You’re welcome to use these illustrations, but please do credit them to me (Caitlin Thomson 2021)
Day 1 – Luke 2.22-38 as Jesus is presented in the Temple. We glimpse the promise of hope with Simeon and Anna.Day 2 – Luke 2.41-52 – Today, we search for the missing boy Jesus with Mary and Joseph, finding him with the teachers in the Temple. His wisdom and insight amazes all who hear him. “They found him in the temple”Day 3 – Matthew 3.11-17 – we join the crowd of John’s followers as he baptises Jesus, and witness the spirit of God fall upon the one who God claims as Son. “This is my Son, the Beloved”Day 4 – Matthew 4.1-11 – we follow Jesus into the wilderness as he fasts and prays. We see Jesus overcome the temptation to use his power for his own gain. “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert”Day 5 – John 2.1-11 – We join the servants at a wedding at Cana. When the wine runs out we follow Jesus’ instructions to fill jugs with water & are amazed when we draw out wine “Jesus so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe”Day 6 – John 2.1-11- we join the crowds at the temple, shocked as Jesus drives out the moneylenders and stall owners. “Zeal for your house will consume me”Day 7 – Matthew 5.1-16 – we join the crowds following Jesus as he stands on the mountain and begins to speak of the values of the commonwealth of heaven. “He went up the mountain… and began to teach them”Day 8 – Luke 10.38-42 – we welcome Jesus with Mary and Martha into their home, listening as he teaches. “Sitting at Jesus’ feet”Day 9 – Luke 5.1-11 – we join Simon Peter in his fishing boat, exhausted yet taking the risk to cast out our next one more time as the travelling Rabbi points us. “They left everything and followed him”Day 10 – Mark 10.13-16 – we join the children who are welcomed to sit and be doted on by Jesus. “He embraced them and blessed them”Day 11 – Matthew 17.1-8 – we join a select group of Jesus’ friends on Mount Tabor, and witness the glory of God revealed in Christ. “Rise and do not be afraid”Day 12 – Luke 17.12-19 – we join a group who come to Jesus seeking the healing of their leprosy, and rejoice with them as they are accepted back into the worshipping community. “and one of them, realising he had been healed, returned”Day 13 – Mark 4.35-40 – we join the disciples with Jesus as they cross the sea of Galilee during a storm. Fearing for our lives as the boat starts to sink, we call to Jesus, who calms the storm with a word. “Quiet, be still”Day 14 – Luke 10.25-37 – Jesus addresses the question “who is my neighbour” with a story about a wounded traveller, the people who pass him by, and the person who helps him. “He asked Jesus, ‘Who is my neighbour?’”Day 15 – Matthew 14.22-33 – Jesus walks on water (Peter tries) “he came toward them, walking on the water”Day 16 – John 6.22-59 – We join the people asking Jesus for a sign of his divinity, like the mana sent to the people of Israel in the desert exile. He responds with the promise of the eucharist. “I am the bread of heaven”Day 17 – Luke 15.1-7 – Jesus explains to us that the character of God as being like a shepherd searching for their lost sheep. “There will be joy in heaven”Day 18 – John 6.1-15 – we join a great crowd to hear Jesus speak as we have heard tales of his miracles. When we become hungry, he takes meagre provisions and feeds us to abundance. “They saw the signs he was performing”Day 19 – John 4.4-42 – Jesus rests at a well and encounters a Samaritan woman, and he asks her for a drink. He reveals to her that he can offer the water of life, and she leaves proclaiming the Good News. “I will give you living water”Day 20 – John 5.1-15 – we join those begging by the pool. Jesus approaches us and asks us what we need – and he helps us. “Do you want to be well?”Day 21 – John 3.1-15 – we join Nicodemus as he grapples with Jesus’ teaching that a person must be born anew of the spirit to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. “How can a person once grown old be born again?”Day 22 – Luke 15.11-32 – Jesus describes the Kingdom of Heaven as being like a father welcoming home a prodigal son, rejoicing over the restoration of a beloved child. “Dead, but now alive & lost, but now found”Day 23 – Luke 16.19-31 – In a harrowing warning of judgement, Jesus tells the story of the rich man and Lazarus, and how their fortunes are reversed in the Kingdom of Heaven. “Have pity”Day 24 – Matthew 9.9-13 – we join Jesus at Matthew’s house: a table of tax collectors and sinners. When the Pharisees challenge this, Jesus instead challenges them. “Go and learn the meaning of ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice”Day 25 – John 9.1-41 – a group of religious leaders interrogate a man who Jesus had healed. Jesus responds: “If you were blind you would have no sin; but now you are saying ‘we see’, so your sin remains”Day 26 – Matthew 12.9-13 – Jesus is once again challenged by religious leaders, this time for healing on the Sabbath. He responds: “It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath”Day 27 – Matthew 8.5-13 – a centurion comes to Jesus to request healing on behalf of his servant. “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and all shall be healed.”Day 28 – Luke 19.1-10 – Jesus draws crowds at Jericho. A tax collector, Zaccheus, climbs a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who greets him and visits his home for a meal. “Today salvation has come to this house”Day 29 – Matthew 16.13-20 – Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do you say I am?”Day 30 – Luke 7.11-17 – Jesus raises a widow’s son from the dead. “God has visited his people”Day 31 – Matthew 22.15-22 – Jesus teaches on the responsibilities of our dual citizenship of Heaven and Earth. “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and unto God what is God’s”Day 32 – John 11.1-34 – Jesus attends the funeral of his friend Lazarus, and raises him from the dead. “I am the resurrection and the life”Day 33 – John 8.1-11 – Jesus protects a woman from being murdered by stoning. “Let the one who is without sin cast the first stone”Day 34 – Mark 12.41-44 – Jesus watches the crowds at the temple as they put their offerings in the collection box. He praises the gift of the ‘poor widow’ as worth more than anyone else’s. “Her gift was worth more for it was all she had”Day 35 – Luke 7.36-50 – while dining with a Pharisee, a woman comes to anoint Jesus’ feet, bathing them with his tears and drying them with her hair. Jesus refuses to let his companions chase her away. “She has shown great love”Day 36 – Matthew 19.16-26 – a rich young man asks Jesus what he should do to gain eternal life. Jesus says: sell all your belongings… “It is easier for a camel to enter the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter heaven”Day 37 – Matthew 20.20-28 – The mother of James and John asks Jesus to favour them in heaven and place them in powerful positions. Jesus responds that his cup is a costly one. “Not to be served but to serve”Day 38 – Matthew 21.1-16 – Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey, and the crowds greet him with rejoicing. “Behold your king”Day 39 – Matthew 26.14-16 – the religious leaders bribe Judas to supply them with information about Jesus’ movements. “…he looked for an opportunity to betray him”Day 40 – John 13.1-20 – at a final supper with his friends, Jesus washes their feet. “Do you realise what I have done for you?”Day 41 – Matthew 26.19-29 – on the night before he died, while celebrating the Passover, Jesus warns the disciples that one of them will betray him. They are all distressed, and deny it. “Surely, not I?”Day 42 – Matthew 26.31-56 – Jesus prays in the garden on Gethsemane on the night before his death. He prays all evening into the night. “Not my will but yours be done”Day 43 – Matthew 26.69-75 – while Jesus is being questioned, Peter waits in the courtyard. When he is recognised as a disciple of Jesus, he denies it (3 times). “I do not know the man.”Day 44 – Matthew 27.11-26 – Pilate brings Jesus before the crowd, offering them a chance to free him. “Crucify him!”Day 45 – Matthew 27.33-56 – Jesus is crucified. In his last moments he quotes Psalm 22. “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”Day 46 – Matthew 27.57-66 – Jesus’ friends and loved ones take care of his body and lay him to rest in the tomb for the Sabbath. “They laid him in the tomb”Day 47 – Luke 24.1-12 – Jesus’ followers return the the tomb only to find it empty. “He us not here, he has been raised”
revdcate.com 
You must be logged in to post a comment.