Last week I had an experience that I will not soon forget. I had the chance to share the story of Easter with a group of kids, half of which had never heard the story before. I’ve shared the Easter story in church on many occasions but usually the kids who come, even if they don’t regularly attend church or wouldn’t call themselves “Christians” still have a rudimentary understanding of the Easter story. But this year, the group I got to share with had literally never, ever heard the story before.
Imagine with me if you can the looks on their faces as I began to tell of this man who had some friends and they followed him around. One day he told them to go get a donkey that was tied up and bring it to him.
So like, he told them to steal someone else’s donkey? And they did it? That’s not cool. That’s like peer pressure. I would have said no.
Imagine with me the incredulity in their eyes when I told them that one of Jesus’ friends decided to betray Jesus so he’d get arrested and got paid 30 pieces of silver to do it and that another one of his friends denied he even knew Jesus and all of his other friends deserted him.
Why do you keep calling them friends? Those aren’t friends. Friends definitely do not do that to each other.
Imagine with me the disgust on their faces when I told them that a group of soldiers made fun of Jesus and whipped him and put a crown of thorns on his head so that his back and head were bloodied and torn.
That is not okay! That’s totally wrong. You can’t hit people. Even people in charge can’t do that stuff. Did it hurt him? Was he crying? Why didn’t he just run away?
Imagine with me the sadness and disbelief when I told them that after all of this was done to Jesus, he was convicted even though he’d done nothing wrong and his puni
shment was the same as every other convicted criminal; death on a cross.
What?!? They killed him. Like for real? How is this about Easter? Where are the bunnies and eggs?
Imagine the weight on their hearts when I confirm that indeed, he was killed, for real and to make sure, a soldier pierced his side and blood and water came out.
Silence. Sadness.
But why?
“Because, sweet child, God so loved this world, you, that He sent his only Son, Jesus, to make a way for us to be with God for all eternity. Because we’ve all done things that hurt others and hurt God and those things put a gap between us and God, but Jesus filled the gap – he had never hurt God or others and yet he allowed himself to be hurt so we could know true love.”
Silence. Sadness.
“But wait.”
Eyes lifted.
“The story doesn’t end there, because something else happened.”
Hope rising. Heads turned up. Eyes questioning.
“Jesus didn’t stay dead.”
Eyes widened. Mouths drop open.
“Jesus rose from the dead. Death was not strong enough to hold him. He was stronger than even death. When some of his friends who were women came to the tomb to honor him, the stone was rolled away and Jesus wasn’t there. He had risen.”
So, is he a zombie?
“Nope, He was really alive. Not living dead. Truly alive.”
Prove it!
“Oh, his friends asked the same thing. They thought he was a ghost. So you know what he did? He asked for food… a lot. He told them, “Would a ghost eat food?” And they said, “No” so he ate food. He ate bread and fish and cooked breakfast for them and ate dinner with them and hung out with over 500 different people, proving that he was really alive again. ”
So, did he die later?
“Oh no, He beat death! He’s alive forever and he promised he would go prepare a place for us for after we die.
We will get to be with Him forever.
And that, my friends, is our promise at Easter. Whether it’s the first time you’ve heard this story or the last, the first time you’ve shared this story or the last, may this promise be what brings us to the work of the ministry.
As we share with children, as we connect generations, as we grow disciples and form faith, may we never forget that the promise of Easter is life with our Savior forever, starting today.
For more information about
- Kids in Worship
- Determining which Type of Family Ministry model works best for your church
- Discipleship in Intergenerational community
- Encouraging the continued conversation through Practical Discipleship at Home
- Seminars, Workshops, Coaching
Check out to ReFocus Ministry or “like” our Facebook page. Join our conversation at theReFocus Family and Intergen Ministry group on Facebook.
About the Blog
Refocus Ministry was started by Christina Embree, wife to Pastor Luke, mom to three wonderful kids, and church planter at Plowshares BIC. With years of experience in family ministry and children’s ministry, she is passionate about seeing churches partnering with families to encourage faith formation at home and equipping parents to disciple their kids in the faith. She recently graduated with a Masters of Arts in Ministry focusing on Family, Youth and Children’s Ministry at Wesley Seminary, she also blogs at www.refocusministry.org and is a contributing blogger at D6 Family and ChurchLeaders.com
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