Hosanna to Hallelujah

By Gail Holman

Imagine being in Jerusalem during Passover week. Watch as Jesus rides the donkey past the olive trees down the mountainside. Worship with the widow as she gives her last two coins. Go with the Greeks to seek Jesus at the temple. Feel the chill as the sun dims on Friday. Grieve with the disciples on the day after the crucifixion. Rejoice with Mary of Magdala as she tells her niece about the resurrection.

Use these short fictional stories to enhance your preparation for the Easter celebration. Reflect on how the characters are affected by their encounters with Jesus. This is appropriate for Bible study groups, family worship, personal growth or as a gift for comfort or evangelism.

Bonus: Fourteen original poems including Sneaky Christmas, The Broken Stained Glass Window and award winning, In the Attic of My Mind.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Sep 16, 2022
• ISBN: 9781664268609

Gail Holman

Gail Holman’s passion is telling stories by writing, chalk art, poems, music, and quilting. She has written and produced dramas for worship settings. Teaching children and participating in ministry projects are her priority. After retirement from teaching math she and her husband traveled for pleasure and on mission trips. Their passports have been stamped in over twenty-seven countries. They live in Nixa, Mo, and are proud grandparents of fifteen and great-grandparents of seven. A member of Ozarks Chapter of American Christian Writers, she has received awards for poetry and short stories.

Book preview

Copyright © 2022 Gail Holman.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by

any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying,

recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system

without the written permission of the author except in the case of

brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents,

organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products

of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

WestBow Press

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may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those

of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher,

and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are

models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

ISBN: 978-1-6642-6861-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-6860-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022910907

WestBow Press rev. date: 08/16/2022

Contents

Preface

Eight Days in JERUSALEM

Sunday with Caleb and Jacob

Monday with Leah

Tuesday with Widow Abigail and Her Friend

Wednesday with Mahlon and Gideon

Thursday with Alexander, Philip, and Lucius

Friday in Jerusalem

Saturday with the Disciples

Sunday with Mary of Magdala and Deborah

Poetry of Inspiration and Devotion

Missing

Stormy Sight

Sneaky Christmas

The Broken Stained-Glass Window

The Old Country Church

Must Be God

Lifted Up

The Missing Wonder of Christmas

Before

Every Day Psalm

Poetry of Family, Fun, and Love

The Soft Playground

In the Attic of My Mind

My Child

Don’t Get Old

Preface

Have you ever wondered what it might have been like to be in Jerusalem during the last days of Jesus’s earthly ministry? Here are eight fictional short stories about people in Jesus’s time, combined with supporting scripture for study. Meet a variety of characters whose lives intersect with Jesus’s between his triumphal entry into Jerusalem and resurrection Sunday.

This period encompasses more than one-fourth (twenty-five chapters) of the four gospels. It reminds us how much Jesus packed into his final days of ministry on earth.

I envision walking down the streets and peering into the hearts and lives of people of various circumstances.

My prayer is that these stories will enhance your worship and give you thoughts to ponder about what Christ was doing during the week of his crucifixion. He related to people in his time, and he desires to relate to us. We can talk to him and tune our spiritual ears to listen when he speaks to us. Unless otherwise noted, scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, Authorized King James Version, The World Publishing Company, Cleveland and New York. My copy was given to me in 1965, and there is no copyright date in it.

The scripture study references are to guide you so you can verify