Where should I Look?
Items Needed:
- Various items
- Brown lunch bag
Gather various items that will fit inside a brown lunch bag (sock, keys, small toy, etc.). Instruct the children to turn their backs or close their eyes while you place an item in the bag. Allow a child to hold the bag, but explain they are not to reach inside the bag or look inside either. Tell the child to try to guess what is in the bag. After a short time, allow the child to look inside the bag and reveal the item’s identity. Add a different item and let others have a turn. Then talk about it:
Why was it hard to guess what was in the bag? (I couldn’t see it; I couldn’t touch it; It felt like something else; etc.)
Not seeing inside the bag made it harder to guess what was in there. We had to look inside the bag to know what the item was. Just like Mary and Mary Magdalene looked for Jesus inside the tomb, we should look inside the Bible to learn more about Jesus and how He wants us to live.
Celebrate!
Items needed:
- Plastic eggs
- Small slips of paper
Celebrate Easter by hiding and finding Easter eggs. (Can children ever get enough of egg hunts?) On each slip of paper, write one letter from the phrase Jesus is alive! Put a slip of paper inside the eggs. Hide these and some empty eggs too. Invite the children to find a message hidden in the eggs.
When all the eggs are found, open each one to find and unscramble the hidden message. Thank God for the gift of His Son dying and living again. Enjoy a special treat together!
Closer and Closer
Items Needed: Safe items to toss (large marshmallows, plastic eggs, small stuffed animals, etc.)
Play a simple tossing game to demonstrate the importance of being close to God. (If the weather is nice, play this game outside.) Divide family members into pairs. Instruct the players to stand across from each other about 12 feet apart. (If there is an odd number, designate one as the judge to make sure everyone plays fair.)
Give the item to be tossed to one player in each pair and ask them to throw it so the other person can catch it. (They probably won’t be able to.) Allow them to take one small step closer and continue the game. After each throw, let them move another step closer until their partner catches the item.
Why was it hard to catch the item at the beginning of our game? (My partner was too far away; My partner wasn’t paying attention; etc.)
Just as it was hard to catch the item when your partner was far away, it can be hard for us to learn about God if we don’t look inside His Word and learn about Him. God wants to speak to us through His Word, so we must read the Bible. He wants to listen to and answer our prayers, so we must talk to Him. When we read the Bible and talk to God, we will learn more about our Risen Savior and grow closer to Him.