Let’s Play A Game!
Play Good News/Bad News as you are in the car or waiting somewhere. One person will start a story (fictional or real) by giving some good news. The person on their right will add some bad news to the story. The next person will change it up with some good news, and the story will continue going back and forth between good and bad news.
Then transfer this concept to the resurrection story. Let the children say, “Good news” and “Bad news” before each statement.
Good news: Jesus came to the earth.
Bad news: He was beaten and hung on a cross.
Good news: This was all part of God’s plan.
Bad news: The disciples were sad when they put Jesus in the tomb.
Good news: Jesus came alive on the third day.
Bad news: Mary Magdalene thought someone had stolen His body.
Good news: Jesus appeared to her.
Ask:
What do you think the bad news is about Jesus’ resurrection? (He suffered a lot for us; Not everyone knows about Jesus; Some people don’t know Jesus as their Savior; etc.)
What do you think the good news is? (Jesus took our punishment for sin; Jesus defeated death; Now we can go to Heaven when we die; etc.)
We can share this GOOD NEWS with the people we know.
Half the Picture?
Items Needed: Coloring book, crayons
Give your children half a page from a coloring book and instruct them to color it.
When they question why they have a torn paper, give them the other half of the paper, or allow them to pick a different page to color.
Discuss the activity with your children.
What was the problem with the first piece of paper I gave you? (Half of it was missing; it was torn in half; etc.)
What if we only knew the first part of Jesus’ death and resurrection story? If we only knew about Jesus’ crucifixion on Friday, we would wonder if He really did come to life again. We would be so sad because we would think His death on the cross was the end of His story. This would be a very sad and very different ending.
But we know the rest of the story! When the disciples and many others saw the resurrected Jesus, they saw the whole picture—Jesus is God, and He has power over death!
Memorize It!
Items needed: One balloon for each set of two family members, Bible
Review Philippians 2:10–11 as a family. Divide into groups of two and give each pair a balloon. Instruct them to say a word of the verse each time they hit the balloon back and forth.
What does this verse say? (Every knee will bow at the name of Jesus; Every tongue will confess Jesus Christ is Lord; etc.)
Jesus is powerful and worthy of our worship and respect. He rose from the dead proving His power over death. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we receive the gift of eternal life in Heaven. We will live again after we die too! Celebrate God’s power and share the message of Easter with others!