I’m Sorry…My Kids Don’t Believe in the Easter Bunny.

I was prepared at Christmas. I had the whole comment worked out in my head when the question would be asked…

The unsuspecting person would smilingly look down at my kids and say, “So what is Santa going to bring you?”

I had the kids prepared. We tell the truth, in love. And the person would either nod his head with understanding and say, “Great!” OR I’d get the head shake of pity. At times a heated discussion would take place. But in the end, my husband and I will be held responsible for the training of our children and both of us strongly agree that Santa should not be seen as real in any way, shape, or form in our household.

So when the grocery manager asked, “Is the Easter Bunny coming to your house tonight?” I nearly fell out. I hadn’t really thought about it. I was not prepared.

The Reality of Good Friday

“Mama, would you read this book, please?” Sweet Cheeks asked as she climbed up on the couch beside me. She handed me a copy of a beautiful picture book about the first Easter. I usually don’t mind reading at impromptu times, but I really didn’t have time for such a long book at the moment.

So I decided to interact with her and “read the pictures” instead of the words. For each picture I’d start out with, “Tell me about what is happening in this picture?” and we’d move from that to, “Who are the people?” “What are they doing?” “Why are they doing this?”

We went through the entire book this way. She would tell what she knew or say, “I don’t know,” and I’d fill in the gaps.

We got to the picture of Jesus on the cross and Sweet Cheeks said, “That’s Jesus dying on the cross because He loves us.”

Have a wonderful Good Friday, my friends. May God’s reality be True to you.

Easter Message for Easter Egg Hunt

This week for Awana we are having an Easter Egg hunt and I am doing a special Easter Lesson for the kids. I posted it a week or so ago because I wanted people to have it in time for Easter. It’s an awesome way to teach the real meaning of Easter. If you decide to use this lesson, please let me know. I’d love to know how God is moving!! Also, please feel free to pass this along to any children’s leaders or teachers who might need an Easter lesson. This lesson is being spread around the world. It’s been pinned on Pinterest and passed on Face Book multiple times. I’m amazed and it’s really neat to see God work!!

Awesome Easter Message for Salvation

Other Articles of Interest: Valentine’s Day Salvation Message

THREE Trials ~ Acts 24-26

Objectives:

Poster for Acts 13-28

• to locate Caesarea on a map
• to recognize the names of Governor Felix, Governor Festus, King Agrippa, Caesar Nero
• to recognize the importance of a single testimony and belief in the resurrection
• to verbalize that God has a plan and He is in control

Geography:

Paul is in custody in Caesarea.

Background:

It is important to remember of what the Jewish Leaders originally accused Paul. They had accused him of teaching all men to be against the Jews. They had also accused him of defiling the temple by bringing a Gentile into an area where he wasn’t supposed to be. Of course, both accusations are incorrect.

Knowing some history is important as well. There are 3 Roman Governors mentioned in the New Testament. Pontius Pilate, Felix and Festus. Being leaders of the Holy Land would mean that Felix and Festus were familiar with Jewish customs and beliefs. They would also have been knowledgeable of how volatile the region was. They would be motivated to keep the Jews happy so no fighting would break out. King Agrippa was the great-grandson of King Herod who had the babies of Bethlehem slaughtered. Agrippa was a practicing Jew and was very familiar with the scriptures. At this time in the early years of his reign, Caesar Nero was known as a relatively good leader of Rome.

Main Events of the Story:

Trial 1: Governor Felix received Paul and the letter from the Commander. After 5 days, the High Priest and other Jewish leaders, along with their lawyer, came to Caesarea. Paul was accused of being a “pest” or a “plague.” He was accused of creating strife among all Jews all over the world. Paul was also accused of profaning the temple. The lawyer told Felix that the Jewish Leaders had arrested Paul at the temple, but that the Commander, “with great violence” took Paul from them. Paul defended himself by telling Felix he had gone to the temple to worship, but that he does believe as those of The Way. Paul also stated that it was a handful of Jews from Asia who started all the trouble and accusations. Paul ended his defense by telling Felix that even these Jewish Leaders present had no proof of Paul doing anything except saying his statement about hope in the resurrection.

Felix stopped the trial. He was aware of those in The Way and wanted to wait for the Commander to come to the city and we don’t know if he ever did. Felix kept Paul in custody, but gave him the freedom to see, and be provided by, friends. After a few days, Felix and his wife Drusilla send for Paul to hear about his belief in Christ. As Felix came under the convection of the holy Spirit, he became afraid and sent Paul away. Felix wanted Paul to bribe him for his freedom, but Paul did not do it. Felix must have enjoyed his conversations with Paul, for he had many with him. After 2 years, Felix is replaced by Festus.

Trial 2: The High Priest told Festus about Paul and how he wanted Paul to come back to Jerusalem. (Of course he didn’t tell Festus he wanted Paul ambushed and killed on the way!) After 10 days, Festus had a trial for Paul. The High Priest and leaders complained about Paul, but they did not have enough proof to bring charges against him. Festus asked Paul, “Are you willing to stand trial in Jerusalem?” Paul responded, “To the Jews I have done no wrong. I appeal to Caesar.” In response Festus said, “You appeal to Caesar? To Caesar you shall go!”

Herod Agrippa II was the seventh and last king of the family of Herod the Great, thus last of the Herodians. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Trial 3: Festus had a problem though. Paul wasn’t accused of anything! AND he was a Roman citizen so he doesn’t know what to tell Caesar about Paul. King Agrippa and his sister Bernice came to visit. Festus told Agrippa about Paul and this problem. Agrippa said, “I’d like to hear the man myself.” Paul was brought before them in chains and the leaders were in full pomp and circumstance with many other important people. Agrippa said, “Speak for yourself,” and Paul started telling his testimony including his conversion, preaching to the Gentile,s and about Jesus being risen from the dead.

At this point Festus said, “You are mad!”

Paul: I am speaking truth and reason. King Agrippa? Do you believe the prophets? (This is a very important question because Agrippa is a Jew. A good Jew believes the prophets, BUT at this point after the message Paul gave, if Agrippa stated he believed the prophets, then he would be stating that Jesus was the One who fulfilled them.)

Agrippa: Ah, Paul, you’ve almost persuaded me to be a Christian!

Paul: I hope that you, and all who hear, would become as I.

Paul was taken away and Agrippa turned to Festus and said, “This man has done nothing. He’d be free if he hadn’t appealed to Caesar.”

Life Application:

No one knows who, if anyone, came to know Jesus that day. But Paul’s testimony was important. He was preaching Truth to Kings and Governors just as Jesus said he would. He was also on his way to Rome to see Caesar just as Jesus said. God’s promises are true and trustworthy.

The fact of Jesus’ resurrection is still a stumbling block to many people. People have a hard time fathoming anyone coming back to life. Christianity is THE only religion who’s “prophet” or “messiah” is alive. That’s why our celebration of Easter is so important. Perhaps it should be a greater holiday than Christmas. Because without Easter, Christmas means nothing.

Wanna know what happened before this? Go read Trials Begin: Acts 23

 

Related articles

• Paul in Chains, Brought Before Felix, and Left in Jail (brakeman1.com)
• Almost Christians (wnd.com)
• King Agrippa Listens to Paul’s Story (brakeman1.com)
• The Heart of the Matter: Dead or Alive? (momsfirstscreenn.wordpress.com)

Awesome Children’s Salvation Object Lesson

I am indebted to a sweet young lady for sharing this idea. I told her I wanted to put it on my blog for the world to see and her words were, “Make sure you show pictures step by step!” So that is what I am going to do. I plan on using this with my Sparks and T&T kids who are Kindergarten through 6th grade. PLEASE feel free to share this or use it yourself. It’s the GOSPEL and who wouldn’t want to share that?!? The “story words” are mine, but feel free to change them to make the activity fit your group. Adults would think this is pretty cool as well. I sure thought it was!

Materials: 1 sheet of paper. (I’ve used typing paper and construction paper. Either will work.)

1 sheet of paper

Environment: Be in a place where you can sit on the floor and have the kids gather and sit in front of you. Make sure you have enough floor space to move pieces around to tell the Easter story.

The Foundation (Fold paper while discussing this with children)

“In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God and the Word was God.” Who is the Word? (Jesus) And what does that verse tell us about Jesus? (Jesus existed with God before the world was created and Jesus is God.) If Jesus is God, that means He has all of the same characteristics of God. What is God like? (perfect, holy, good, mighty, kind, patient, without sin) If God is like that, then what is Man like? (selfish, greedy, imperfect, sinful)

Fold the right corner down

Fold the left corner down to make a “house” shape

Flip house over and fold house in half

Fold in half again, like wings on an airplane, but both wings should be on one side

Tear down the middle. Begin with the not so thick end and tear to the end thicker with paper.

You should have 2 sections. One section has many pieces, the other is 1 piece of paper.

Place the one piece of paper to the side and unfold and spread out all of the pieces so the kids can see them.

Arrange the pieces to spell “Sin”

The Need

What is sin? (Anything that we think, say or do that does not please God.) Who sins? (Everyone) What have you done that is sin? (have kids give examples) The Bible tells us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” It also tells us that “the wages of sin is death.” What is a wage? (something, such as money, that a person earns) So that verse tells us that we, all sinners, EARN death because of our sin.

Arrange the pieces to spell “Hell”

And death equals eternal separation from God. No relationship with Him. There is a verse in Isaiah (59:2) that says, “Your sins have separated you from your God.” Wow. Sin is a problem. And the Sin Problem needs to be fixed. The problem is, man can’t do it. We can try. What types of good things can people do? (share, do kind things, give money to charity, etc) But the Bible says that my righteousness, the good things I do, is as “filthy rags” to the Lord. We can’t fix the Sin Problem, but God can.

The Gospel

What is the rest of the “wages” verse? (For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.) Yes! To fix the Sin Problem, God sent Jesus. And remember, He is like God. Jesus was born like you, only He was without sin. He grew up, lived His life, worked some miracles, preached some great sermons, and then He was accused of saying He was God. The Jews didn’t like hearing that. So they figured out how to get Jesus killed. Crucified. Jesus didn’t fight them. Jesus was nailed onto a cross on a hill called Calvary.

Unfold the one piece

Put these two pieces under the cross to show Calvary Hill

Two other thieves were crucified as well, with Jesus in the middle.

Place 2 pieces as the crosses of the robbers

Pilate, the Roman leader who allowed Jesus to die, had a sign placed over Jesus’ head that read, “King of the Jews.”

Place a small rectangle across the top of the cross for the sign

The Roman soldiers who nailed Jesus to the cross rolled dice and gambled to see who would win Jesus’ robe.

Pretend to toss the small squares like dice

After Jesus died, a soldier took a spear and thrust it into Jesus’ side to make sure He was dead. He was.

Add the other rectangle as the spear into Jesus’ side

Jesus was taken down off the cross and laid in a tomb. Three days later He arose and He appeared to women and the disciples and quite a few others. Jesus was alive.

Take the two pieces that make the Calvary Hill and make the tomb. If you put the pieces close together you can show it closed and then pull them slightly apart to show an empty tomb.

The Invitation

And He is still living today. “God loves [YOU] so much that He gave His one and only son and if [YOU] believe in Him, then [YOU] will have eternal life.”

Leave the cross and use the other pieces to spell “Life”

“If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you WILL be saved!” Saved from what? (Hell, eternal separation from God) God wants you to have life. Eternal life with Him. Forever. By telling Jesus that He is Lord, then you are saying to Him, “Jesus, my life is Yours. YOU are my Lord. You are my Master. I am going to learn about your commands and then I am going to obey them.” Believing in Jesus means making a change in your behavior and living a life in His favor.

Use all the pieces to spell “Jesus”

Sing the song of the month: “Happiness is the Lord”
Happiness is to know the Savior
Living a life within His favor,
Having a change in my behavior
Happiness is the Lord

Happiness is a new creation
Jesus in me in close relation
Having a part in His salvation
Happiness is the Lord
Real joy is mine
No matter if teardrops start,
I’ve found the secret –
It’s Jesus in my heart!

Happiness is to be forgiven
Living the life that worth the living
Taking a trip that leads to heaven
Happiness is the Lord, Happiness is the Lord
Happiness is the Lord!

The Opportunity

If the Lord leads, then give the children an opportunity to accept Him. May the Lord use this lesson and YOU to further His kingdom!!

**Be sure to not miss any future “Salvation” messages by clicking “FOLLOW ME” to the right of your screen.

Was this helpful? Please leave a comment below.