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FAMILY DEVOTIONS

PA S T O R M A RY B L O S S E R

HOLY WEEKWhat we call “Holy Week” is a remembrance of the activities of the week that Jesus died and rose again. Each day of the week, we remember what happened on that day of Jesus’ last week before He rose again on Easter.

I am providing these Family Devotions which I designed to do at home, spending time together as a family. They are designed to be about 30 minutes long. Of course, you may want to modify, simplify, or expand what is suggested. For very young children, you may choose to simply open a good Bible story book and read the stories together and then have a time of prayer. Hopefully, you can adapt these suggestions in a way that works well for your family.

There is one Family Devotion for each day of Holy Week. Be sure to quickly read through each one prior to your time with your family so you know what is coming, and you have the supplies ready. I tried to keep the supply list short and simple!

This year, take time to focus on the happenings in ancient Jerusalem during “Holy Week”. You may want to designate a particular place in your home to be your “Jerusalem”. You might try to decorate a little, with a coffee table or other low table, cushions on the floor to sit on, and whatever you can find to create a little bit of old Jerusalem.

Each devotion time includes an introduction activity, a Scripture reading and study, discussion, worship and prayer suggestions, and a response activity. It is my prayer that this year’s Holy Week will be memorable for your family – not because of the coronavirus – but because you drew near to each other, and to our Lord Jesus!

HERE ARE THE TOPICS FOR EACH DAY OF OUR HOLY WEEK FAMILY DEVOTIONS:

Sunday: Palm Sunday–Jesus the King

Monday: Jesus Cleanses The Temple

Tuesday: Jesus Teaches In The Temple

Wednesday: Preparing For The Passover

Thursday: The Last Supper

Friday: Jesus Dies On The Cross

Saturday: Waiting for the Resurrection

Sunday: Jesus Is Alive!

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Jesus the KingPalm Sunday

1. Introduction Activity2. Scripture Reading and Study3. Discussion4. Response Activity (supplies for making palm branches)5. Worship6. Prayer (paper, pencils, and a bowl)

1. Introduction Activity: Who would you like to see?I want you to think about a person that you would be most excited to see right now. Who would be the person that you would just be so happy to see walk through the door right now? (Allow answers.)

Now, everyone think of their special person and imagine how you would react if you saw them right now. What would you do? (Jump up and down, scream, wave your arms in the air…You might even act it out.)

What would you do if a king walked in right now? Would you be excited? I sure would be! In our story today we are going to hear about how excited people were when they saw a king riding a donkey along the road to the city of Jerusalem. Does anyone want to guess what king we might be talking about? (Jesus!)

2. Scripture Reading & StudyPalm Sunday was the beginning of an important week in Israel! The people were preparing for Passover- the most important holiday of the year. People came to Jerusalem to worship at the Temple and to remember God’s deliverance of the people from slavery in Egypt when Moses led the people to the Promised Land. So it was an exciting time of celebration. That’s what was happening as our story begins.

Read Luke 19:28-40

“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” The praises echoed in Jesus’ ears as He entered Jerusalem on a donkey. Each year the people of God went to the town of Jerusalem to remember how God protected them during the Passover in Egypt. They remembered how God led them through the desert to freedom. As Jesus entered the town of Jerusalem, the crowds and his disciples shouted His name with excitement. They laid their cloaks and palm branches on the ground to prepare the way for Him. That sounds strange to us, but it was a way to show respect and honor to an important person. The people had seen Jesus’ mighty works. Many people believed He was the Messiah. Now, as they celebrated, these men, women and children hoped Jesus would save them from Rome’s harsh control. They wanted Jesus to be their King.

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The Pharisees didn’t like to hear the people praising Jesus, especially the children! But Jesus loved to hear the people praise and worship Him, especially the children! He even said that if the kids stopped praising Him, the rocks would praise Him! We don’t want to be replaced by rocks in worshipping Jesus, do we? Let’s always remember to worship and praise the King!

Jesus had come to save and rescue His people, just like the prophet Zechariah said long before.

Read Zechariah 9:9

The prophet had said that the Messiah would come into Jerusalem on a donkey. Everyone in Jerusalem knew that! The Savior would come. But His salvation would not be what the people thought they wanted. They wanted to be comfortable, to be free from all the mean things Rome did. Jesus wanted them to be victorious, and to be free from sin forever so they could experience true life in God’s presence.

Close your eyes and picture this scene. Jerusalem’s roads are dusty and dirty. Huge crowds press along the main street. There are shouts of celebration and excitement. The scene must have been absolutely overwhelming. Now think about Jesus as He sits on the donkey. He is entering this city because He loves these people. Jesus not only loves these people, but He also loves you and me. He is willing to die so that all of us can have life. Open your eyes. Jesus is here with us right now!

3. Discussion • What would it have been like to see Jesus enter Jerusalem? • Was Jesus the kind of Messiah many had hoped for? Why or why not? • What do you think Jesus was thinking as he entered Jerusalem? • How can we show our love for Him today? • Thank God for sending Jesus to be our one true King.

4. Response Activity: Wave Palm BranchesJesus is here with us right now! How can we show our love for Him today? We can worship Him! He sees us and knows what we are doing and saying. Let’s pretend we are in Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday.

Make palm branches from paper and wave them while you worship together.

5. WorshipListen to favorite songs of praise and sing along. Wave those palm branches and rejoice that the King has come!

6. PrayerBe sure your prayer time is focused on worship and praise! Make a list of reasons to thank the Lord Jesus! Have each person think of specific blessings. Be sure to include the fact that Jesus came to save us from our sins! Then pray together, thanking the Lord for each blessing on your list. You may even want to take the list, cut it in strips, put the strips in a bowl on the table, and take turns pulling one out and praying a prayer of thanks.

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Jesus Cleanses The Temple

1. Introduction Activity2. Scripture Reading and Study3. Discussion4. Response Activity (cleaning supplies)5. Worship6. Prayer

1. Introduction Activity: Cleanse the House!Have everyone help clean up the room where you are meeting. You may even “mess it up” prior to your time together. Then demand that everyone go and wash their hands (which is certainly common these days, right?)

Then ask, “Why do you think I want this area clean?” “Why do we take time to wash our hands?”“What else do we have to keep clean?”Our story today is about Jesus doing some cleaning!

2. Scripture Reading and StudyAfter Jesus came into Jerusalem on the donkey, the first place He went was the Temple. The Temple was the center of town because it represented God living with His people. This is where the people would meet with God and where they would offer sacrifices to God to pay for their sins.

When Jesus saw what was happening in the Temple, He got angry because the people had turned God’s house into a market. The “money-changers” made people exchange their regular money for special “Temple money”. They made the people give their offerings with “Temple money” and when they ex-changed the money, they made an unfair profit! They also would require that the people use “Temple money” to buy their offerings to be given on the altar in the Temple. Again, they were cheating the people! Jesus drove those merchants out of the Temple to clean God’s home.

Read Matthew 21:12-17

The people inside the Temple were not worshipping the Father. Instead, they used the one true God’s special House to make money and become important. They dishonored the name of God. Rather than protecting the poor and sick people God loved, they robbed them in His own House. In holy anger, Jesus rebuked and drove out all those cheaters. And in the same Temple, Jesus then healed the sick who came to Him.

The Temple was a very special place in Bible times. It was a place where God lived with His people. God’s people have lived with Him through history. In the Garden of Eden they were physically with Him, but when they sinned they had to be separated from Him. Then, in the wilderness God had them build a Tabernacle, which was where He would live with them, but because of sin they were separated and only one priest once a year could enter God’s presence. Then, Solomon built the Temple in Jerusalem and God lived with His people, but they were separated from God by a curtain. Then, in John 1:14 we read that Jesus came to dwell with His people. God was living with His people. (You might want to look at Matthew 27:51 and talk about the significance of the curtain in the Temple tearing when Jesus died.) 4

Monday

Jesus was angry with the way the Temple was being treated because the Temple was Holy and was God’s dwelling place with His people. It made Jesus angry to see the people treat the presence of God so sinfully. This was one more reminder that someone had to die to pay the price for the sin of the people. Jesus knew that in just a few days, He would pay that price and the Temple and all the sacrifices would be over forever.

Today, WE are the Temple of God! Jesus lives with us! He is present with believers every day! That’s why we don’t need the Temple any more. Jesus died, and paid the penalty for our sins, so that we could always be in the presence of God.

2 Corinthians 6:16—…For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

The chief priest and scribes in the Temple were angry with Jesus that day, because he stopped them from getting money from the people. They were also angry because He captured the attention of the people. These religious leaders wanted Jesus to tell the children to stop shouting “Hosanna!” But Jesus said again, that God wanted children to praise Him!

Jesus left the Temple and went with the disciples to stay with their friends in Bethany. But those religious leaders started looking for ways to kill Jesus.

3. Discussion • What would it have been like to see Jesus in the Temple – chasing out the money changers? • Do you think Jesus watches what YOU do, and wants you to treat people fairly? • Why don’t we need to offer sacrifices at a Temple anymore? (Jesus was our sacrifice, He died for us!) • Our church is a place where we gather together to worship Jesus. Is it important that our church family loves and obeys God? • How can we show our love for Jesus today?

4. Response Activity: Cleaning GamesHere are some fun games to remind your family about Jesus cleansing the Temple!

CLEANING RELAY: Divide the family into two teams. Place the same amount of cleaning supplies in two buckets. Run a “cleaning relay” back and forth, with each person taking one cleaning item from the bucket and taking it back to the team and tagging the next player who will run to the team’s bucket and take another cleaning item. This will continue until the bucket is empty. The team that empties their bucket first is the winner.

MOP RIDING RELAY: Divide the family into two teams. Give each team a mop to ride as they run a relay for their team to a line and back. The team that completes the ride with all of its team members is the winner.

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TEMPLE TUBE TALK: Have everyone stand in a line. Give the first person in the line a slip of paper with an item from today’s lesson that needed to be cleaned (selling sacrifices, exchanging money, cheating people). Using a paper towel tube, the first person will whisper what is written on the slip of paper through the tube to the next person. Each person will then whisper into the tube to the next player until the last person has heard what was whispered through the temple tube. That person will say the words out loud and see if it is the same words that were written on the slip of paper. Play again with another player beginning the TEMPLE TUBE TALK. Consider using words that they can think of for areas in our own lives that need to be cleaned (such as our speech, our prayer life, our obedience, what our eyes watch, or what our ears listen to, etc.).

5. WorshipListen to favorite songs of praise and sing along. Remember that Jesus loves to hear the praises of His people – and especially children!

6. PrayerDuring your prayer time today, focus on remembering that Jesus is with us. He can hear every word of our prayers. He wants to be with us, and He wants to have a relationship with us. Before you pray together, talk about how easy it is to communicate with each other in a family. What kinds of communication do you enjoy hearing from the people you love?

Saying, “Thank You.” Saying,“YouareTerrific!” Saying,“Iloveyou!”

As you pray together, include those communications as you talk to Jesus!

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Jesus Teaches In The Temple

1. Introduction Activity 2. Scripture Reading and Study3. Discussion4. Response Activity (large sheets of paper, crayons, pencils)5. Worship6. Prayer

1. Introduction Activity: Stump the Family GameAsk each family member to come up with a riddle or trick question and see who can answer them corr ectly. Here are some suggestions:

• How many times would the earth fit in the sun? (1,300,000) • How tall is dad? • What is mom’s middle name? • Riddle: I have a little house in which I live all alone. It has no doors or windows, and if I want to go out I must break through the wall. What am I? (A chick in an egg) • Riddle: If the day before yesterday is the 23rd, then what is the day after tomorrow. (The 27th)

The story from the Bible today is about people trying to ask Jesus trick questions!

2. Scripture Reading and StudyDuring the Passover week, there was a lot happening in Jerusalem. People spent lots of time at the Temple, listening to teachers talk about the Bible. After all of the excitement of Jesus cleansing the Temple on Monday, Jesus RETURNED to the Temple on the next day – Tuesday! He spent all day in the Temple. What did He do? Mostly, He taught the people, and answered questions, and debated with the Scribes and the Pharisees.

The conversations of Jesus with the Scribes and Pharisees begins in Matthew 21:23. For hours, the Scribes and Pharisees kept trying to ask Jesus “trick questions”, but they never did stump Him! He gave answers that they couldn’t argue with, or He would answer in parables which are stories that you have to figure out.

Read Matthew 21:45

The Pharisees were so angry they wanted to arrest Him, but they realized that the crowd was interested in what Jesus had to say. Then the Sadducees, another group of religious leaders, tried to trick Him. Again, he answered in parables. Then, the Pharisees thought they had come up with the ultimate trick question!

The Jewish people had lots and lots of rules that they were expected to follow – rules about what they were allowed to eat, what they should wear, and what they could do at the Temple, and lots of other rules. There were more than 600 rules that they had to follow! So, they often argued about which rule was the most important! And of course, we know about the 10 Commandments, which were very important. They even argued about which of those was most important! Now, they decide to ask Jesus – “What is the most important rule or commandment!”

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Tuesday


Wow! They didn’t stump Jesus! He knew which commandment was most important! There is nothing more important then these two commandments! We should pay attention to these— Love God, and Love Others.

If you look at the Ten Commandments really closely, you will find that all ten of them fit inside these two commands. That is amazing! If you love God with your heart, soul and mind, then you won’t worship anything else or say bad things about “His name.” And you would want to go to church and obey Him. And if you love your neighbor as yourself then you won’t steal, hit, hurt others, lie or want things other people have. When you understand how much God loves you, you will want to love Him with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.

You will want to share that love with others and love your neighbor as yourself. And do you remember who your neighbor is? Your neighbor is anyone you see that has a need!

3. DiscussionLove God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.Love your neighbor as yourself

• Let’s imagine that everyone in our family always obeys these two most important commandments! How would our family be different?

• Let’s imagine that everyone in our community always obeys these two most important commandments! How would our community be different?

• Let’s imagine that everyone in our country always obeys these two most important commandments! How would our country be different?

• Let’s imagine that everyone in our world always obeys these two most important commandments! How would our world be different?

• How can we begin to live according to these two most important commandments in our home? What do you think we can each do differently?

4. Response Activity: Commandments of LoveWrite out the Ten Commandments on separate slips of paper. Have your family work together to organize the commandments as ways to 1) Love God, or 2) Love Others. As you work on organizing the commandments, discuss what each one means to your family. When you have them organized, they should look like this:

LOVING GOD1. Have no other gods.2. Don’t worship idols.3. Don’t misuse God’s name.4. Remember the Sabbath Day, Keep it holy.

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Here are some ideas for conversation as you sort the commandments:1. Have no other gods–There is only ONE God and He must come first in everything! How do you put God

first in your life?2. Don’t worship idols.–What things might be idols in your life? Sports? Money? Yourself?3. Don’t misuse God’s name.–We should respect God and His Name, and not say the name of Jesus, or

God, carelessly.4. Remember the Sabbath Day, Keep it holy.–The Sabbath Day is one day each week set aside to

worship God and rest from our work. How do we obey that command?

LOVING OTHERS5. Honor your father and mother.–To honor means to obey cheerfully!6. Don’t murder.–And by the way, Jesus taught us to treat others kindly!7. Don’t commit adultery.–We need to be faithful to the members of our family, and love each other.8. Don’t steal.–Don’t take things that don’t belong to you. That is disrespectful to others!9. Don’t lie.–God is a God of truth, and He wants us to tell the truth.10. Don’t crave what others have.–Instead, be thankful for what we have. What are some of the

wonderful blessings in our lives?

Another Activity— It’s All About LoveSupplies – large piece of poster paper, tape, writing/drawing utensils

Lay out two large pieces of paper and ask two family members to lay down on the paper so you can trace them. Once you have a basic outline, tape the papers to the wall or lay them on a table. Write “Loving God” on the first one, and “Loving Others” on the second one. Draw in the ears, eyes, nose and mouth, brain, heart, hands and feet. Then ask the family members to come up with ways that you can use these body parts to show love – to God, and to others. Write those ways to show love on the appropri-ate body part.

Ears (example: listening when others are talking, listening in church)Eyes (example: paying attention to others needs, reading the Bible)Nose & Mouth (example: singing hymns and praise music, speaking kind words)Mind (example: learning about Jesus, thinking of new ways to help)Heart (example: praying to God, telling your parents you love them)Hands (example: holding the door, cleaning up at home or at church)Feet (example: going on mission trips, walking with someone to their car)


6. PrayerDuring your prayer time today, focus on remembering that it is important to love others. Jesus came to this world to show us how much God loves us.! He died on the cross so that we could go to Heaven. Jesus loves us so much! Spend time thanking God for His love for you, and asking Him to help your family love Him more and love one another more.

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Preparing For The Passover

1. Introduction Activity (a small bottle of perfume)2. Scripture Reading and Study 3. Discussion4. Response Activity (supplies for cards and letters)5. Worship6. Prayer

1. Introduction Activity: What is valuable?I have a question for you. What is the most expensive thing you can think of? (Allow responses.) Yes, those things might cost a lot. Here’s another question. If someone handed you a whole bunch of money, what do you think you’d like to buy? (Again, take a couple of answers.) Sometimes it seems like people pay a lot for things that shouldn’t cost all that much. For example, perfume. I have here a little bottle of perfume. This bottle cost more than I would have liked for a few ounces of scented liquid, but there are some people out there who are willing to pay a LOT for perfume. For example, there’s a perfume called “Chanel Grand Extrait” which is $4,200 per ounce. This seems a little outrageous, if you ask me. In our story from the Bible, we will see how one lady used her valuable perfume as a gift for Jesus!

2. Scripture Reading and StudyDuring the Passover week in Jerusalem, families enjoyed spending lots of time together. They would go to the Temple together to pray and listen to the teachers, and sing songs of worship. They also liked to spend time eating together and talking with each other. That sounds a lot like what we do on holidays, right?

By the middle of Passover week, everyone was busy getting ready for the special meal that was coming the next day. And everyone was enjoying being together. In our study today, we are going to see how two people in the Bible were getting ready for the Passover celebration.


In this story, Jesus is having a meal with his friends in the home of Simon, someone Jesus had healed of leprosy. It was pretty typical during Passover time to gather with friends. There are some traditions that we would have thought silly – for example, we always want you to wash your hands before you eat. Well, in Bible times, people had to wash their hands, AND THEIR FEET! That’s because they sat on cushions at a low table, and they only had sandals to wear and the streets and roads were all dirt. So everyone had dirty feet, and you didn’t want dirty feet next to you when you sat on the floor to eat your dinner.

In this story, we see another tradition that seems silly to us. To show great respect to someone, they would pour valuable scented oil on a person’s head! It was a way to show love, respect, and admiration. While Jesus and His friends were having their dinner, this woman came in with her perfumed oil and poured it on Jesus. Now, it was also a tradition to pour valuable scented oil on the body of a dead person! That is what Jesus is referring to in verse 12. Jesus knew He was going to die very soon. This lady was willing to give a costly ointment for the One she knew was the Messiah.

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Wednesday

If you remember, someone else brought Jesus an expensive ointment at the beginning of His life. It was called Myrrh and the wise men brought it Jesus when He was born in Bethlehem. Now at the end of His life, this woman is also bringing ointment. Judas criticized her for wasting such an expensive item, but Jesus defended her actions and reminded everyone that He was worth more than money.

It’s interesting that Judas is the one who objected to the woman’s gift. He thought it was wasteful! Is it every wasteful to show respect and honor to Jesus? But Judas, you see, had been plotting against Jesus! If we go back a few verses, we see how the religious leaders had spent that day.

Read Matthew 26:15.

Now, while this lady was planning to pour her fragrant oil over Jesus, to show her love and worship— Judas was plotting to kill Jesus. And he was angry when Jesus scolded him and said the woman would always be remembered for her action. As a matter of fact, he got up from dinner and went out to meet with the religious leaders.

Read Matthew 26:14-16.

So, here are two different people with very different ideas about Jesus. We remember them both! We remember Judas as the disciple that betrayed Jesus. And we remember the lady who beautifully worshipped Jesus by pouring her perfume over His head. Judas betrayed the Lord Jesus for just thirty pieces of silver. But the woman spent far more than that to show her love and her worship.

What can we learn from this passage of Scripture? Does this mean we should go around spending money for expensive perfume to pour on the pastor’s head? Of course not! What it means is that nothing is worth more than Jesus. All of the fancy things and all of the money we have, at the end of the day, are just silly. The only thing worth living for and pursuing is Christ. How do we do that? Well, we read the Bible and pray, of course. And when it comes to making decisions or doing things, we can ask ourselves if we are doing something that honors or points back to Him. We can ask for God’s help making Him our top pri-ority. We need to be willing to give everything for Him, because He gave everything for us. That’s worth celebrating!

3. Discussion:• What would it have been like to be in a room with Jesus just days before His death?• If you had been there at Simon’s house, would you have agreed with Judas that the valuable perfume

was wasted?• If Jesus was here in person in our home tonight, what valuable thing would you want to give to Him?• We can’t pour oil on Jesus’ head, but how can we worship Jesus today as the one true King?• Jesus gave His life for us. Is there anything so valuable, that we could not give it to Him?

4. Response Activity: Sharing God’s LoveWe can’t pour valuable oil on Jesus’ head, but we can do things to show our love for Him. When Jesus was teaching in the Temple on Tuesday of Holy Week, He said this— ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me,’ Matthew 25:40. We can show our love for Jesus, by showing His love to others!

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We can serve God by giving Him our time, talents, and treasures. What is something you are willing to give today to demonstrate your love for God? Spend time thinking about something each person in the family can give out of their love for Jesus. Examples might include donating toys to a family in need, bak-ing cookies and giving up your time to share them this Easter, giving money to the church, or other creative acts of service.

Think of someone who would appreciate a card, a letter, or a small gift. Perhaps you have a toy or article of clothing that you could share with someone who would appreciate it. Have each member of the family prepare this demonstration of love in Jesus’ Name.

Another ActivityJudas was Jesus’ friend—he walked with Jesus, learned from Jesus, and shared life with Jesus. And yet, Judas was so fixated on money and wanting more money, that he was willing to do the unthinkable and sell his friend’s life for thirty silver coins. Is there anything that is getting in the way of your friendship with Jesus? Judas was willing to give his friend’s life away for money. What about you? Walk around the house as a family and point out things that can get in the way of your friendship with Jesus. For example, as you walk past the TV, say something like, “TV can be a fun way for our family to relax, but watching too much TV can get in the way of listening to God and doing what He has called us to do.” Walking past a clock could prompt you to say, “It’s easy to feel like there isn’t enough time to talk to Jesus or to serve other people, but what is the truth about our time?”


6. PrayerDuring your prayer time today, focus on honoring and worshipping Jesus! You may want to conclude your prayer time by reading this prayer aloud together:

Dear God,

Youareworthmorethanallriches

Help us to remember that

Andtoalwaysputyoufirstinourlives

Thank you for loving us

Thank you for your son, Jesus

In His name we pray, Amen

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The Last Supper

1. Introduction Activity (items to set the table for your ‘Passover Seder’)2. Scripture Reading and Study 3. Discussion4. Response Activity (bread or crackers and grape juice)5. Worship6. Prayer

For this lesson, you may want to prepare a full-blown Passover Seder dinner. There are instructions for an elaborate Seder dinner at this website: https://sharonglasgow.com/2013/03/a-simple-family-passover-sed-er-supper. I have also found another simpler family Seder/Passover instruction kit here: http://www.gath-erandgrow.co/how-to-share-a-family-passover-meal/ The instructions that follow here keep it very simple.

1. Introduction Activity: Prepare for a Holiday PartyDiscuss how your family would prepare for an important holiday. What do you do to prepare for Christmas? For birthdays? For Easter? The high point of Passover week for the Jewish People was the Passover Seder dinner. Families gathered together and had a special dinner, with all kinds of special traditions. It took lots of preparation and time, just like we put lots of time into our Easter or Christmas dinners! So, let’s imagine that we are in Jerusalem, and we are going to prepare for our Passover Seder dinner.

Have your family prepare your space for the Seder dinner. You could cover your low table with a nice cloth, and then set the table with small plates, napkins, spoons and small cups or glasses. You will also want candles on the table. You will need bread or crackers and grape juice (or any kind of fruit juice will do, or you can even use water). As you proceed through this lesson, you will take communion together as a family toward the end. Have everyone get seated. They can munch bread or crackers while you do the Scripture reading and study.

2. Scripture Reading and Study Jesus and the disciples had come to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover together. Once a year the people of God went to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of Passover. It was a time to remember the ways God had provided for His people. It was a time to remember how God led them out of slavery in Egypt to freedom. This year Jesus wanted to celebrate the feast with his closet friends, his disciples. The disciples were afraid because they knew people wanted to kill Jesus. But since they did not normally live in Jerusalem, they had to find a place to gather for the dinner.


So Jesus had a plan, and they all gathered together to have their special dinner. When people normally got together for a meal, one of the servants would wash everyone’s feet. This was a necessary act as people’s feet would be dirty from walking everywhere and when you sat down to eat, you would sit on the floor, so your feet might be in someone’s face. This evening there was no one to wash their feet. John tells us about this in his account of the Passover supper.

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Thursday

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Read John 13:3-5.

So, Jesus got up and wrapped a towel around Himself and knelt down in front of the disciples to wash their feet. The disciples must have felt uncomfortable having their teacher, their leader, their master wash their feet and Peter protested.

Read John 13:12-17.

As with everything else, Jesus used this time together to teach His disciples something important. Jesus was teaching them that He (the Creator of the universe, the Son of God) had humbled Himself and come to earth to be beaten and mocked and killed to pay the price for their sin. He had come to do something for them (and for all of His people) that we could never do for ourselves. He had come to die in our place. After Jesus finished washing their feet, He told His disciples to follow His example and humbly serve others for the sake of the Gospel.

When Jesus came to earth, He did something that seems unimaginable. The Son of God became a person and lived on earth. The Creator of the universe entered into the world He created. So, kneeling in front of His disciples and washing their feet shouldn’t have surprised anyone. Jesus had come to suffer and die in our place. Jesus had come to do what we could never do and die on the cross to pay the price for our sin. The Bible tells us that we are all sinners and there is nothing we can do to get rid of our own sin, but that when Jesus died on the cross He paid the price for our sin so that we could be forgiven and live with Him forever.


Judas left the dinner and went to meet with the religious leaders who were plotting to have Jesus killed. Then comes one of the most wonderful parts of the Holy Week.


What does this remind you of? Communion! There was bread and grape juice or wine on the table. Jesus used the bread and wine to teach the disciples that He was going to give His life for them. After the meal, Jesus and the disciples went out to the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus spent time there praying. John tells us about Jesus’ prayer. Jesus prayed for His disciples, and then, He prayed for US!

Read John 17:20-22.

Jesus prayed for everyone who would ever be His follower, and that includes our family!

And then, in the quiet garden where Jesus was praying, Judas showed up with armed men and arrested Jesus and took Him off to prison and all of the disciples ran away.

Of course, that’s not the end of the story of Holy Week! But, as we think about Jesus’ Passover Seder, which we call “The Last Supper”, one of the most wonderful things we can do to remember how much Jesus loves us, is to obey His command to remember Him with communion. Ever since that night in Jerusalem, believers have taken communion to remember what Jesus said and most importantly, to remember how much He loves us – enough to die on the cross to take away our sins.

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3. Discussion • Would you enjoy a fun dinner with Jesus? • What would you have thought if Jesus knelt in front of you to wash your feet? • When Jesus held up the bread and the cup, what did He say it represents? • Jesus knew that everyone was sinful. Are you a sinner? How do you know you are a sinner? • Do you believe that Jesus loves you?

4. Response Activity: Take Communion as a family.Gather around the table where each family member has a cup of juice and a piece of bread or a cracker of any kind. “Unleavened” bread is used for a Seder dinner because “leaven” is a symbol of sin. So almost any cracker qualifies, but if you don’t have crackers – use any bread. Play some quiet worship music in the background and create a serious atmosphere, encouraging your family to take this time seriously. What follows is a simple communion service for your family at home.

Some things to consider as you take communion at home:These symbols may seem intense to a child but the reality is — Jesus’ death was an intense gift; a literally life-changing, miracle for all of mankind. An agreement made with blood sounds a little spooky. But this is our opportunity to share the gravity of Jesus’ sacrifice with our kids. It sounds intense because it was. He gave his life for us, and for our children. He shed his blood so that the old covenant (agreement) requirements could be replaced and fulfilled by Him. This new covenant (or promise) requires nothing of us but our willingness to accept the gift and follow Jesus.

Each time we partake in communion and remember Jesus’ body and blood, we honor his sacrifice and commit once again to walk in the freedom we have through salvation.

Communion is a precious, holy reminder that our life was bought with a price by a Savior who loves us intensely enough to die in our place. This is the part of the story that I hope hooks your children’s hearts, leading them to abandon every one of earth’s pleasures for the promise of life and eternity with Jesus.

There are different opinions on when a child is “old enough” to take communion, but in this simple at-home moment, every family member can be included. It is simply a time to remember.

Simple Seder/Communion Service at Home

Dad or Leader says:Communion is a precious, holy reminder that our life was bought with a price by a Savior who loves us so much that He would die in our place. We know that nothing is more important than having faith in Jesus, and trusting Him as our Savior. He made a way for us to be saved from our sin. He asked us to take communion as a way to remember His love for us.

Mom: Lights the candles (2 candles is typical – one candle is fine!).

Mom says: These candles remind us that Jesus is the light of the world. He came into the world to show us the way to God.

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Dad or Leader Says: We are going to be quiet for one minute, while we all think about any sins we need to confess to Jesus. Remember, a sin is when we disobey God’s commands and when we do not love God and love others with all of our heart. We will each think about specific things that we have done that are sinful and then when we pray, we can each ask for forgiveness for those sins.

After about a minute, pray—Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for coming into the world to be our light. Thank you for showing us how much You love us, by dying on the cross for us. Jesus, we are very sorry for our sins. We ask for your forgiveness. We know that you came into our world to take away our sins. We ask you now to cleanse us from our sin and help us to show our love for You and for others in every part of our lives. Amen.

Someone Reads:Then Jesus took some bread. He thanked God for it, broke it, and gave it to the apostles. Then Jesus said, ‘This bread is my body that I am giving for you. Do this to remember me.’

Dad or Leader instructs everyone to eat their piece of cracker or bread, then prays: Thank You, Lord, for giving Your life for us. Thank You for Your broken body. Thank You for Your love. Help us to always remember.

Someone Reads:In the same way, after supper, Jesus took the cup and said, ‘This cup shows the new agreement that God makes with his people. This new agreement begins with my blood which is poured out for you.’

Dad or Leader instructs everyone to drink the juice from their cup, then prays: Thank You, Lord, for dying on the cross for us. Thank You for Your shed blood. Thank You for Your love. Help us to always remember. Amen.

Dad or Leader says:Communion is a precious, holy reminder that our life was bought with a price by a Savior who loves us so much that He would die in our place. We know that nothing is more important than having faith in Jesus, and trusting Him as our Savior. He made a way for us to be saved from our sin. He asked us to take communion as a way to remember His love for us. Let’s never forget His love for us!

5. WorshipSing songs of worship and prayer together around the communion table!

6. Prayer Close with prayers of thanks and commitment to always remember how much God loves us and what He has done for us!

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Jesus Dies On The Cross

1. Introduction Activity (a wooden cross)2. Scripture Reading and Study 3. Discussion4. Response Activity (tacks or nails, slips of paper, pencils, sidewalk chalk)5. Worship6. Prayer

The story of the Crucifixion is a cruel one. It is also very important, and children of all ages need to hear it. If the story makes the children sad, its okay, it’s sad for all of us. Just remind the children that Jesus did this out of His immense love for us, and the story isn’t finished yet—the ending is the greatest part of all! The message of Jesus dying on the cross to save us, and then raising from the dead is very important. The message is a life changing one, and gives us forgiveness and hope for a future with God. This would be a great time to talk to your children about knowing Christ personally, and asking Him to live inside them.

1. Introduction Activity: What is a cross?Use any kind of wooden cross, but making one from boards or sticks is best.

Do any of you know what this is? This is a cross. Christian people sometimes wear jewelry with crosses, or hang crosses on the wall. (Pass it around, encourage them to feel the wood.) Let me remind you what crosses were used for. During the time of the Bible, people who had done very bad things (criminals) were killed on crosses. It is a horrible way to be punished. The criminals would be forced to carry their cross to the place where they would be hung. Everyone who saw them knew they had done something very bad. This would be very embarrassing or shameful for the criminals. Then they would be nailed through their hands and feet to the cross. Does anyone know why the cross is important for Christians? (Jesus died on the cross.) Was Jesus a bad person? Did He do bad things? (No and no.) Jesus did not deserve to die on the cross, but He did it because of His great love for us and for God the Father. This was God’s plan from the very beginning. Because Jesus died on the cross, we can be forgiven of our sin and have a relationship with Him. Today we will learn about how Jesus died on the cross for us.

2. Scripture Reading and StudyAfter Jesus was arrested in the Garden on Thursday evening, He was taken to prison. The Jewish religious leaders took Jesus to Pilate, the Roman governor, because only the Roman government could have Him killed.


Pilate, the governor, handed Jesus over to the soldiers to be crucified. The soldiers took Jesus and beat Him. They made fun of Him. Only a few days earlier, the people had cheered because they wanted Jesus to be their king. Now they watched while the soldiers put a robe on Him and pushed a crown of thorns into His head and pretended to bow down to Him calling Him the King of the Jews. They watched Him bleed and saw His hurts.

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Fr iday

The Roman soldiers were very cruel. Jesus was beaten, spit upon, and mocked. He was in a lot of pain physically and knew He would soon die. This is a very sad story, but it helps us to love Jesus even more as we see the pain He went through so that we may be forgiven of our sins. Jesus knew what was happening. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy. He knew that our freedom from sin and death would cost His life.

Read Matthew 27:32

After mocking Him, the soldiers led him out to be crucified. Jesus was very weak from being beaten. He fell while carrying the cross. It was bigger than Jesus and very, very heavy. A man named Simon was forced to carry it for Jesus.


They brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha. It means “the place of the skull.” It was on a hill where the rock formation looked like a skull. Here, they crucified Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the King of the Jews. They nailed Him to the cross and lifted it up for all to see. It was about nine o’ clock in the morning.

The soldiers sat under the cross and played a game similar to tossing coins, to see who would win Jesus’ robe. The sign on the cross was meant to make fun of Jesus, but of course, Jesus was the KING! Crucifixion was a common way to treat criminals, so there were others crucified at the same time.


Everyone who passed by Jesus shouted mean things to Him: “So! You are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days. Come down from the cross and save yourself!” The priests mocked Him and said “He saved others, but He cannot save Himself! Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe!” Could Jesus have come down from the cross? YES! In Matthew 26:53, Jesus told the soldiers that He could pray and ask His Father God to send 10,000 angels to rescue Him! But He chose to die, because He loves us so much, and He wanted to take the punishment for our sins.


People standing near the cross offered Jesus something to drink, but Jesus was dying. Imagine how frightening it was when the sky suddenly went dark. (Turn out lights.) And Jesus cried out from the cross. Those who were mocking Him, still tried to make fun of Him. In the darkest hour, Jesus cried out to His Father. He had cried out to His Father many, many times before. But this time was different. He asked His Father why He had forsaken Him, why He had left Him alone. But Jesus also knew that this darkness would bring light. He knew His pain would bring freedom. He knew His death would give you life.After this, Jesus took His last breath. (Turn on light.)


Eventually the darkness ended. That evening, a man named Joseph asked if He could have Jesus’ body. He took Him off the cross, wrapped Him in cloth, and placed Him in a tomb cut out of rock. He rolled a stone against the opening of the tomb.

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This is the saddest part of Jesus’ life! But remember that He did not stay dead! He conquered death and sin! We will learn more about this as we look forward to Easter Sunday! Remember… did Jesus stay dead? NO! He came back to life! He is alive forever!

Discussion· Have you ever felt forsaken or alone? What was it like?· The people made fun of Jesus. They said He couldn’t save Himself. Why didn’t Jesus save Himself?· Jesus went through pain and loneliness so that you would never have to be alone. How does that make you feel?

God sent Jesus to the world to save the world through Him. The truth is that we all need to be saved whether we realize it or not. We are all sinners and we can’t get rid of sin by ourselves. Sin is anything we do that doesn’t put God first and the Bible says that we’ve all sinned. Thankfully, Jesus came to the world to rescue or save us from our sin. Jesus rescued us from our sin by dying on the cross and taking the punishment that we deserve. Jesus was led to the cross in our place.

4. Response Activity We are sinners. It is impossible for any of us not to sin. Sin is anything we do to disobey God. What sins do all of us struggle with every day? I want you to write down a sin that you struggle with every day and fold up your piece of paper. Then, one at a time, we will nail (or tack, or tape) our sins to the cross.

When Jesus died, He died for our sins. Our sins make us guilty. Jesus took the record of our sins away when He was nailed to the cross. He took the punishment, so we do not have to be guilty anymore. We stand forgiven at the cross because Jesus chose to be obedient to the Father and die for us.

Another Response Activity:Take the family outside. Write “GUILTY” on the sidewalk with chalk, then ask each family member to write down with chalk, a sin they want to confess.

Before we believe in Jesus and what He did for us, our hearts say GUILTY because of our sin. Give each person a turn to pour water on the chalk. If it washes away the first time, write it again and let them all have a chance to wash it away.

What happened when you dumped the water over the chalk? (Allow them time to answer.) When we believe and trust in who Jesus is and what He did on the cross, He washes our sins away, just like this water completely washed the chalk away. And not only are we now free from our sins, we are made righteous through Jesus, like we never sinned at all! This is amazing news! Because of Jesus, we can live a life free from sin and know God like a friend!


6. Prayer The Bible tells us that without Jesus we are dead in our sin and because of sin, we all deserve to be punished and the punishment we deserve is death. But, because of His great love for His people, God sent Jesus to earth to take the punishment that we deserve and die on the cross in our place. Jesus died so that we could live. That’s the good news of the Bible and that’s the best news anyone will ever hear. In your prayer, communicate your great love for Jesus because of His great sacrifice. Thank God for the cross and for Jesus and for the opportunity to believe and be saved. Praise Him for our freedom from sin which He purchased with His own blood.

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Wait ing For The Resur rect ion

1. Introduction Activity 2. Scripture Reading and Study 3. Discussion4. Response Activity (paper, scissors, crayons)5. Worship6. Prayer

1. Introduction Activity: Hide and SeekPlay “Hide and Seek” for a while. When everyone is settled, ask this: After Jesus was put in the tomb, and the stone was rolled over the door, nobody could see Him! Did that mean He was gone? Where was He?

2. Scripture Reading and Study It has been a long week for Jesus and His disciples. Let’s think back to everything that happened!Sunday: Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. The disciples cheered and worshipped. The religious leaders got angry.

Monday: Jesus chased the money changers out of the Temple The disciples cheered as they watched Him fearlessly challenge the cheaters. The religious leaders got angrier.

Tuesday: Jesus went to the Temple, healed the sick, taught people, and debated with the religious leaders. The disciples listened and watched as more and more people listened to Jesus but began to worry. The religious leaders were getting furious!

Wednesday: Jesus ate with His friends and was worshipped by a woman who poured perfume on His head The disciples prepared for the Passover Seder. Judas made a deal with the authorities to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.

Thursday: Jesus ate the Passover Seder with His disciples, went the garden to pray, and was arrested. The disciples had Jesus wash their feet, had communion with Jesus, and saw Him taken to prison. Judas betrayed Jesus to the religious leaders and took the money.

Friday: Jesus was tried, beaten, mocked, was crucified, died, and was buried in a tomb. The disciples watched from a distance in fear. Judas returned the money to the religious leaders, and then killed himself. The religious leaders mocked Jesus and celebrated their victory.

Now, it’s Saturday! Where is everyone?20

Saturday


The disciples were together, hiding in fear that they would also be arrested.

The religious leaders were nervously meeting together! They put soldiers at the tomb of Jesus to guard it, and be sure no one came there.

But where was Jesus?

When Jesus was nailed to the cross, all of God’s wrath and anger that we deserved, was put completely on Jesus. There was nothing left for Him to do. Jesus took our full punishment. As soon as Jesus’ physical body died, the Bible says the temple curtain was torn in two, from top to bottom. In God’s temple, man could not enter the Holy of Holies, which was God’s special dwelling place beyond the curtain. But now God, himself, destroyed it. God’s children were now welcomed into His presence. He longed for them. God had been planning and waiting for this moment since the first sin of Adam and Eve. He had been weaving together His plan to rescue His covenant children. And He would be victorious.

Jesus was buried in a tomb. Guards were posted at the door of the tomb. Those guards may have felt silly, guarding the tomb of a man who had died. The guards may have wondered to themselves, “Why this tomb? What was so special about this man?” They were certain that Jesus was in the tomb, but, where was Jesus, really?

As Jesus hung on the cross, one of the two thieves believed that He really was the Messiah, and told Jesus that He believed in Him. Jesus told the thief who believed in Him, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise!” (Luke 23:43). How could that happen if Jesus was in the tomb? WHERE WAS JESUS???

We know that we have a body. It is our outside person – it hurts when we fall down, it needs food and water to live, it is the part of us that people can see, and someday it will die. We know that we also have a soul. It is our inside person – it hurts when someone is mean to us, it needs love and joy to live, it is the part of us that people love and that part that loves other people, and loves God. And it will live forever.

The body of Jesus was lying in the tomb. That was His outside person. But the soul of Jesus was alive! He was still alive! Jesus WAS ALIVE! Not His body, but His soul, His spirit – that part was still alive! But where was Jesus? He was with God the Father in Heaven. He was celebrating at a feast with those in Heaven who had believed in Him, including the thief that died on the cross next to Him. He was planning what would happen next! He was getting ready for the most powerful, joyous moment in all of history! He was getting ready for SUNDAY!

Discussion:• What part of our Holy Week learning has been the most exciting? The most sad?• How does it make you feel to know that Jesus died for you?• Do you believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay for your sins?• If you died today, do you believe you would go to Heaven and see Jesus?

4. Response Activity Do a simple Gospel presentation to help your family understand why Jesus died on the cross. This is also

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4. Response Activity Do a simple Gospel presentation to help your family understand why Jesus died on the cross. This is also a great opportunity to pray with any of your family members who have not trusted Christ for salvation. What follows is a simple way to explain the Gospel and/or lead someone to salvation in Jesus Christ. You could have each member of the family make their own set of shapes and then go through the presenta-tion, with each person using their own set of shapes. Or, you can use one set. If a family member choos-es to follow Jesus today, and prays for forgiveness, and claims Jesus as Lord, please mark this day and celebrate! And especially if that person is a child – PLEASE let Pastor Mary know! I want to celebrate with you!

Gospel Presentation for Children (or anybody, actually)Toprepare,youwillneedtodrawandcutoutthreesimpleshapes:aredheart,ablackheartthatiswhiteontheotherside,andacross.

RED HEARTDid you know that God knows everything about you? He knows what you ate for breakfast. He knows which toys you love to play with most. And He knows what makes you happy, and what makes you sad.(Note: Try to personalize this introduction as much as possible; for example, by naming what your child had for breakfast, their favorite toy, etc. Or use different ideas that will be meaningful to your child.)

And guess what: God loves you very, very much! (Place the red heart before your child to represent God’s love.) In fact, God loves you so much, He wants you to be His child!

BLACK HEARTBut there’s a problem. You see, you and I, and everyone else in the world, are not like God. God is always good, but we choose to do bad things. We are selfish, we hurt others, we disobey, and do lots of other bad things God tells us not to do. (Romans 3:23)

In the Bible, all the wrong things we do are called “sin.” (Place the black heart before your child and explain that it represents their sin.) Our sin does something sad to our friendship with God: it makes God seem far away, so we can’t know Him very well. (Remind your child that the red heart represents God. Move it away from the black heart.)

CROSS But listen to this: God thought of a solution! Because He loves us so much, God sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross to pay for all our sins. (Hold up the cross. Explain that it’s the same shape as the cross that Jesus died on, taking the punishment for our sins.) Because of Jesus, all the wrong things you’ve ever done can be forgiven. God is just waiting for you to ask. When we tell God that we believe Jesus died for us, and then ask God to forgive our sins, He forgives us right away.

WHITE HEARTGod’s Word says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins.” (1 John 1:9) (Place the cross between the red heart [God] and the black heart. Move the hearts to touch the cross. Turn the black heart over to the white side.)

When God forgives you, He makes you His child – one of God’s special family of people who believe in Jesus. (John 1:12) Once you are a part of God’s family, you can talk to Him every day and be close to Him. You can also look forward to living with God forever in heaven. (Show your child that the cross makes a bridge to join the white heart with the red heart.)

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Guide your child in a simple prayer that includes these ideas:Admit that you need to be forgiven for your sins.Thank God that Jesus died to save you.Ask God to forgive you and help you turn away from wrongdoing.Thank God that Jesus will be with you forever.

EditedandreprintedfromKidsofIntegrity.com


6. PrayerDuring your prayer time today, focus on thanking Jesus for being our Savior. It would be a great time to have each person in the family take turns thanking God for the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.

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Jesus Is Al ive !

1. Introduction Activity (Gift box or bag with jelly beans inside)2. Scripture Reading and Study 3. Discussion4. Response Activity 5. Worship6. Prayer

1. Introduction Activity: You have to wait for it!Show everyone a gift package, or a gift bag with a tag that says “Do not open until Easter.” Let them guess what is in the bag. What would you think about getting a Christmas present that could not be opened until Easter. That seems sort of a lengthy wait! Today we are celebrating the story of Easter. The beautiful thing about Easter is that it is the conclusion of the story that starts at Christmas. At Christmas, we celebrate how Jesus was born. But what was He born for? Ultimately, to take on our sins and die, so that we wouldn’t have to suffer. He did nothing wrong but was punished for what we did. With His resurrection, He had victory over sin and Satan. So, Jesus came into the world on the first Christmas, and He was certainly a gift from God. And He died on the cross, which was also a gift of love. But, we have been waiting for Easter – the greatest gift of all! We’ll hold onto the gift for a little while as we continue our time together.

2. Scripture Reading and Study Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem, cleansed the Temple, taught and healed the people, debated with the religious leaders, was honored at a special dinner, celebrated the Passover, was arrested, crucified, died and was buried. Now, what happens next?

People in Bible times often had reserved tombs where they could be buried. Someone (with a lot of money) had a family grave, and wanted to offer his tomb for the body of Jesus. He had special linens wrapped around the body and put a huge rock over the tomb. This man wanted to make sure no one tried to take or damage the body. He cared about Jesus and what would happen to Him. It was a Friday when Jesus was killed, and the next day was the Jewish Sabbath. This meant everyone had to rest and could not work. There were some women, though, who loved Jesus very much. They wanted to anoint His body with special oils. They waited until early Sunday morning, and then went to Jesus’ tomb, and had the surprise of a lifetime!

Read Matthew 28:1-4

Imagine that you had a video camera in the tomb, and you could watch what happened! Jesus’ body is there, lying on a flat stone inside the tomb. His body is wrapped in clothes, even his face and head. He is not breathing. He hasn’t moved since they laid His body there. His body is dead. Yes, His soul is in Heaven, but His body is silent.

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Sunday

Then, suddenly, there is an earthquake! The body in the tomb moves. Jesus’ heart begins to beat. The stone that was covering the opening to the tomb suddenly moves. Light fills the tomb, and an angel looks in! Jesus takes a big breath and sits up! He unwraps the cloths from his face, and then from His body! He stretches His arms and smiles at the angel. He walks to the opening and looks out on the morning sunshine. HE IS ALIVE! His body and His soul are united together, and HE IS ALIVE! HE IS ALIVE FOREVER! He walks out of the tomb into the garden.

Meanwhile, the guards felt the earthquake, saw the angel and ran for their lives! And the ladies who had come to the tomb encounter the angel – shinning and glorious! They must have thought, “WHAT IS HAPPENING!!!!” And the angel talks to them!

Read Matthew 28:5-7

Even though prophets had predicted that the Messiah would come back to life, and even though Jesus Himself told people what would happen, the disciples and followers of Jesus still didn’t expect what they would find when they went to the grave.

The women who first encountered the empty tomb and met the angel were so excited that they ran to tell the others. And who did they meet on the way?


Jesus was alive! He spoke to them! They could touch Him and talk to Him and worship Him! Can you imagine their excitement! The religious leaders failed! Judas failed! The Roman soldiers failed! The guards at the tomb failed! JESUS WAS VICTORIOUS OVER THE GRAVE!

When they saw the tomb and heard the angel, and saw Jesus, the ladies who had gone to the tomb, finally put the pieces together, and began to realize what had happened. Everything that happened all week was just leading up to this event! This was the most important thing! Jesus was alive – not just His spirit, but His body had come back to life!

The women rushed back into town and told the disciples. At first, they couldn’t believe it! Then they came to the empty tomb! And that day and in the days that followed, they also got to see Jesus, touch Him, talk to Him, ask Him questions, even eat with Him, AND worship Him.

And all of it happened so that we could live forever, too! Someday, all of us will die. But we will not stay dead either! Our soul will go to be with God in Heaven when we die. And some day, when Jesus comes back to earth again, our bodies will come back to life and we will live with Jesus in Heaven forever!

We don’t need to look for Jesus; He has risen! He’s just as alive in our midst and in our hearts today as He was on that first Easter morning. Let us rejoice! Jesus is risen! Jesus did not stay dead—He rose from the grave! What an amazing and awesome God we serve.

An angel appeared to spread the word and then Jesus Himself appeared. The women shared the good news with the disciples, and the disciples began to tell EVERYONE! Jesus proved that He alone is more powerful than sin and God alone is more powerful than death. Jesus is alive and this is the miracle we celebrate at Easter. Let’s be sure that we share that good news with others.

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Celebrate the truth that Jesus is risen. Just as the angel declared to the women, “He has risen,” today declare that Jesus is risen to everyone you encounter. Begin right now by shouting the good news that Jesus is risen as loud as you can. Jesus rose so we could have freedom from sin and friendship with God, and this is the best news we will ever hear!

Discussion:• What did the ladies expect to find when they went to the tomb that morning?• What frightened the guards?• What would you have been thinking if you were there that morning?• How does it make you feel to know we no longer have to fear death because Jesus has conquered it?

4. Response Activity Now take that gift box or bag and open it. Take out the jelly beans. Give each member of the family a bowl or cup of the jelly beans – and tell them they have to eat them in order by color as you read this poem together:

Jelly Bean PoemWrittenbyCharleneDickerson

Red is for the blood He gave.Green is for the grass He made.Yellow is for the sun so bright.Orange is for the edge of night.Blackisforthesinswemade.WhiteisforthegraceHegave.Purple is for His hour of sorrow.Pink is for our new tomorrow.Acupfullofjellybeans,colorfulandsweetIsaprayer,apromise,alovedone’streat!!

Another activity: Jesus wins trophy! Decorate cups or trophy-shaped items, and attach a caption of “Jesus wins the victory! He is risen!”

Another activity:Have an Easter egg hunt. Put treats in some of the eggs, in others put pictures to remind you of the events of Holy Week. Challenge the family to find the eggs, and then work together to put the events in the correct order. There are some pictures on the last page that you can print, cut apart, and put in the eggs.

5. WorshipSing songs of joy and celebration! He is alive!

6. Prayer Close with prayer and thanks to God for sending Jesus to save us. Ask for joy as we the work of Christ, and for courage in sharing God’s great love and gospel message with other people.

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