Jesus was disappointed by His friends in three ways during this most difficult time of His public ministry.
†Judas betrayed Him for thirty pieces of silver.
†None of His Friends could stay awake for the hour that He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane.
†Peter denied that he knew Jesus, three times.

We all disappoint Jesus in our daily lives, but let's try to make amends for these separate events that hurt Jesus. Introduce these three ideas to your family this Lent!

One

Jesus was betrayed by Judas for 30 pieces of silver. Let's pay this ransom in reparation for this betrayal.

Make a little draw string bag out of leftover material. Create a label entitled 'Thirty Pieces of Silver' or 'Jesus' Ransom Money'. Make a hole in the label with a hole punch and thread the label onto the drawstring. Display the bag on the kitchen table throughout Lent, collecting coins of as large denomination as possible (nickels, dimes, quarters and dollar coins).

At the end of Holy Week, remove the coins and submit them with your Easter Sunday Offering or donate the offering to the poor.

Two

None of Jesus' friends could stay awake with Him while he prayed.

Offer up a full hour of uninterrupted, quiet and focused prayer time. Take the phone off the hook, and agree to not answer the door (or post a note on the door).

Sit in a place within the house where you will not be distracted by things to do or see. Light a candle and focus on a picture of Jesus and pray.

Three

Peter denied knowing Jesus three times when asked.

Perhaps the most challenging: make a big banner with words that testify to your faith, such as
WE BELIEVE IN JESUS.
Make the words clearly visible so that they can be read easily from the street when the banner is displayed in a front window of your house. Leave the banner up for the season of Lent and Easter (or all through the year!)