The story of Jesus' crucifixion can be long and boring for kids when read straight from the Bible- mostly because it's filled with the people and places and long words that they don't understand. If your child will sit and listen, great!! I sugggest reading from Matthew. If you have a younger child, try this link to a very accurate, but kid-friendly, version of the Easter story. It starts off after the crucifixion, so I've summed up the events leading up to His death below to help.
http://childrenschapel.org/biblestories/easter.html
_________________________________________________________________________________
Main Events Leading up to His Death (You can use this to sum up the story of His crucifixion):
Matthew 21:1-10. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey- a colt that had never been ridden before. This showed both His humility and His Lordship. It was prophesied several hundred years earlier in Zechariah 9. The people were overjoyed- they thought Jesus was coming to set up an earthly kingdom- one that would free them from the Roman government. Jesus' Kingdom, however, is not of this earth. It is a spiritual Kingdom.
Matthew 26:6-13. Jesus was annointed with perfume. Jesus said that this was done to prepare Him for burial. John 12:4-6 explains that Judas Iscariot, who would betray Him, was angry with the woman. The perfume was very expensive and could have been sold. Judas said he wanted to sell it and give the money to the poor, but he really wanted to keep some of the money for himself. In Matthew we see that he went to the chief priests after this and said, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?" (Matt. 26:14)
Matthew 26:17-30. The Last Supper. Jesus celebrated the Passover meal with His disciples. While sitting at the table, He stated, "Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” (Matt. 26:21) He knew it was Judas and called him out on it. Judas left to get the chief priests
Matthew 26:36-46. The Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus and His disciples went to the garden to pray. His disciples kept falling asleep. Jesus prayed that God would deliver Him if there was any other way that He could save the people without going through the agony of the cross- but He prayed for God's will to be done, not His own. In Luke we learn that He was distressed to the point that He sweated blood. This is a very rare condition, but real- it's called Hematidrosis. Click here for a wikipedia page to learn more.
Matthew 26:47-56. Jesus is arrested. Judas came to the garden with a crowd carrying clubs and swords. He gave Jesus a kiss- a common greeting custom of the time- to indicate that he was the one who should be arrested. We learn in the next chapter that Judas felt sorry for what he had done and tried to return the money. He then went out and hanged himself. The priests used the money to buy a field to use as a cemetery for the poor- also prophesied about several hundred years earlier.
Matthew 27:11-26. Jesus stands trial. Here, Jesus stood silent. He was beaten badly, even though neither Pilate or Herod Antipas could find anything to charge Him with. The people were indignant. They were given the chance to have a prisoner released, but instead of Jesus they chose Barabbas- a rebellion leader. To please the people, Jesus was sent to the cross to be crucified.
Matthew 27:27-44. Jesus is crucified. The soldiers beat Him badly. They put a crown of thorns on His head and a purple robe on His back- no doubt painful after being flogged. The whips they used at that time had shards of glass, bone and rock woven into them. He was spit on, kicked, beaten and mocked. He was so weak that the soldiers forced a man named Simon to carry His cross to the crucifixion site. They placed a mocking sign above Him that said "This is the King of the Jews." While He was on the cross, darkness fell over the land from noon until about 3pm. When He died, there was a huge earthquake. The Temple curtain was torn in two- symbolic of our now being able to approach God through Christ. The Bible states that several godly men and women rose from the dead at that time, as well. This is where the story I've linked to above begins.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Today's Activity:
The first one is appropriate for toddlers AND preschoolers- yay!
Again, to print, right-click on the image and select "Print Target" or right click on the image, select "Save As" and save it to your desktop. Print from there.
1) Make a cross
You will need:
Crayons (or whatever you have)
Cheerios, macaroni noodles or other glue-able food
Glue
(Optional) Beads, buttons or other glue-able crafty things
(Optional) Sugar and food coloring- mix the sugar with a few drops of food coloring to make glitter. Totally safe if the little ones want to eat a bit. You can also color cheerios and noodles with food coloring- put them into a baggie, add a few drops and shake. Just be sure to let them dry on a paper towel before your little one's hands touch them, or they'll be stained:)
Decorate the cross below (or make your own) with cereal, noodles, sugar glitter or other fun crafty things! To make it more sturdy, cut out the design on an empty cereal box instead of paper.
Easter Maze:
Help your kids get through the maze of events leading up to the cross! (Lovely, isn't it? *cough*cough*) Start at the donkey and end at the cross, talking about each as your kiddo makes her way through.
Again, be sure to keep the conversation going today about Jesus dying on the cross and rising from the dead. Be sure to tie in the lesson from yesterday about our sin being transferred to Him when He died. This is why we celebrate Easter! Because Jesus died, taking our sins, and rose again, defeating death. Because He died, we can have eternal life! More on that tomorrow- until then, happy crafting:)
A SPECIAL NOTE:
Tomorrow I'll be posting the recipe and instructions for "Resurrection Cookies". I REALLY want to encourage you to participate in this- it's such a great visual of Easter. Many people like to do this on Saturday before Easter, then eat the cookies Easter morning. I'll be cooking them tonight and then we'll eat them tomorrow, so that I can post here (and because we'll be out of town for Easter). Here is the ingredients list so you can be prepared:
1cup whole pecans
1tsp vinegar
3 egg whites
pinch salt
1 cup sugar
ziplock bag
wooden spoon
tape
Bible
No comments:
Post a Comment