After The Cross (Easter)

5 April - 2 May

Open the Resource Pack PDF for all the information on the weekly subthemes and the daily prompts and Bible readings which shape our Daily Worship and live streams. 

Read our simple format Easter Bible Study for 2026 PDF right now as we develop our illustrated booklet.

Jesus has risen!

After the cross what’s next? This month we use the story of the two disciples walking to Emmaus in Luke 24 to explore four different ways of responding to the cross. We can: flinch, shrug, kneel, and leap.

Week one — Flinch. We turn away from the cross like the two disciples leaving Jerusalem. It’s too much, too sad, too painful. This is a valid response to the grief of the crucifixion, indeed we might not be able to grasp the significance of the resurrection if we don’t confront the cruelty of it. If we keep it always at arm’s length the cross becomes a picturesque postcard — not a brutal reality.

Week two — Shrug. It’s a lot to take in. The cross can feel very far away and long ago. Like the two disciples we can shrug it off. ‘What’s it to me? Can I buy it? Can I take it seriously?’ Once again, this is a reasonable response to the questions the cross asks of us. If you have never shrugged, scratched your head, and been frustrated by the cross — is it actually the cross you are looking at? Or just a convenient logo?

Week three — Kneel. When the power of the cross hits us it can bring us to our knees in wonder, in fear, in awe, in gratitude, just like the two disciples inviting Jesus to spend the night. If we don’t take the time to bow the cross can become a distant historical artefact.

Week four — Leap. Our final response is to take the leap, to bound on to our feet, to follow after Jesus and set out on the adventure of living out the gospel! Just like when the two disciples suddenly recognise Jesus when he breaks the bread. When the heart of the cross grips our lives it can change everything as we leap into the Kingdom!

For many of us our reactions to the cross will be a mix of sorrow, scepticism, awe and hope — just like it was for the first disciples. Indeed, each response is intertwined. They are also all wordless. We are operating on the gut level here! These are physical reactions not intellectual statements. They are not mere metaphors to describe what we ‘think’ about the cross — they are actual physical responses our bodies make. The death and resurrection of Jesus was a deeply physical event and our responses to it are deeply physical too.

Each week, with the help of insights from theologians Martin Luther, Karl Barth, Donald Baillie and John Zizioulas, we will explore what it means to flinch, shrug, kneel and leap After the Cross…

Thanks to James Cathcart and Albert Bogle for developing this material.

Each week of this theme runs Sunday-Saturday and has its own subtheme, which contains daily Bible readings and prompts for thought (see the Resource Pack PDF for more information). 

Check out the PDF of our Bible Study.