Fire and Ice

Growing up in a home with two different predominant Christian religions gave me some insight into Holy Week and palm Sunday, but I never fully understood the meaning of The Passion of Christ. This book brings the last week of Christ's mortal life into focus. After reading God So Loved The World, I have a deeper knowledge of the events that led up to his Crucifixion and the ressurrection. Eric Huntsman uses scriptural passage from the Synoptic Gospels, words to hymns, sidebars and text boxes to weave a full portrait of each day of the week leading up to the final events of Easter. He also adds geographical photographs of surrounding areas Bethany and Jerusalem, plus fine art depictions of mentioned scenes to appeal to the visual learner. Mr. Huntsman's rich knowledge and personal feelings of Christ's sacrifice highlight depth and meaning that goes beyond just facts.

As a society we tend to place a huge focus on Christmas and forget to prepare ourselves for the miraculous event that occurred at the garden tomb. God So Loved the World points out numerous times that "without Easter there would be no Christmas."

I will be passing this book on to my family members and applying the suggestions given for preparing for Easter beginning this Sunday. It was a timely read for me, and I have to thank Deseret Book for giving us a beautifully crafted account of Holy Week, and a wonderful tool to be used in teaching our children about Christ's life here on earth