e x p e r i e n c ing lent - christcommunityolathe.org...give your kids lots of opportunities to ask...

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Copyright © 2018 The Foundry Publishing. Permission to print, distribute, and copy for church use only. All rights reserved.

• H O W T O U S E T HE L E N T 2 0 18 • FA MILY W O R S HIP A C T I V I T IE S

The Family Worship Activities have been created to help young worshipers engage with the text in an inter-

generational or family worship setting. These activities are ideal for churches that practice family worship

weekly, monthly, quarterly, or during special services. Depending on your church’s format, you may only use

the activities for Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, and/or Good Friday. Or you may use all the activities

provided in this resource for every worship gathering your church hosts throughout Lent.

Alternatively, feel free to use the Family Worship Activities to supplement a children’s worship experience or

to engage young hands and minds during intergenerational small groups.

To prepare for these activities before a service or gathering, provide sets of supplies for each child to take to

their seat. You can distribute the supplies in a bag, box, bucket, or any other delivery method that works for

you. The instructions and questions for each activity will provide a framework for helping young worship-

ers and their families engage a Lenten scripture, which can be projected on a screen during the sermon or

printed and included with the children’s supplies.

• E X P E R I E N C I N G •

Lent

1 FEBRUARY 14, 2018ASH WEDNESDAY


• A S H W E DN E S D AY • FA MILY W O R S HIP A C T I V I T IE S

FEBRUARY 14, 2018

Scripture Reading: Matthew 6:1–6, 16–21

Additional Scriptures: Joel 2:1–2, 12–17 or Isaiah 58:1–12; Psalm 51:1–17; 2 Corinthians 5:20b–6:10

Believe it or not, Ash Wednesday is a great place to include children in worship. It’s naturally multisensory

and image-rich, but the liturgy and ritual of an Ash Wednesday service also deserve some explanation.

STEP 1: TALK ABOUT IT

Explain Ash Wednesday to your kids. A great resource you may consider using is Kyle Tyler’s “How to

Explain Ash Wednesday to Your Children,” found online at The Foundry Community blog (http://thisisthe-

community.com/how-to-explain-ash-wednesday-to-your-children/), or in printable form in the Experiencing

Lent resource files.

STEP 2: INCLUDE ALL WORSHIPERS

Invite families to participate in an Ash Wednesday service together. If your church doesn’t host an Ash

Wednesday service or offers separate activities for kids on Wednesdays, including Ash Wednesday, there are

still many ways to engage kids in the experience.

STEP 3: EXPRESS IT

Using one or more of the three options offered here, help kids make a tangible, relatable connection to the

symbolism and the meaning behind the ritual of Ash Wednesday.

Option 1: Tell the history of the pretzel.

Supplies Needed

• Twisted pretzels (doesn’t matter whether soft or hard; just don’t use pretzel sticks)

• History of the Pretzel story (found in printable form in the Experiencing Lent resource files)


Lent



Option 2: Create scratch-paper crosses.

Supplies Needed

• Black scratch art paper (can be purchased from craft or art supply stores, or from Amazon)*

• Scratching device (kebab skewer, pencil, paper clip, etc.)

Encourage kids to use their scratching device to create a cross on their black scratch paper. Ask them to

make observations.

• What does the blackness represent? (darkness, death, sin)

• What do you notice as you begin scratching?

• What could the revealed colors represent? (light, hope, life)

• On Ash Wednesday, we are reminded that we came from dust and that one day we will return to

dust, but there is one thing that gives us the hope of life. What is it? (the cross, Jesus)

*To keep costs low, you can cut pages in half, doubling your inventory, or scratch paper can be made at home by

coloring a piece of card stock or heavy construction paper and painting over it with black acrylic paint or India ink.

Option 3: Make the sign of the cross.

Supplies Needed

• Large piece of burlap fabric or canvas drop cloth

• Paintbrushes

• Black paint

OR

• White card stock

• Artists’ charcoal (can be purchased from craft or art supply stores, or from Amazon)

Kids engage and learn when they’re given the opportunity to imitate what they see the adults in their lives

doing. As a church family, midweek children’s activity, small group, or nuclear family, you can provide that

opportunity in one of the following ways:

1. Cover a table with light-colored fabric, such as burlap or a canvas drop cloth. Set out paintbrushes

and black paint. Encourage those who receive the mark of the cross to paint a cross on the fabric as

they walk back to their seats or at the conclusion of the service before they leave the worship space.

Hang the collective work of art somewhere visible throughout the season of Lent.

OR

2. Pre-cut or invite children to cut their own white card stock into the shape of a cross. Ask each

student to rub their thumb on a piece of artists’ charcoal. Then instruct them to use their charcoal-

covered thumb to rub the shape of a cross onto the card stock. Invite them to repeat this as many

times as they’d like, either making many small crosses on their card stock or covering their card

stock in one large cross.



• H O W T O E X P L A IN A S H W E DN E S D AY • T O Y O UR C H IL DR E N

BY KYLE TYLER

“Mom, what’s Ash Wednesday?”

“Well, sweetie, it’s the first day of Lent, when we get ashes put on our forehead.”

“Why?”

“Well, because . . . it’s . . . you see, the ashes represent. . . . A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away—Hey,

how about a popsicle?”

What in the world is going on with Ash Wednesday? How do we talk to our kids about it? For that matter,

how do we talk to other adults about it? From dust I came, and to dust I’ll return? Great, now I feel awe-

some.

If you’d like to have an intentional conversation with your kids before ashes are imposed onto their fore-

heads and they’re left wondering when their bodies will suddenly be turning into a pile of dust, here are

some thoughts on how to communicate with children what Ash Wednesday’s all about. I know this topic

can seem heavy. Rest assured that kids can handle these conversations when they’re initiated and engaged

with patience and grace.

Scripture makes it clear that sin requires one thing as payment, and that one thing is death. Death exists

because sin exists. Therefore, in the absence of a relationship with Jesus, we are required to pay for our own

sin with our own death. However, when we have faith in Jesus—who conquered death with his sacrifice—

and we believe in him in our hearts and confess with our mouths that he is Lord, we are given the gift of

living in his kingdom. That’s his kingdom now, and forever.

During Lent, we dwell in Jesus’s story. We dwell in his miracles, his love, and his ultimate sacrifice. At the

end of Lent, we celebrate together. Easter is a celebration of Christ’s victory over death and the gift he offers

us—victory over death. On the cross, Christ took our death punishment. Therefore, we live in the hope of

heaven. We know that, because of the cross, we will have the gift of eternal life.

That’s good news.


Lent



But the good news is so good because the bad news is so bad. Without the cross, death is the end of the

story.

So, on Ash Wednesday, a pastor may put ashes on your forehead. These ashes represent death and life.

The pastor might say something like, “From dust you came, and to dust you will return.” This is just a

reminder that we are mortal. Nobody lives forever. We are flesh, and flesh dies.

Then the pastor might say something like, “Repent, and believe in the good news of Jesus.” This is a re-

minder that the cross, which you are now wearing on your forehead, is the only thing that saves us from

death. Even though we will die someday, that is not the end of our story. Because we have hope in Christ’s

sacrifice and resurrection, we are not stuck in the story of dust.

On Ash Wednesday, we are reminded of hope. We are given the cross as a reminder that Jesus’s victory can

become our own, and our lives don’t have to end when our bodies turn to dust again. We are eternal. We

can choose eternal ashes or eternal life.

You may not explain all of this to your kids right away, but hopefully this will give you a good foundation

to build on when you’re sitting in a pew in a quiet sanctuary with your six-year-old, who tugs on your sleeve

and whispers, “What’s Ash Wednesday?”

Give your kids lots of opportunities to ask questions this Lenten season. Learn together. Grow together.

Your ashes call attention to both the bad news and the good news—death and life.

For younger children, having a simple script can be helpful. Your answer might sound something like this:

These ashes make us think of death. We are part of this world, and someday we will die. But do you see

how the ashes are being made into crosses? Jesus is more powerful than death! He beat death when he died

on the cross and came back to life! If we love him as our Savior, King, and Friend, we can live with him

now and forever—even after we die! Ashes mean death, but the cross means life!



• A S H W E DN E S D AY •FEBRUARY 14, 2018

The History of the Pretzel

Pretzels have been a food associated with Lent for about 1,500 years!

The story goes that, long ago, a monk—a man who had given his life to following God, to the study of Scrip-

ture, and to prayer—wanted to remind his young students to pray, and he wanted to reward the ones who had

memorized their prayers. (In those days, people crossed their arms over their chest to pray instead of putting

their hands together like we might do today.) So the monk went to the kitchen and mixed up a simple dough

using flour, water, and salt. He rolled the dough into long rolls and then, before baking it into a soft bread,

twisted it so that it looked like arms crossed for prayer. He shared with his students and fellow monks what

he called bracchiola, which is a Latin word that translates “little arms.” Later, the Germans used the German

word brezels for the translation of bracchiola, and eventually they became known as pretzels.

Back then, the church had strict rules for fasting during Lent. All types of meat, dairy, and eggs were pro-

hibited as a reminder of the forty days that Jesus fasted in the wilderness. The pretzel—made only of flour,

salt, and water—became the perfect food for Lent because its simple ingredients did not violate the strict

guidelines of Lenten fasting, and its twisted shape served as a reminder to Christians to spend time during

Lent reflecting and praying.

For hundreds of years, monks baked pretzels as a symbol of spiritual and physical nourishment. Even today,

pretzels can serve as an important reminder to us. As we enter into this season of Lent that Christians have

been observing for nearly 2,000 years, we want to prepare to remember Jesus’s death and to celebrate his

resurrection well. We can do that by giving up—or, fasting from—something. We can also do that by pray-

ing. As we do these things, we’ll be making space to allow God to speak to us and to work in our lives.


Lent

1 FEBRUARY 18, 2018FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT


• F IR S T S U N D AY IN L E N T • FA MILY W O R S HIP A C T I V I T IE S

FEBRUARY 18, 2018

Scripture Reading: Mark 1:9–15

Additional Scriptures: Genesis 9:8–17; Psalm 25:1–10; 1 Peter 3:18–22

Option 1: Draw an imaginative representation of heaven.

Supplies Needed

• Individual white boards

• Dry erase markers

Mark 1:10 says, “Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit

descending.” This doesn’t mean that Jesus saw a little door open way up in the sky. In the Bible, the word

heaven often means God’s dimension that is beyond the ordinary world we see with our eyes. It’s like a cur-

tain was pulled back. Draw a picture of what God’s reality might be like.

Ask: What do you think God’s reality (heaven) is like? What do you think you would see if the veil or cur-

tain between heaven and earth was pulled back?

Option 2: Draw a self-portrait of a child of God.

Supplies Needed

• Printouts of the file called “You Are My Child”

• Crayons or colored pencils

Draw a picture of yourself in the picture frame. If you can read, read the words at the top of the frame. If

you need help reading, ask an adult to read the words to you.

Ask: What does it mean to you to be God’s child? How does it make you feel to know that God is delighted

with you?


Lent

2 FEBRUARY 18, 2018FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT


Option 3: Create the Wilderness.

Supplies Needed

• Play-Doh

OR

• Scrap construction paper

• Glue stick

• 1 whole piece of construction paper

Use your Play-Doh to create things that might have been in the wilderness with Jesus that day. Mark tells us

there were wild beasts and angels with Jesus and that Satan tempted him there.

OR

Tear the scraps of construction paper into figures that represent things that might have been in the wilder-

ness with Jesus (wild beasts, angels, plants, etc.). Think of your paper shapes as shadows of things that were

in the wilderness. Glue your figures onto the large piece of construction paper.

Ask: Why do you think the Spirit sent Jesus into the wilderness? Was Jesus alone there? Can we trust God

not to leave us alone in hard places?

You are my child. I am delighted with you —God

1 FEBRUARY 25, 2018SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT


• S E C O N D S U N D AY IN L E N T • FA MILY W O R S HIP A C T I V I T IE S

FEBRUARY 25, 2018


Additional Scriptures: Genesis 17:1–7, 15–16; Psalm 22:23–31; Romans 4:13–25

Option 1: Make a twig cross.

Supplies Needed

• Rough twigs or small branches cut into 4.5” and 2.5” lengths

• Length of string, twine, or dental floss

• Scrap paper or precut or pre-printed tag

Make a cross shape with the twigs. Wrap the string around the twigs, at the heart of the cross, in an X

shape, to hold the twigs in place. Tie the string with a knot.

Make a tag to attach to the cross. Write the words from Mark 8:34 on the tag: Whoever wants to be my

disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

Ask: What does it mean to take up our cross? In what ways we can do that in our everyday lives?

Option 2: Draw an imaginative representation of contrasting kingdoms.

Supplies Needed

• A piece of paper


Fold your piece of paper in half and draw a line on the crease.

On the left side, draw a picture of the kind of kingdom Jesus’s disciples are imagining—where the Roman

government has been overthrown, Jesus is the new political leader, and the Jewish people are now in places

of power and influence (rather than at the bottom of the social ladder).


Lent

2 FEBRUARY 25, 2018SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT


On the right side, draw a picture of God’s kingdom—where everyone is welcome and there are no more

power structures or top dogs or fighting. Even Jesus, who is the King of kings, has given up his own life,

and he is calling everyone who is part of his kingdom to do the same.

Ask: How is God’s kingdom different from the kind of kingdom we’re used to seeing and imagining? How

can we be a part of God’s kingdom right now?

Option 3: Try a new way of looking at things.

Look around your worship space. Pay careful attention to the things you see.

Next, hold your pointer finger and your thumb close together and look through the tiny gap with just one

eye. Notice how your perspective changes. What do you see now?

If your worship space is conducive to movement, turn your head upside down. Notice how your perspective

changes again. How do things look different when you’re upside down?

Ask: How was Jesus’s view about what was going to happen different from the viewpoint of his disciples?

Why do you think they saw things so differently? How can we see things through Jesus’s eyes?

1 MARCH 4, 2018THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT


• T H IR D S U N D AY IN L E N T • FA MILY W O R S HIP A C T I V I T IE S

MARCH 4, 2018

Scripture Reading: John 2:13–22

Additional Scriptures: Exodus 20:1–17; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 1:18–25

Option 1: Draw a comic strip.

Supplies Needed

• Comic strip design printed on handouts for each child (see printable templates included in the Expe-

riencing Lent resource, or feel free to create or find your own templates)

• Pencil or colored pencils

Use the comic strip to retell and illustrate the events found in John 2:13–22. Capture the facial expressions,

words, and thoughts of other people who might have been watching and listening.

Ask: What would you have been thinking or saying if you had been in the crowds that day? What are you

wondering now?

Option 2: Build a temple.

Supplies Needed

• Play-Doh

• Picture of the first-century temple (printable picture included in the Experiencing Lent resource)

Look at the picture of what the temple may have looked like around the time that Jesus lived. Use your Play-

Doh to build your own model of the temple.

Ask: How does the model of the temple compare to buildings you’d see today? What made the temple so

special to the Jewish people? What is more important: church buildings or people? Why?


Lent

2 MARCH 4, 2018THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT


Option 3: Put yourself in Jesus’s shoes.

Supplies Needed

• Human body outline (printable handout included in the Experiencing Lent resource)


In John 2, we learn that Jesus is now the dwelling place of God, not the temple. As God’s presence in the

world, what are some things Jesus thought, said, saw, did, and felt? Use the boxes found around the body

outline to describe some things that Jesus thought, said, saw, did, and felt.

Ask: If you are the temple of God and God’s Spirit dwells in you and not in a building, how does that affect

how you think and act, what you do and say, and where you go?

Option 3_Human Body Outline.indd 1 1/15/2018 2:50:26 PM

1 MARCH 11, 2018FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT


• F O UR T H S U N D AY IN L E N T • FA MILY W O R S HIP A C T I V I T IE S

MARCH 11, 2018


Additional Scriptures: Numbers 21:4–9; Psalm 107:1–3, 17–22; Ephesians 2:1–10

Option 1: Draw the story.

Supplies Needed

• Whiteboard

• Dry erase marker

Draw a picture that illustrates John 3:14–21. You can use lots of images (the snake being lifted up, God lov-

ing the world, light and darkness), or you can choose just one image that jumps out at you.

Ask: What is your “wow!” moment from this text? What jumps out at you, sticks in your head, makes you

say, “Whoa!”? What are you wondering when you listen to or read this Scripture passage?

Option 2: Bake (and eat!) earth cookies.

Supplies Needed

• Sugar-cookie dough (enough for each child to have a cookie; store-bought cookie mix is fine)

• Blue food coloring

• Green food coloring

• Heart candy (optional)

Beforehand: mix half of the cookie dough with green food coloring and half with blue food coloring. For

each cookie, pull pieces of each dough color out and roll them together into a ball so the blue and the green

dough are swirled together. Bake according to the instructions on the recipe that came with your dough.

Top with a heart-shaped candy if you desire.


Lent

2 MARCH 11, 2018FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT


After handing out the cookies to the children: Take a careful look at your earth cookie. What do you no-

tice? Eat it slowly, paying attention to the taste. As you eat, think about how John 3 says that God loved the

whole world enough to send Jesus.

Ask: How does the cookie make you think of God’s love? In what ways is God’s love good and sweet? In

what ways can God’s love be hard or challenging?

Option 3: Compare the light to the darkness.

Supplies Needed

• Paper


Fold your paper in half. On one side, draw a picture that represents light. On the other side, draw a picture

that represents darkness.

Ask: Why do you think we often hear about light and darkness in Scripture? What do they represent? How

can we be people who live in the light?

1 MARCH 18, 2018FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT


• F IF T H S U N D AY IN L E N T • FA MILY W O R S HIP A C T I V I T IE S

MARCH 18, 2018


Additional Scriptures: Jeremiah 31:31–34; Psalm 51:1–12 or Psalm 119:9–16; Hebrews 5:5–10

Option 1: Trace Jesus’s path through the maze.

Supplies Needed

• Follow Me Maze

• Pencil or pen

Complete each maze. As you work, contemplate what it means to follow Jesus.

Ask: What does Jesus mean when he says, “Whoever serves me must follow me”? In what ways can we fol-

low Jesus?

Option 2: Draw a representation of a seed blooming into a plant.

Supplies Needed

• A large seed for each child

• Construction paper

• Glue stick


Draw a horizontal line across your paper to represent the ground. Glue your seed under the ground. Draw

roots going down from the seed and a stem going up from it. Draw a flower or a plant growing from the

stem above the ground.

Ask: As seasons change and plants die, how are new plants produced? Does each plant produce just one

seed, or does it produce many seeds? Why do you think this is? How did Jesus produce many seeds?


Lent

2 MARCH 18, 2018FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT


Option 3: Draw the voice from heaven.

Supplies Needed

• Whiteboard


Read John 12:27–30. It starts with Jesus saying, “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father,

save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd that was there and

heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.

Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine.”

Imagine the reactions of the people in crowd that day. Use your whiteboard and markers to draw a picture

illustrating that event. Include people’s expressions, words, and reactions.

Ask: What do you think their faces looked like when they heard a voice from heaven during Jesus’s teach-

ing? How would you feel if you heard something like that? Why do you think Jesus said the voice came for

their benefit and not his?

1 MARCH 25, 2018PALM SUNDAY


• PA L M S U N D AY • FA MILY W O R S HIP A C T I V I T IE S

MARCH 25, 2018


Additional Scriptures: Psalm 118:1–2, 19–29

Option 1: Wave palm branches.

Supplies Needed

• Mark 11:1–11

• Paper palm branches OR real palm branches

Toward the beginning of the service, read the Gospel text for today. Then invite kids to wave palm branches

from their seats or while proceeding in a line from the back to the front of your worship space while a song

is played or sung. A couple of good song options might be “Hosanna,” by Hillsong or the hymn “Hosanna,

Loud Hosanna.”

Invite the kids to place the palm branches at a place of significance—such as near the cross, the Commu-

nion table, or the altar—and then return to their seats.

Ask: There were lots of people entering Jerusalem that day to get ready for Passover. What was so special

about Jesus’s entry? What did people do to show Jesus the same respect they would show a king?

Option 2: Make palm branches.

Supplies Needed

• Green construction paper

• Scissors

• Green pipe cleaner or a kebab skewer (optional)


Lent

2 MARCH 25, 2018PALM SUNDAY


Fold the green paper in half hot-dog style. Then cut it into a large, curved-leaf shape. While the paper is still

folded, cut triangle shaped wedges along the edge of the leaf (but not along the fold). Open up the leaf. If

desired, glue a pipe cleaner or kebab skewer along the fold with 2–3 inches sticking below the leaf to make a

stem.

Ask: How was Jesus different from what the people in the crowd expected? What did they expect Jesus to

do? What did Jesus actually do? How do you think you would have felt if you had been watching the events

unfold from Jesus’s triumphal entry to his trial?

Option 3: Spot the differences.

Supplies Needed

• Paper


Create your own “spot the differences” picture. Fold your paper in half. Draw a line down the fold. On the

left side, draw a picture of the joyful crowd praising Jesus as he entered Jerusalem on the donkey. Include

their palm branch waving, facial expressions, speech bubbles, and any other details you think are impor-

tant. Then on the right side, draw the angry crowd at Jesus’s trial. Include facial expressions, speech bub-

bles, and any other important details.

Ask: How are the two sides of your picture similar? How are they different? What changed for the people in

the crowd? How did it change so drastically?

1 MARCH 29, 2018MAUNDY THURSDAY


• M A U N DY T HUR S D AY • FA MILY W O R S HIP A C T I V I T IE S

MARCH 29, 2018

Scripture Reading: John 13:1–17, 31b–35

Additional Scriptures: Exodus 12:1–4, (5–10), 11–14; Psalm 116:1–2, 12–19; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26

Maundy Thursday is a great opportunity to engage young worshipers with multisensory experiences. Con-

sider preparing a Seder meal that the entire church family can participate in, or facilitating a foot-washing

experience for families. Or, make space for some of the following options.

Option 1: Eat a simple Seder meal.

Supplies Needed

• Small plates

• Plastic wrap to cover plates (optional)

• Small pieces of meat, shredded or cut up (lamb is great, but something simple like chicken can work

too)

• Unleavened bread (such as matzo, which is a flat, cracker bread, or pita bread)

• Boiled egg

• Bitter herbs (horseradish is common, but lettuce leaves are also a good option)

• Charoseth (a mixture of chopped apples, walnuts, grape juice, cinnamon, and brown sugar)

• Fresh parsley

• Salt

• Grape juice


Lent



In advance, prepare small plates with small portions of some or all of the simple Seder meal foods. Print

and distribute the Seder Meal handout that explains the purpose of the Passover Feast and the symbolism of

each of the food items.

Ask: Why is this meal so important to the Jewish people? What do some of the foods mean? What can this

meal remind us of today?

Option 2: Wash your feet.

Supplies Needed

• A thin washcloth or towel cut into approximately 4x4” pieces for each child. (Inexpensive dollar-

store washcloths, hand towels, or dish towels will work for this experience.)

As the scripture is read, hold your towel. Feel it. Imagine what it would have been like to be with Jesus that

evening. Imagine him pouring water over your feet and drying them with a towel like this one.

Ask: How would it feel? What would you be wondering? What would you do or say?

Take your shoes off. Look carefully at your feet. Wipe them with the towel.

Ask: How clean would your feet have been if you had been walking, barefoot or in sandals, on a dusty road

to Jerusalem? Whose job was it to wash feet in those days? Why did Jesus wash his disciples’ feet and say

that we must do the same?

Option 3: Draw the foot-washing scene.

• Whiteboard


Draw a picture of the scene depicted in this passage of Scripture. Include speech bubbles for some of the

things that Peter and Jesus say. Include thought bubbles for the rest of the disciples.

Ask: What do you think the disciples were thinking or feeling? How would you be thinking or feeling if

someone got up from the table at a very important meal and started washing your feet? What does washing

feet symbolize?



• M A U N DY T HUR S D AY •MARCH 29, 2018

A Simple Seder Meal

We celebrate this feast to help us remember that God rescued the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. On the

night before God delivered them, God told the Israelites to kill a lamb and cover the top of their doorway

with its blood. Every Israelite family who did what God said was protected from the plague of death in their

home.

Many years later, Jesus (God’s Son) came to earth in human form and died on the cross as a fulfillment

of the Old Testament sacrifice. He became the ultimate sacrificial lamb. We no longer have to kill a lamb

for the forgiveness of sin. Jesus’s blood was shed so that all people can be forgiven, healed, and made new.

Through Jesus’s death and resurrection, the relationship between God and people that was broken way back

in the garden of Eden is restored.

The night before Christ died, he celebrated the Passover dinner with his disciples and said that from now on

(until the end of the age) we are to partake of the Lord’s Supper as a reminder of his death and resurrection

until he comes again.

MEAT: We eat this in memory of the lamb the Israelites sacrificed the night before they escaped Egypt. Jesus

was our final, perfect Lamb, who was sacrificed for all.

UNLEAVENED BREAD: We eat this to remember that the Israelites didn’t have time to wait for their leavened

bread (bread with yeast) to rise. They had to be ready to go when God said GO. At the Last Supper, Jesus

told us that the bread would represent his body that was broken for us. We eat it in remembrance of his

body that was sacrificed for us.

BOILED EGG: (In Jewish tradition it is a roasted egg.) The egg stands for renewal. The Israelites were going to

start a new life, and we have new life in Christ because of what he did on the cross for us.


Lent



BITTER HERBS: We serve bitter herbs as a reminder of the bitterness of the slavery in Egypt. Jesus suffered

greatly for us, that we may be saved. On the cross, Jesus was given bitter vinegar on a sponge to drink.

CHAROSETH: This mixture symbolizes the mortar and bricks the Israelites used to make the bricks for the

king of Egypt.

KARPAS: (We use parsley for this.) These plants stay green all year and represent everlasting life because of

Christ’s resurrection.

SALT WATER: Our parsley has been dipped in salt to represent the tears of the Israelites in bondage. Today it

can represent our tears for those still experiencing injustice today.

GRAPE JUICE: At the Last Supper Jesus said that the wine represented his own blood, poured out for us all.

Drink in remembrance of him until he comes again.

1 MARCH 30, 2018GOOD FRIDAY


• G O O D F R ID AY • FA MILY W O R S HIP A C T I V I T IE S

MARCH 30, 2018

Scripture Reading: John 18:1–19:42

Additional Scriptures: Isaiah 52:13–53:12; Psalm 22; Hebrews 10:16–25 or Hebrews 4:14–16; 5:7–9

Good Friday, like Maundy Thursday, also lends itself to multisensory experiences that engage young wor-

shipers. Invite your young worshipers to join you in your worship experience, whether it is a Tenebrae ser-

vice, a focus on the last words of Jesus, the stations of the cross, or a more traditional service. Things like a

gradual darkening of the worship space can be valuable experiences for young worshipers, but they can also

seem a little unknown or scary. Be intentional about explaining what’s going to happen and answering any

questions beforehand so your youngest worshipers know what to expect.

Option 1: Draw the service.

Supplies Needed

• Blank paper


Use your crayons or colored pencils to draw what you see, experience, wonder, or feel throughout the Good

Friday service.

Ask: What is happening in the passages of Scripture I hear? How does it make me feel? Why?

Option 2: Write/draw a movie plot.

Supplies Needed

• Film strip printable



Lent

2 MARCH 30, 2018GOOD FRIDAY


Use the boxes in the printed film strip to draw the events of Jesus’s trial and death. Illustrate what happened

first, second, third, etc. Include the events that stand out to you most. Imagine yourself (and maybe even

draw yourself) in each of these scenes.

Ask: What is your WOW! from this passage of Scripture? In other words, what surprises you, shocks you,

or is particularly interesting? What are you wondering? Can you imagine yourself watching these events

unfold? What do you think you would be thinking, feeling, saying, or doing?

Option 3: Fashion story symbols from pipe cleaners.

Supplies Needed

• 8–10 pipe cleaners per child

Use your pipe cleaners to make symbols to represent the things you hear in this text—such as a crown of

thorns, a cross, a sponge with vinegar, or a spear.

Ask: What do these symbols mean to us today? Are they used in the same ways? What does Jesus’s death

mean to you today?

1 APRIL 1, 2018EASTER SUNDAY


• E A S T E R S U N D AY • FA MILY W O R S HIP A C T I V I T IE S

APRIL 1, 2018

Scripture Reading: John 20:1–18 or Mark 16:1–8

Additional Scriptures: Acts 10:34–43 or Isaiah 25:6–9; Psalm 118:1–2, 14–24; 1 Corinthians 15:1–11 or Acts 10:34–43

Option 1: Experience the burial spices.

Supplies Needed

• Thin white cloth or cotton ball

• Spices of your choosing*

• Ziploc baggie

*You can purchase myrrh—either as an essential oil or as a resin—for this activity from Amazon. Myrrh, which was

used when burying kings, was a gift from the wise men at the birth of Jesus and was also used by Joseph of Ari-

mathea and Nicodemus when they buried Jesus. Baking spices will work as well.

Beforehand, sprinkle the cloth or cotton ball with enough of the spice to make it scented. Place it in a small

Ziploc baggie. Distribute one to each young worshiper.

Smell the cotton ball or white fabric in your baggie. Feel the cotton or the fabric.

Ask: What do the spices make you think of? What could the cotton ball or white fabric represent? What

might Mary Magdalene have been thinking about as she smelled the spices she carried on the way to the

tomb? How do you think she felt when Jesus’s body wasn’t there? How would you have felt if you had seen

the empty tomb and didn’t know what had happened?

Option 2: Shape the resurrection.

Supplies Needed

• Plastic Easter eggs

• Play-Doh (purchased or homemade, any colors)

• Resurrection power printable strips


Lent

2 APRIL 1, 2018EASTER SUNDAY


Beforehand, fill the plastic Easter eggs with Play-Doh, but make sure the eggs still shut securely (the Play-

Doh color doesn’t have to match the color of the egg). Either tape the resurrection power strip to the

outside of the plastic egg, or include it along with the Play-Doh inside the egg. Distribute one egg to each

child.

Use the Play-Doh to create symbols that make you think of the resurrection or of the new life we have in

Jesus Christ. Then read the strip of paper or ask an adult to help you read it. Now make a new shape—one

that shows what Jesus’s resurrection power is forming in you.

Ask: What symbolizes Jesus’s resurrection? What hope does Jesus’s resurrection give us? How can Jesus’s

resurrection power shape us?

Option 3: Create the empty tomb.

Supplies Needed

• Blue construction paper

• Brown construction paper

• Black construction paper

• Brad

• Glue stick

• Scissors

Use your brown construction paper to cut a half moon or a hill shape and also a circle the size of a cup open-

ing. Next, cut a circle slightly smaller than your brown circle out of black construction paper. Glue the brown

half moon onto the blue construction paper to make a hill, or the outside of a rock tomb. Glue the black circle

on the brown to represent the opening in the tomb. Finally, use the brad to attach the brown circle so it covers

the black circle when is closed but can also be rolled away (or turned) to reveal an empty tomb.

Ask: In the Gospel of John, the tomb was empty, and the angels didn’t announce to Jesus’s followers what

was going on. Who was the first person to find out Jesus was actually alive? What did that person do when

they found out? What do you think makes this important?

LET YOUR RESURRECTION POWER SHAPE ME






























Option 2_Resurrection Power Strip.indd 1 1/15/2018 1:00:30 PM

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