The Preface to our Haggadah 

The Preface to our Haggadah 
(with simple instructions)

The booklet called The Feast of the Lamb - Past, Present, and Future, A Passover, Resurrection Devotional Haggadah is available for purchase at Flower Girl Greetings here. This 48-page booklet was born out of my desire to gather with others and remember our Savior during these difficult times. It is loaded with vibrant art and a thorough study of the timeline of Yeshua's last days. 

I am sharing the Preface of the booklet here so you can see how you would prepare for your gathering before purchasing it.

The Feast of the Lamb - Past, Present, and Future
A Passover, Resurrection Devotional Haggadah
Compiled by Beth Ann Phifer

A Preface (with simple instructions)

Do this in remembrance of Me.

Dear beloved of the Lord,

In the church where I grew up in Dayton, Ohio was a white altar at the front of the crimson-carpeted sanctuary with bold black letters that read THIS DO IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME. I learned to associate these words with the grape juice and bread we shared there once a month to remember Yeshua (Jesus) Messiah’s sacrifice on our behalf.

My young mind was a gathering place of wonder where beautiful pieces to a grand puzzle sought connection and understanding. I was drawn to the beauty of white pews, rich carpet, blue stained glass, artistic banners, hymns, and order.

At the age of twenty-three, I was born again by the Spirit of God and knew I belonged to my Creator forever because of what Yeshua had done. The beautiful pieces began moving together as the Spirit of the Living God illuminated Scripture and brought understanding to my mind.

Today, forty-two years later, the Scripture becomes even more beautiful with each passing year. This Haggadah reflects the beauty of Passover connections throughout Scripture that have blossomed with a full fragrance of new meaning for me! 

Yeshua celebrated the annual Passover feast while here on earth. The evening before He gave His life for us, He celebrated Passover with His disciples. At that meal, He spoke of His future celebration in heaven with us at the marriage supper of the Lamb! We continue the Passover observance each year to remember our deliverance through Yeshua and to look forward to celebrating it with Him one day in heaven.

What is a Haggadah?

This booklet is called a Haggadah. The word Haggadah is Hebrew for telling because its purpose is to facilitate the retelling of a story. Seder is Hebrew for order. This Haggadah contains an order for the telling of the Passover story, past, present, and future.

While common versions of Haggadahs abound, this Haggadah is unique. Not only does it recount the story of the Israelite’s Exodus from their slavery in Egypt after the first Passover, but it also recounts the story of Yeshua the Messiah and our deliverance from slavery to sin through Him. Incredibly, our deliverance through Yeshua was foreshadowed in the events of the first Passover!

My desire is to make it easy for you to gather with family and friends around your table each Spring to celebrate Passover and the Lord’s deliverance until He returns. You may also use this Haggadah any time of the year to share a meaningful time of reflection and worship.

While I designed this Haggadah to be read with one facilitator and twelve readers so more can participate, you can easily incorporate more or fewer readers. You may want to have each person choose a number and that number is their reader number, or just assign reader numbers to specific individuals. The tone of each voice, whether strong or frail, young or old, brings a sense of unity to the gathering. Please remember that anyone can be the facilitator! The readings for the facilitator and the twelve readers are indicated in bold, bright green letters.

Acknowledgements, expositions, and many Scripture references regarding the text of this Haggadah are indicated at the end of this booklet so the readings can flow smoothly during the evening. You may reference these endnotes another time if you use this Haggadah for your own quiet times of preparation for Passover each year, or as a devotional any time of the year, or for group discussion later.

The Simple Focus

Many traditions have been added to the celebration of Passover over the years, but the early Jewish Christians’ observance was simple as it was recorded in the book of Exodus and as their Master Yeshua celebrated it with them. They shared a meal which included unleavened bread, the fruit of the vine, and bitter herbs, and they recounted their deliverance from slavery by telling the story of the first Passover. They also remembered the New Covenant of which Yeshua spoke on His last Passover with them.

Using this Haggadah, all participants will walk reflectively through the Israelite’s Exodus and then share a modest meal together (as noted on the bottom of Page 4). After the meal, they will walk through the timeline of Yeshua’s life with a focus on His last days. The simplicity of this Haggadah allows for a thoughtful, worshipful focus on this timeline.

The host or facilitator will prepare and set aside a tray of unleavened bread (matza crackers) and grape juice or wine for your time of communion. This time will be guided by the facilitator and will take place after your meal and during the reading at the point when Yeshua shares the “fruit of the vine” and the bread with His disciples (as noted on Page 8.) If you have prepared a dessert, it would be appropriate to share it at the conclusion of the readings as a celebration!

Acknowledgements

For many years, I have been piecing together the timeline of Yeshua’s last days from Scripture. I have made a sincere effort to adhere to Scripture rather than to creeds, commentaries, or traditions. I sought the teaching of Dr. Dwight A. Pryor (Founder and President of the Center for Judaic-Christian Studies) regarding difficult texts. As a founding member of the Jerusalem School of Synoptic Research, Dr. Pryor’s many years of association with Jewish and Christian scholars in Israel provided him with profound insights into the life and teachings of Yeshua. His message series Misconceptions about the Passover gave clarity to passages that seem to have discrepancies in the English until understood in the light of Jewish understanding.

Two of the songs in this booklet are from Andrew Peterson’s Resurrection Letters album – God Rested and His Heart Beats. I felt they perfectly enhanced the transition of the timeline, so I obtained permission to include the words of these songs from Music Services, Inc. You may want to incorporate the music, but if you cannot, the words can be read aloud or silently. Two other songs from the Resurrection Letters album (Last Words and Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant) also enhance the Seder and are referenced for your convenience, but the words are not included. You may easily download these songs at www.andrew-peterson.com to use them during your celebration. Two hymns are included on Pages 12 and 18; you may want to familiarize yourself with their melodies.

I would like to thank Jackie Perseghetti, an author, educator, and fellow sojourner, for her expert skill in reviewing this Haggadah for grammar, transition, visual effect, and Biblical accuracy. You can connect with her at www.AKingdomHeartbeat.com where she writes words of life, help, and hope.

I am also grateful for my husband, Dustin, for his constant encouragement and help toward the completion of this project, for friends who have prayed, and for numerous leaders of ministries who have contributed their insight.

The Cover Art

The watercolor cover art is from the Passover Art Card in The Feasts of Israel Fulfilled Art Card Collection at FlowerGirlGreetings.com.

Passover is celebrated on the first full moon of spring. What a beautiful gift of our Creator to have the sun reflect off the moon to give us light in the night and to use for “signs and seasons and days and years,” (Genesis 1:14b) and to launch His Appointed Days with the moon’s fullness!

The crimson swashes were painted with an herb from my garden; they represent Yeshua’s blood that covers the doorposts of our hearts.

The photograph on the title page is a Passover table set near sunset. The translation of the Hebrew letters on the banner in the background is “Adonai’s hesed (love) is new every morning.”

Through the contemplation of Yeshua’s journey foreshadowed by the first Passover, Father has deepened my gratitude for His indescribable gift of redemption through His Son that brought us into intimate, shared life with Himself. And it has given me a deeper appreciation of the beauty of God’s Word in its continuity of purpose.

My prayer is that your life will be transformed by your walk through this Haggadah, also. Enjoy saturating in the remembrance of your deliverance through Him!

With joy,

Beth Ann Phifer

Shale Fragments™ - devotionals by Beth Ann Phifer is a division of Flower Girl Greetings, LLC. ©2023, All Rights Reserved.
Blessings and love in Him,
Beth Ann