Many, many years ago some friends of ours introduced us to celebrating a passover seder dinner. We have celebrated it every year since. Although the Jewish observance of Passover doesn’t always line up with Easter, we always celebrate it during Holy Week. As Christians we celebrate the Lord’s Supper frequently as a reminder of Jesus’s sacrifice and his last night. A Passover Seder dinner is the full version of what Jesus would have partaken of on that last night of his life.
I found Celebrating Biblical Feasts by Martha Zimmerman to be a great resource. We use her Messianic Haggadah every year. It is a very good version for doing as a family and isn’t quite as long as a traditional haggadah. You can download a copy of it here
Seder dinner is an interactive reading with foods representing different parts of the story. Everyone has a copy of a haggadah that they read from. Some parts the leader reads, some parts are responses read by the rest of the family. Even the smallest child gets a part. I recommend reading through it ahead of time so you will be prepared. The whole reading and dinner takes about an hour and a half. Make sure to have your dinner all prepped and ready to go. The meal is served about 45 minutes into the ceremony.
What you need for the Ceremony:
- Place settings for the number of people you have invited plus one more for Elijah
- A copy of the Haggadah for each person
- A jacket to put on the back of the chair for each person
- A pillow on for the seat of the leader
- At least two white cloth napkins for covering the afikomen (we use Matzo crackers)
- Two candles on the table (lighting them will be included in the ceremony)
- A pitcher, bowl and towel are also needed for the hand washing ceremonies.
- A small bowl of salt water for each person
- Plenty of Wine or Grape Juice
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We have found that by practicing Passover we can pause as a family to appreciate the salvation we have received through Jesus. It shows God’s plan all through history to provide a sacrifice once and for all through his Son. So many times in our culture holidays turn into another reason to stuff ourselves with sweets and be greedy. This holiday slows everything down and helps us to focus on what really matters. I hope that it can be a blessing for your family as well.
We who are Christians can rejoice as we keep the Passover in remembrance of our own slavery to sin. We know that with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm the Lord our God rescued us. So that is why, even though we might all be wise, learned, full of experience and understanding, knowing God’s Word well, it is still our responsibility to tell the story of the going out from Egypt and to praise the Lord.
Celebrating Biblical Feasts
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