Easter

There are 2 different ideas here, I have used both of them.

Activity #1

Fill 12 easter eggs with the items listed below (number them, you will open them in order). Each item represents part of the Easter story. Hide the eggs and let your children find them. Then open them in order and read the scripture and talk about each one.

1. (Bread) Matthew 26:26
While they were eating Jesus took a piece of bread,gave a prayer of thanks, broke it, and gave it to His disciples."Take and eat it," He said, "This is My body."
2. (Coins) Matthew 26: 14-15
Then one of the twelve disciples, named Judas Iscariot, went tothe chief priests and asked, "What will you give me if I betrayJesus to you?" They counted out thirty silver coins and gave them to him.
3. (Purple cloth, representing a purple robe) Mark 15:17
They put a purple robe on Jesus. . .
4. (Thorns) Matthew 27:29
Then they made a crown out of thorny branches and placed it onHis head, and put a stick on His right hand; then they kneltbefore Him and made fun of Him. "Long live the King, of the Jews!" they said.
5. (Scourge-a small piece of rope or thick string) Mark 15:15
Pilate wanted to please the crowd, so he set Barabbas free forthem. Then he had Jesus whipped and handed Him over to becrucified.
6. (Cross) John 19: 17-18
He went out, carrying His cross, and came to "The Place of theSkull," as it is called. (In Hebrew it is called "Galgotha.") There they crucified Him.
7. (Nails) John 20:25
Thomas said to them, "Unless I see the scars of the nails in Hishands and put my finger on those scars and my hand in Hisside, I will not believe."
8. (Sign) Luke 23:38
Above Him were written these words: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
9. (Sponge) Matthew 27:48
One of them ran up at once, took a sponge, soaked it in cheapwine, put it on the end of a stick, and tried to make Him drink it.
10. (Spear) John 19:34
One of the soldiers plunged his spear into Jesus' side, and atonce blood and water poured out.
11. (Rock) Matthew 27:59-60
Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a new linen sheet, andplaced it in his own new tomb, which he had just recently dugout of solid rock. Then he rolled a large stone across theentrance to the tomb and went away.
12. (Empty) Matthew 28:6
He is not here He has risen just as He said.

Activity #2 (I can't remember where I found this idea, but I used it for sharing time and it was great!)

Gather pictures of Jesus Christ, the tomb, and a stone to cover the tomb. I just made my stone and tomb out of colored paper. There are some pictures here you could use.

Also, with the picture of Christ, cover it with wax paper and cut out the same shape. This will be Christ's Spirit.

Tell the story below using your cutouts:

"When Jesus was on Earth he taught that he would one day die but that he would overcome death. Many people didn't quite understand what he meant. Those who didn't believe His teachings wanted to kill him and finally they did. Jesus died on the cross. His spirit left to be with Heavenly Father. His friends took his body and laid it in the tomb (separate the spirit and body and place the body in the tomb and place the stone over it). Jesus' disciples and friends were so sad to think that He was gone forever. After three days Mary Magdalene went to the tomb but the stone was rolled away and His body was not there. She was afraid someone had stolen Him. Then she saw him. He was not dead but was alive again, resurrected. His spirit and body were reunited. Jesus then showed Himself to the disciples so they could testify that he lives. Jesus also showed himself to the Nephite people ion the American continent so they could also see that he was alive and loved them too. Because Jesus did this for us, all of us will one day be resurrected too. Someday our bodies and our spirits will be reunited and they will be perfect. We will not get sick or die again. "

You can then use the Christ and spirit cutout to explain more about what resurrection means. I then used this activity to review what we had talked about:

Cut a sheet of paper the same size as picture: The Resurrected Jesus Christ (Gospel Art Picture Kit 239; 62187), into eight pieces. Number the pieces from 1 to 8. Cover the picture by carefully fastening the pieces to the picture with paper clips or small pieces of tape.

Show the picture covered with the eight pieces of paper. Explain that hidden behind the papers is a special picture. Have the children take turns choosing a number from 1 to 8. After the question is answered, have a child remove the appropriate piece of paper, revealing part of the picture.

Use the following questions for the activity (or create some of your own):

1. Who will be resurrected? (Everyone.)
2. What does it mean to be resurrected? (To live again; to have our body and spirit joined again after death.)
3. What did the angel mean when he said, “He is risen”? (Jesus Christ had been resurrected.)
4. What are some of the things Jesus Christ did after he was resurrected? (He walked, talked, ate food, appeared to Mary Magdalene and to his disciples, let the disciples feel his hands and feet.)
5. Who is our Savior? (Jesus Christ.)
6. To whom did Jesus Christ appear after he was resurrected? (To Mary Magdalene and many of his disciples.)
7. Is Jesus Christ living now? (Yes, in heaven with Heavenly Father.)
8. Why was Jesus willing to die and be resurrected for us? (Because he loves us and wants us to be able to live again with him and Heavenly Father.)

When the entire picture is uncovered, explain that this is a painting of the resurrected Jesus Christ. When we see this picture, we can remember that because Jesus was resurrected everyone will be resurrected.