how some people have a special gift for healing sick people....and how I can better pray to heal sick people

Once after Jesus had been healing and teaching all afternoon,  his disciples said to him
"It's getting late and the people need to go and eat".

Jesus answered "They don't need to go. You feed them".
The disciples replied "We have only 5 loaves and 2 fish".

Jesus got the people to sit on the grass.
There were about 20,000 of them.
Then he blessed the loaves and fish.

He handed the loaves and fish to his disciples.
His disciples gave them to the crowd.

Everyone had plenty to eat.
They even had 12 baskets of leftovers.

Jesus, please make leaders do more to help the starving people of the world

One day Jesus asked his disciples
"Who do people say I am?"

The disciples replied "Some people say you are one of the famous prophets come back to life"

Jesus then asked them
"And what about you. Who do you say I am?"

Peter answered
"You are the Anointed One of God"

Jesus, please help more and more people know you and love you

He also said 
"If you want to be my disciple, you must deny yourself,
take up your own cross, and follow me.

Selfishness will ruin your life.
Self-sacrificing will bless your life.

What use is it to have everything in this world
yet miss out on Heaven?"

Jesus, please help me find my life by losing it in service of others

The prophets Moses and Elijah appeared and spoke with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus "Lord, how good it is for us to be here!"

Then a bright cloud covered them with its shadow.
From the cloud came a voice:
"This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him"

When the voice had finished speaking, the disciples saw only Jesus in his normal appearance

Jesus, Beloved Son of God,
how good it is to spend time with you in prayer.

As Jesus and his disciples traveled along, they met a man who said to him "I will follow you wherever you go". Jesus replied "Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head"

Jesus,  give me  courage to do what I should do

He said to them "The harvest is rich, but the laborers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send laborers to his harvest

When you go into a town, cure those in it who are sick, and say:  'The kingdom of God is very near to you' "

Jesus, please inspire more people to make the spreading of the Good News their life's work

Jesus replied "Yes, I have given you  power to tread underfoot the whole strength of the enemy

Yet do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you. Rejoice rather that your names are written in heaven

Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it"

Jesus, thank you for the gift of faith

Jesus replied "What does the Law say?"

He replied "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, 
and you must care for others as much as you care about yourself"

"You are correct", said Jesus, "do this and life is yours"

Jesus,  help me to love you with all my heart....and to care for others as much as I care about myself

Jesus replied "A man on a journey was attacked by robbers. They beat him, took all he had, and left him seriously injured

A priest came by and saw the man, but did not help him. A temple worker also saw him, but did not help.  But a lowly foreigner who saw him was moved with pity

The foreigner bandaged his wounds, and used his own donkey to take the man to an inn. He paid the innkeeper to look after the man

Which of the three was a neighbor to the injured man?"

The leader replied "The one who helped him". Jesus then said "Go, and do the same"

Jesus, please don't let me ignore people who need help 

Father, may everyone love and honor you.
Your kingdom come.
Thank you for enough food for today.
Forgive us as we forgive others.
Save us in time of trial"

Jesus, please teach me how to pray 

If children ask their parents for something good, their parents will always give it to them

Even more so  will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him

Heavenly Father, please give me your Holy Spirit!

Jesus replied "Even more blessed are those who hear the word of God and put it into practice!"

Jesus also said "On Judgement day, the Queen of the South will rise up with the people of this generation and condemn them, because she came from a distant country to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and there is something greater than Solomon here"

Jesus, greater than Solomon, please help me put your teaching into practice

At meetings and in the market, you like being treated as people of importance. But in fact you are like unmarked tombs that people walk on without knowing it

You expect ordinary people to observe unreasonable laws, while you excuse yourselves from  such laws

You don't care about obtaining real wisdom, and you prevent others from obtaining wisdom"

The leaders were stung by Jesus' words, and they intensified their efforts to trap him in his speech

Jesus, help religious leaders be sincere people   

But God said to him "Fool! This very night your earthly life will come to an end. And all your possessions, who will get them?"

So it is when people store up treasure for themselves, 
instead of making themselves rich in the sight of God

Jesus, please help me to be satisfied with what I have, 
and not to be greedy

So, don't set your hearts on food and drink. Don't go in for worry. Just set your hearts on God's kingdom, then food and drink and clothing will not be a problem

Where your treasure is, that is where your heart will be too

Jesus, please help me to put your friendship as number one in my life

"When someone is given a great deal, of that person more will be expected"

Jesus, you have given me so much. Please help me use my gifts and my situation to do more  to help other people

Chapter 14 (1 - 6)

One Sabbath day Jesus went for a meal to the house of a religious leader. In the house Jesus saw a man with dropsy

Jesus asked the leaders present there "Is it against the Law to cure a man on the Sabbath?" But they remained silent

Jesus took the man, healed him, and sent him away.
Then Jesus said to the leaders "Which of you here, if his son falls into a well, will not pull him out on a Sabbath day?"
Again  the leaders remained silent

Jesus, help me understand that "the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath"

At the leader's house, Jesus noticed how the guests picked the places of honor

He said to them "When someone invites you to a meal, do not choose a seat of honor. Rather, when you are a guest, make your way to the lowest place and sit there. Maybe your host will ask you to move to a seat of honor

Everyone who exalts himself, will be humbled. Whoever humbles himself, will be exalted"

Jesus, please help me  choose the lowest place

Rather, when you have a party, invite the poor, the crippled,
the lame, the blind

That they cannot repay you means you are fortunate, 
because repayment will be made to you when the virtuous rise again"

Jesus, help me do more to help poor people

For a long time the judge refused to help her, but at last he said to himself "I must give this widow her rights or she will pester me to death"

Even more so God will  see that justice is done for those who cry out to him for help day and night, even if he delays to help them

Jesus, please give me the perseverance to pray each day

Two men went to the Temple to pray, one a religious leader, the other a social outcast

The leader stood there and said "I thank you, God, that I am not greedy, unjust and adulterous like other people such as this outcast here"

The outcast did not even raise his eyes, but beat his breast and said "God, be merciful to me, a sinner"

The outcast, I tell you, went home a friend of God. The leader did not. People who exalt themselves will be humbled. People who humble themselves will be exalted

Jesus, be merciful to me, a sinner

But Jesus called the children to him and said "Let the children come to me, and do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs

I tell you, anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child, will never enter it"

Jesus, please give all children the chance to know and love you

Jesus replied "You know the commandments: you must not commit adultery, you must not kill, you must not steal, you must honor your father and mother"

The man answered "I have kept all these commandments all my life"

Jesus then said "There is still one higher goal: sell all  you own,
give the money to the poor, then come follow me"

But when the man heard this he was very sad, because he was very rich

Jesus, please help me follow you the way you want me to follow you

But the apostles had no idea what his words meant

Jesus, especially each Friday, please help me to remember you on the Cross

So he called out "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me". Some people told him to be quiet, but he just shouted all the louder "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me"

Jesus stopped and asked him "What do you want me to do for you?"
He replied "Sir, let me see again"

Jesus said to him "Receive your sight. Your faith has saved you".
Instantly his sight returned, and he followed Jesus, praising God

Jesus, please heal my blind friend ......(name)...

But because of his short stature he couldn't see over the crowd.
So he climbed a tree

Jesus saw him up the tree and said "Zacchaeus, come down, because I will stay at your house today"

Zacchaeus hurried down and welcomed Jesus warmly. People complained "He's gone to stay at the house of an outcast"

Zacchaeus replied "Sir, I am going to give half of my property to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone, I'll pay them back fourfold"

Jesus said to him "Today salvation has come to this house"

Jesus, please help more people to want to know and love you

Jesus sat on the colt and began the descent from the Mount of Olives down the hill to Jerusalem

The disciples  spread their clothes on the road,
and joyfully praised God for all the miracles they had seen. They cried out "Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the Lord!"

Some religious leaders told Jesus to stop the disciples from calling out. Jesus replied "If these keep silence, the stones will cry out"

Jesus, you who came in the name of the Lord, we praise and love you

Jesus then went into the Temple and drove out the sellers. According to the Scripture", he said, "my house will be a house of prayer. But you have turned it into a robbers' den"

Each day Jesus taught in the Temple. The leaders wanted to do away with him, but they didn't know how to, since most of the ordinary  people had great respect for Jesus

Jesus, please don't let me ever reject your friendship

"Beware of the religious leaders who like to walk about in special clothes and love to be greeted obsequiously in the market places

They like the front seats in prayer halls and the places of honor at banquets. They like making a show of lengthy prayers.

But at the same time they steal the property of widows.  They will receive a severe sentence from God at the end of their lives

Jesus, please help religious leaders be good people

He also spoke of how his followers would be persecuted,  and of the end of the world: "The planets will be shaken, nations will be in agony,  bewildered by the force of the oceans. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with great power and glory

To prepare for your own end of earthly life, stay faithful to prayer and goodness. Don't let your heart be coarsened by debauchery, drunkenness and material cares"

In this his final week on earth, Jesus spent the daytime in the Temple, teaching. From early morning the people would gather round him to listen to him. Then he would spend the night on the Mount of Olives

Jesus, help me be faithful to prayer and goodness

But then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot who was one of the 12 apostles. Judas went to the leaders to plan how to capture Jesus.  The leaders agreed to give Judas some money for his help

Judas then began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus at a time when there were no crowds around

Jesus, please protect me from Satan's influence, and from any sort of pride that might make me want to abandon your friendship

While they were having the meal, Jesus took some bread, and when he had given thanks, broke it and gave it to his apostles saying
"This is my body. Do this in memory of me"

Then he took a cup of wine and said "This cup is the new covenant
in my blood which will be poured out for you"

Jesus, please help me understand how your Body and Blood
are present in a Communion service

Peter said "Lord, I am ready to go to prison with you and to die with you"

Jesus replied "Peter, before the rooster crows,  you will  deny three times that you know me"

Jesus, please strengthen my faith. Please strengthen my faith

Then he went apart by himself, about 40 meters away,  knelt down and prayed "Father, save me from this time of trial. But let your will, not mine, be done"

An angel from heaven appeared to him to give him strength. His agony was so great that his sweat became drops of blood falling to the ground

When he got up and went to the disciples, he found them sleeping - so overcome with sorrow were they

Jesus, please help me to pray "not my will, but yours be done"

Jesus told his apostles not to use their swords. Then touching the man's ear, he healed him

Jesus said to the men arresting him "This is your hour. This is the reign of darkness"

Jesus, you gave up your freedom for our salvation. 

As Peter sat by a fire in the courtyard, a servant-girl said "This man was with Jesus".  Peter replied "Woman I do not know him"

A little while later, another person said "You are one of them". Peter replied "I am not"

About an hour later, a man said "He was certainly with them. He is from Galilee". Peter replied "I do not know what you are talking about"

While he was still speaking, a rooster crowed, and the Lord looked straight at Peter, and Peter remembered what the Lord had said, "Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times"

Peter went outside and cried bitterly

Jesus, don't let me ever deny that I know you 

And they continued heaping insults on him

Jesus, please stop me from making offensive fun of other people

They asked him "Are you the Son of God?". He replied "Yes".
They said "We have heard his blasphemy from his own lips"

They took him to the Roman governor, Pilate, and made many false accusations against him

Pilate said "I find no case against him". Jesus was then taken to King Herod who made fun of him and sent him back to Pilate

Jesus, on trial before the leaders, before Herod and before Pilate, please help all prisoners who are on trial today

But the leaders and people screamed out "Away with him. Crucify him!".   Pilate asked "Why? What harm has he done?"
They kept shouting "Crucify him! Crucify him!"

Pilate then gave in to them and handed Jesus over for crucifixion

Jesus, how great your mental suffering must have been as the crowd shouted for your death

Large numbers of people followed him, including women who mourned for him. Jesus said to them "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me. Weep rather for yourselves and for your children. For if this is how innocent people are treated, what will happen to people who are guilty?"

Two criminals were led out with Jesus to be crucified with him

Jesus, please help me to carry my cross each day

Above his head was placed a sign  "This is the King of the Jews"

Jesus prayed "Father, forgive them. They do not know what they are doing"

The leaders made fun of him "He saved others, let him save himself if he is the Christ of God"

The soldiers mocked him too "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself"

Jesus, you forgave those who mocked you and crucified you. I forgive anyone who has been unkind to me

But the other criminal rebuked the first one and said "We are paying the penalty for our crimes. But this man has done nothing wrong"

"Jesus", he said, "remember me when you come into your kingdom"

Jesus replied "I promise you, this day you will be with me in Paradise"

Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom

The veil of the Temple was torn right down the middle

Jesus cried out in a loud voice "Father, into your hands I entrust my life".  Then he died

When the Roman army leader saw what had happened,
he said "This was a great and good man"

The people who had been present went home asking God for mercy. Jesus' friends stood at a distance and saw all that had happened

Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for the salvation of the world

Late Friday afternoon, he went to Governor Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. He took it down from the cross, wrapped it in a burial cloth, and put it in a rock tomb that had not yet been used

The women from Galilee who had come to Jerusalem with Jesus went with Joseph to the tomb. Then they left to prepare burial spices and ointments. They planned to put these on Jesus' body after the Saturday Sabbath day of rest

Jesus in the tomb, please give eternal life to all the dead

They entered the tomb and found that the body of Jesus was not there. Suddenly two men in brilliant clothes appeared at their side

The men said to them "Why look among the dead for someone who is alive? He is not here. He has risen, just as he said he would"

The women told all this to the eleven apostles. But the apostles did not believe them

Jesus,  increase my faith in your resurrection

As they talked about all that had happened, Jesus himself joined them as they walked along. But they did not recognize him

When Jesus asked them what they were talking about, they said "About Jesus of Nazareth,  and how our leaders had him crucified. And how some women in our group went to Jesus' tomb and were told by angels that he was alive"

Jesus then explained the Scripture passages which predicted his suffering and resurrection

Jesus joined the two men for an evening meal. During the meal,
he blessed  some bread and gave it to them. They then recognized him. But he immediately vanished from their sight

They said to each other "Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?"

Straight away they returned to Jerusalem where the eleven apostles said to them "Yes, it is true. The Lord has risen"

Then they told their story of what had happened on the road, and how they had  recognized Jesus at the breaking of bread

Jesus, please make my heart burn within me as I read the Bible

But he said "Look at my hands and feet. Yes, it is I indeed. Touch me and see for yourselves. A ghost has no flesh and bones as you can see I have"

Their fear turned to joy but they still couldn't believe what they were seeing. So he asked them for something to eat, and they gave him some grilled fish which he ate in front of them

Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and he said "So you see how it is written that the Christ would suffer, and on the third day rise from the dead. And that in his name repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all the nations

Soon I will send down to you what the Father promised (the Holy Spirit).  Stay in Jerusalem until you are clothed with this power from on high"

Jesus,  increase my faith in your resurrection, and open my mind to  understand the Bible better

They worshipped him, then went back to Jerusalem full of joy

They were continually in the Temple praising God

Jesus, thank you for the Gospel of Luke. Please increase my faith in you as the One who came down from heaven, and went back to heaven