Two weeks ago in Sunday School class, I was told, the kids had tons of fun acting out the Triumphal Entry. They even had a “real” donkey, thanks to Jim and John. (Even though it wasn’t Palm Sunday yet, Jim and John asked to tell the story early on their storytelling week. Now I know why.)
Then last Sunday, which was Palm Sunday, we watched He is Risen from Animated Stories. We set up our chairs just like a theatre (that’s what Tommy said), and instead of popcorn, we had pretzels and crackers. We projected the movie on the wall like gigantic movie screen. And the captivating animation of the Betrayal, Crucifixion, and Resurrection made the Scriptures come alive in our little Sunday school classroom.
This Sunday, we had a dozen multi-colored plastic eggs, and inside each one was something that symbolized part of Passion Week. The kids selected their eggs–mostly by their favorite colors. They were eager to open them because they thought there was candy inside, but I was quick to tell them that wasn’t the case. And I firmly told them not to open their egg until I asked for their color.
As I called for each color, the child holding that egg would open it, show us what was inside, and we’d talk about what it represented, retelling that part of the Easter story. And so we walked our way through the events of Passion Week.
When we got to the last egg, Ben opened it. His face clouded with disappointment as he sat still, looking at the open egg in his hands. He didn’t say a word.
The entire class was clamoring to know what was in the egg. Isaac, sitting beside Ben, leaned over to look into the open egg. “It’s empty!” Isaac exclaimed in surprise.
Suddenly both boys looked at each other and cried out, “It’s empty because the tomb is empty!” Their excitement was electrifying.
In that moment in our little Sunday school classroom, I had a glimpse of the disciples’ excitement when they saw Jesus’ empty tomb.
Jesus has defeated the power of death.
His tomb is empty because He is alive!
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Slice of Life Tuesdays #SOL19
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We have the same set of Resurrection Eggs! We used mine at Boys’ Brigade, both the younger Anchors (5-8s) and then the older (up to 16) at a BB camp over an Easter weekend. They let the PGL leader open the last one – who had a very similar disappointed reaction so the boys had to explain why. So great for kids and adults to experience rather than just hear these things, isn’t it?