The Gift of the Cross: Celebrating Christ Through Holy Week by Brandon Helder

In this timely resource, Brandon Helder—Christian author, speaker, and elementary school teacher—notes the urgent need to “stop and reorient Easter in our homes and classrooms” within a cultural setting where, he says, “the Easter season can be obscured by distractions.”  

Helder combines his devotional with a Resurrection Blocks wooden block set (sold separately)—blocks that depict a donkey, a vase, a loaf of bread and a cup, a tree, a rooster, a crown of thorns, a soldier’s helmet, and an empty tomb. The blocks are stacked as the devotions based on the events of Holy Week unfold, ultimately forming a cross.  

The Gift of the Cross will creatively and effectively draw children into the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Each devotion includes a time of preparation, unwrapping a wooden block, a Scripture reading, several questions for reflection, a prayer, and times for remembering and responding.  

Helder writes, “With each block, each story, each prayer, you can build with those you love lasting memories based upon eternal truths. It is my hope that, through this devotion, all will reflect on the truth of God’s Word, will wonder at his love, and will remember and celebrate the mystery of our faith.” (Credo House Publishers)