Easter Sunday 2013 - Children's Time
How many of you like surprises? How many of you were surprised earlier today when all the confetti came flying out of the cannon and the air was filled with Alleluias? Do you know why we did that? Because today is Easter, and Easter is a story that started out sad but ended with a big surprise!
The sad part is that there were some
people who did not like Jesus. They were
really angry with him—so angry that they decided to kill him by hanging him on
a cross.
It was a very sad day. Jesus’ friends
took his body off the cross, wrapped it gently in white cloths, and laid
it in a cave. A big rock was rolled across the entrance to the cave so that no one could get in.
On Sunday morning, Jesus’ friend Mary came
to the cave, but when she arrived the stone had been rolled away. The tomb was empty! Jesus’ body was gone!
At first Mary was so sad because she
didn’t know what had happened. She
thought that somebody had stolen Jesus’ body.
Then she saw someone in the garden who she thought was the
gardener---but, surprise! it was Jesus.
Jesus told her to go and tell his friends what she had seen. So Mary ran back to tell Jesus’ friends, “Jesus
is alive! I saw him!”
At first no one believed her. It was hard to imagine how something so sad
could turn into such a wonderful surprise.
I have something to show you. . .
It’s a flower bulb. It doesn’t look like much, in fact it’s kind of ugly. Flower bulbs get planted in the soil in the fall and they stay there all winter underneath the ground, until one day, guess what happens? In the spring a green shoot starts coming out and eventually grows into a beautiful flower. These bulbs hold a wonderful surprise. Just like Easter.
It’s kind of like this. Here’s a bulb. . .
. . .and it opens. . .
. . .to reveal a surprise. . .
What does it say? Jesus is alive! Alleluia!
I am going to give each one of you your very own flower to take back
with you to color and fold in your seats, and I hope that like Mary Magdalene you
too will share the wonderful surprise of Easter with your friends. Go in peace.
