He is Risen. He is Risen Indeed, Alleluia!

By Karla Schettenhelm, Children's Ministry

ALLELUIA is a joyful expression meaning Praise the Lord!  During Lent we omit the word Alleluia from our worship. Lent is a quiet, reflective season in the church year. Easter is a festive celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection when our Alleluias ring again loud and clear! Alleluia! Happy Easter!

This lesson will show us why Easter makes us excited to celebrate! Jesus conquered death and rose from the dead, giving us eternal life in Him!

The account below is taken from the Enduring Faith Bible Curriculum unit 3, Lesson 6 which is based on Matthew 28:1-15.

Early Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary started off for the tomb. As they walked along, they remembered the huge stone that had been rolled in front of it. They weren’t strong enough to roll it back, so they wondered how they were going to get inside.

Suddenly there was an earthquake, and an angel came down from heaven, rolled the stone back, and sat on it. When the guards saw the angel, they were terrified. They shook and fell down like they were dead. The angel waited for the women.

When the women came, the angel told them, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified.  He is not here, for He has risen, as He said. Come, see the place where He lay.”

They looked in and saw that Jesus’ body was missing. There was only the cloth and few spices lying where His body had been. The angel told them, “Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead, and behold, He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see Him.”

The women turned and rushed back toward the city to tell Jesus’ disciples. But while they were on the way, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” They came close, grabbed hold of His feet, and worshiped Him.

Jesus told them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

While the women were going to find the disciples, the guards woke up and went to tell the chief priests what had happened. They knew they would be in big trouble if the governor thought that they had fallen asleep on the job. The chief priests and the elders got together and gave the guards money to lie about what they saw. They told the guards to tell people that Jesus’ disciples came at night and stole His body. The guards took the money and did as they were told. The false story was spread among the Jews for a long time. Even now, some people still believe that Jesus did not rise from the dead.

This story is most certainly true. The resurrection is the center of the salvation story and is the foundation of our faith. It is the fulfillment of God’s prophetic Word and it is the crowning moment in all of human history—Jesus’ victory over death for us all!

Read the parallel accounts of the Resurrection. Look at the similarities and differences.
Mark 16:1–13 
Luke 24:1–12 
John 20:1–18 

Read and look for what these passages teach us about the importance of the Resurrection.
1 Corinthians 15:17
1 Peter 1:3
Romans 6:3-11
 
Mary and Mary ran to tell of the empty tomb. Think about/talk about how we can “go and tell.” This might look different as we “shelter in place.” Can we “GO and tell” when we cannot go anywhere? Think about/discuss ways we can do this.

Look at the different reactions of the guards and the women at the tomb. Why were they so different? Do we still see those different types of reactions today to Jesus and His Resurrection?

Many animals hatch out of eggs – there is new life in these baby animals. Coming out of the egg can remind us of Jesus coming out of the tomb. The animals are alive/Jesus is alive!

There are a lot of Easter egg activities to do for Easter.  

• Color real eggs or paper ones
• Hide eggs (real or plastic) and have an Easter egg hunt (outside or in the house) 
  • Let the kids hide the eggs for the adults
• Have Easter egg (probably plastic) relay races carrying eggs on spoons
• Toss Easter eggs (probably plastic) back and forth getting further apart seeing how far you can be apart before the egg falls.

The caterpillar enters into the chrysalis stage which can remind us of the tomb – it is dark and still. The caterpillar emerges as a new creation, a beautiful butterfly, just like Jesus emerged from the tomb.

There are many options for butterfly crafts.  

• Make a butterfly shape (here is a pattern) 
  • paint or color it 
  • butterflies are symmetrical (the same on both sides); see if you can make your butterfly symmetrical.
• Coffee Filter Butterfly 
  • Use Easter egg dye or food coloring
  • drop the color on a coffee filter, the color will spread. 
  • Use the filter as butterfly wings. 
  • Make a paper body or use a clothespin for the body.
• Bowtie Pasta Butterfly picuture.
  • Paint bowtie pasta
  • Glue several on a piece of paper. 
  • Make them into butterflies, and make a spring picture.

There are more fun butterfly crafts here.

Lilies grow from bulbs that are planted in the ground before winter and are hidden underground seeming dead, like Jesus in the tomb. When the ground warms up, they come to life, and we remember Jesus is alive!

Make a handprint Easter Lily or a whole bouquet. There are simple video instructions here.
You can improvise using rolled up paper if you do not have pipe cleaners.

All of these crafts can help to decorate your home for the Spring season and remind you of the promise of Salvation that Easter brings!

• Make an Easter banner. 
  • You can use paper, cardboard, felt, etc. 
  • Write a simple phrase as the focal point of the banner (“Jesus Lives!” “Easter Joy!” “Alleluia!”)  
  • Then decorate with Spring colors, Easter symbols, or arts and crafts supplies you have around the house (sequins, buttons, etc.)
• Make an empty tomb using a paper bowl. 
  • Cut the bowl in half,
  • Cut a hole to show inside
  • Decorate it with Spring colors
•  Make a Resurrection garden
  • There is one example here of how you can make it with things you buy at the dollar store or you may have some things at home that would work too!

Dear Jesus, thank You for Your resurrection. It changes everything! Help us to go and tell everyone about this amazing event and the new life we have in You. In Your name we pray, Jesus. Amen.