Happy Easter! There is good news - Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus is alive! Today, we can’t see Jesus walking on the earth like Mary and the disciples did. But if we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, ask Him to forgive us for the wrong things we have done, then He will forgive us and we can live forever with Him. Enjoy celebrating Easter all week by remembering that Jesus is alive!
HIGHLIGHTS from the Weekend…
Celebrate with your child this week because Jesus rose from the dead and is alive! On the third morning after the crucifixion, some women, Mary, Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, went to Jesus’ tomb to prepare His body for burial. When they neared the tomb, they realized the stone had been rolled away. They entered the tomb but did not find Jesus’ body. They were confused, but two men in gleaming clothes appeared. These men said, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” The women realized Jesus was alive! They were so excited and they went to tell the disciples! (Matthew 28:1-10, Mark 16:1-11, Luke 24:1-12 & John 20:1-18.)
Teaching Truth:
- Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus is alive!
Memory Verse
"But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." Romans 5:8
Three Activities that Help Us Learn This Week's Teaching Truth:
1. Easter Mobile
Finish with your Easter mobile or join in now by creating one with your child using a coat hanger, pieces of yarn, and various items. If you are just starting your mobile, write “Easter” on a piece of paper and let your child to decorate it with crayons. For this week, have your child create a stone out of crumpled brown paper to attach to the hanger for the stone that was rolled away. After you have attached the stone to the mobile, read Matthew 28:1-10 from the Bible and talk about these questions:
1. What did the women see when they came to the tomb?
2. How was the stone rolled away?
3. Where was Jesus?
4. Who did the women go tell that Jesus was gone?
2. Colors at Snack Time
During snack time, provide foods that are these different colors: black foods – blackberries or Oreos, red foods – strawberries, raspberries, or cherries, white foods – cauliflower, ranch dressing or angel food cake, and green foods – broccoli or green grapes, and yellow – unpeeled bananas or pineapple. Talk to your child about the gospel while they’re snacking using these colors. Black stands for sin which we all have. Red represents Jesus’ blood shed on the cross. White means forgiveness which Jesus gives us when we believe in Him. Green stand for growing in God by prayer and reading His Word. Yellow stands for heaven and that’s where all believers will get to be with God forever!
3. Retell the Easter Story
Help your child make several props to retell the story of Jesus and Easter. Using a round clothespin for Jesus, have your child draw a face on it. For clothes, wrap the pin with fabric scraps and tie with yarn. To make the cross, have your child glue two craft sticks together and decorate with markers. Grab a toilet paper roll, tissue paper, and a rock to make the tomb. Let your child cover the toilet paper roll with tissue paper so that it looks like a cave and seal the tomb with a rock the size of the end of the toilet paper roll. Now your child can act out the story using the props. If he wants, he can wrap Jesus’ body in gauze and place it in the tomb during that section of the story.
Pray
Father we are so grateful for Jesus! Thank you for sending your Son to die for us. Thank you for the grace you have given us and that you call us your children. We pray that you would help us to grow in your Truth and our love for you. Help us to choose your better way and to love the people around us to honor and glorify you.