1 ©2020 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Adapted by Messiah April 2020 • www.ThinkOrange.com

Week of Easter Sunday

The Way

Bible Story: Easter Story Bottom Line: Jesus put us first. Memory Verse: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather in humility value oth-ers above yourselves.” Philippians 2:3, NIV Life App: Humility—Putting others first by giving up what you think you deserve Basic Truth: I should treat others the way I want to be treated.

These activities are designed to go along with the Easter Story. You can listen to the Easter Story in our livestream Easter worship, or use a Bible or children’s Bible to read the story to your child. (John chapter 20) Activity #1: “Jelly Bean Bingo” What you Need:

Print the “Jellybean Bingo Sheets”; one for each person Print the “Bingo Tiles” Activity Pages; one set Jellybeans or some sort of treats or tokens; at least 10 for each kid A small bag or bucket

What You Do: Pass out the bingo cards and the jellybeans. Place the tiles in the bag/bucket. Have one person draw the tiles out one at a time, or take turns drawing out a tile. The person can say what that tile has to do with the Easter story They will place a jellybean on their sheet wherever they have the picture that was drawn. Play until someone calls, “Bingo,” and/or the tiles run out. Give a few extra jellybeans to the person who won. Trade cards, mix the tiles up, and play again! Let the kids eat the jellybeans

What You Say: “This was a good way to remember the Easter story. On that first Easter, Jesus died and was resur-rected. Even when things looked dark, Jesus put us first. “God wants us to be with Him forever. Easter is when the most important part of God’s plan actually happened. The people in the story—Mary and Peter and John—didn’t know that, but Jesus did. Jesus had been telling them and preparing them for this day for a long time. At the same time that Jesus put us first by dying on the cross, He was also caring for His friends and family by encouraging them to take care of each other and to believe in God.”

2 ©2020 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Adapted by Messiah April 2020 • www.ThinkOrange.com

Activity #2: “Easter Storytellers” What You Need:

Bible Paper Plastic eggs; one for each kid Crayons or markers Scissors Cut out small paper hearts and have the kids color one each of the following colors: yellow,

white, red, grey Place the four colored hearts inside a plastic egg.

What You Do: Give each child a plastic egg with the paper hearts inside. Have them open the egg and take out the colored paper hearts. Remind them that Easter is the story of God’s love for us. We can use the colored hearts as clues or reminders of events from the story of Jesus’ death

and resurrection. Guide the discussion to include the following story connections by asking . . .

o What does a RED HEART remind you of? (God loved us and sent Jesus to save us; Jesus died on the cross and shed His blood as a sacrifice for our sin.)

o What does a WHITE HEART remind you of? (Jesus’ body was wrapped in strips of cloth before He was placed in the tomb; Our sin is forgiven and our hearts are made clean when we put our faith in Jesus.)

o What does a DARK GREY HEART remind you of? (Jesus was buried in a dark tomb or cave that was sealed tightly with a huge stone; our sin like a dark, dirty stain on our heart keeps us out of heaven unless we ask God to forgive us)

o What does a YELLOW HEART remind you of? (an angel appeared at the tomb and told Jesus’ friends that He was no longer dead but had risen; darkness and sadness turned to sunshine and joy when Jesus came back to life)

Challenge the kids to use the “Easter Storyteller” hearts to share the true meaning of Easter with someone today.

Activity #3: “At the Cross” What You Need:

Print or draw the “Cross” from the attached Activity Page White shaving foam Table covering Wax paper or aluminum foil; one 16-inch length for each kid Masking tape Liquid water-based paint or food coloring

3 ©2020 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Adapted by Messiah April 2020 • www.ThinkOrange.com

Stir sticks, straws (or similar); one for each kid Cookie sheets or similar Rulers or spatulas Wet wipes Check out YouTube® tutorials, such as “Shaving Cream Marbled Paper” at:

http://bit.ly/34LlBBG What You Do:

Cover the work area with the table covering. (optional) Set a piece of wax paper in front of each kid. Squirt shaving cream onto the paper, making and filling about a 10-inch square. Invite kids to squirt drops of paint or food coloring on top of the shaving cream. A little goes a

long way! Lead kids to use a stir stick to swirl the paint to make a design. They can swirl up and down,

side to side, in circles, in starbursts, or randomly. Show kids how to carefully lay a paper cross face down on the shaving cream and LIGHTLY rub

the back of the paper. They should press just enough so that the entire underside of the paper comes into contact

with the shaving cream but not so hard that the foam squishes out the side of the paper. Carefully lift the paper and lay it on a cookie sheet with the shaving-cream side up. Use the ruler or spatula to scrape off the excess shaving cream. Set aside the paper to dry. Kids can make additional prints, adding paint and shaving cream as needed.

What You Say: This beautiful cross reminds us of the beautiful thing that Jesus did on the cross – He forgave our sins! Activity #4: “Up in the Air” What You Need:

10 Balloons Permanent markers Timer

What You Do: Blow up 10 balloons and tie them. Write one of the following 10 names on each balloon.

o Jewish leaders o Caiaphas o Judas o Peter o John o Soldiers o High Priest

4 ©2020 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Adapted by Messiah April 2020 • www.ThinkOrange.com

o Townspeople o Mary Magdalene o Jesus

Talk briefly about each person/people from the Bible story and what they must have felt, and then pick one person to draw on the balloon a face and facial expression that matches the feel-ings of the character.

o One side of the balloon will have the name written and the other side will have a picture of a face.

Use John 18-20 if you want to refer to the Bible story. Mention that balloons are usually a part of a celebration and ask what we have to celebrate to-

day. Play a balloon drop game:

o You can have everyone play together on this, or pair people up to take turns. o On your count of three, toss all of the balloons UP and the players try to keep all 10 bal-

loons up in the air. o If you are timing for a contest between pairs, keep time on your smartphone or watch.

Stop time as soon as one balloon hits the floor. Then let the next pair give it a try. o The pair that can keep the balloons in the air the longest wins!

Prayer Activity What You Need:

Print the “Color-Coded Prayer” Activity Page and cut apart. Yellow, blue, green, and pink Easter eggs; one for each kid

o Place a “Color-Coded Prayer” card inside the eggs. A basket for the eggs Optional: Small prizes or pieces of candy inside the eggs

What You Do: Have kids take a plastic egg in any color from the basket or carton. Explain that each color of egg represents a different type of prayer. Tell them to open the egg and take out the card inside. Have them say a prayer that goes along with what is on their card. When finished, invite kids to trade or choose another egg in a different color and repeat as time

allows. If you’ve chosen to add candy or prizes to the eggs, let kids take the eggs home.

God Time Pages Throughout the week, use the activities on the God Time pages to reinforce the story.